Rainbowfish fry?

I found 4 tiny fry in my tank today. I had just moved out a pair of neon dwarf rainbow and a female boesimanI rainbow, along with 2 juvenile platys yesterday. My understanding of the rainbow breeding was that they need spawning mop to lay eggs and then it would take a couple of days for them to hatch. I have no spawning mop nor have I seen any eggs. I didn't even know the rainbow were pregnant. I'm pretty sure they are not platy fry 'cause I've had platy fry and they don't look like them.

These ones are really tiny, about 1/4" long but only with the width of a hair. All I could really see are the heads and that's only if I look really closely. I'd be interested in finding out which rainbow they are, if they survive. I'm feeding them decap brine shrimp eggs and crushed up flakes, much like how I would feed my platy fry.

Now that I've moved out the adult rainbow, the only other tank mates are cherry and glass shrimps. I'm pretty sure the shrimps won't eat the fry. So, keeping my fingers crossed that they survive and become identifiable soon.

Does anyone know what their growth rate is like? I've read that rainbow grow kind of slow. How long before I can tell what kind of fish they are?

 

Does the fish look long and slim? If so, they're rainbowfish fry (see attachment) if not, and you reject the fact that they are platy, I have no idea

 

Yeah, they look like that but like 100 times smaller. They are so tiny. I have trouble seeing them. What should I be feeding them? I think the brine shrimp eggs might be too big.

 

I feed my fry fine, crushed flake food or HikarI First Bite baby fish food, whichever I happen to see first. You LPS (Local Pet Store) will be able to help you out if you get stuck. But fine flake food never let anyone down. Good luck

oh, and by the way, your fry are probably dwarf neon rainbowfish fry since you say they are rather small, and they have the appearance of the picture I attached. you should be able to fine out the species in a few weeks or so

 

Thanks! That's encouraging. Although I seem to have lost 2 of them. I can only find 2 in the tank now. I hope these 2 survive...

My rainbow fry have grown large enough for me to say that they are indeed dwarf neon rainbow fish. I think at least one of them is male, red on the fin edges. The other ones have some red in their fin but much more yellow. I'm not sure if they are not mature enough to tell or if they are all girls.
They are currently in the cherry shrimp tank. The main tank has 2 dwarf rainbow, 1 bosemanI rainbow, 3 cory, 4 platy and 1 betta. They are about 1" long now. Is it safe to put them in the main tank with their parents or should I wait a bit longer?

 

Wait just a while longer, about a week or two, before introducing them to the main tank. Aside from that, you should be good.

 

Rainbows lay eggs. You can use a mop but if you have jave moss in your tank they love it also. Some will spawn on plants. yes rainbow are very slow growers. My male has the red on his fins but my females have the yellow. Heres a pic of the 3 of them togather.

 

It's been over a month since my last post about the rainbow fry. They have not grown at all! I was warned that they grow slowly, but _how_ slowly do they grow? They are in a community tank with other adult fish. Would that be the reason they are growing even slower than usual?

 

About how big are they? I would expect they'd be at least an inch long by now.

 

Yes, they have been about 1" long since over a month ago.

 

I think they can be added to the main tank when they reach 1.5 inches, the size of your harlequins. They should be able to hold their own by then.