Sterbai fry in filter—need tips

I was shocked to find ten Sterbai Cory fry in my filter (Fluval 307) today and I put them in this hatchery. I’ve never used the hatchery before but it has slits in the sides too small for these guys to get through. The hatchery box suctions to the side of my main tank. I’m wondering about the fry’s age and needs. I have flake food, bug bites, shrimp pellets, algae wafers. Crush tiny amounts? They haven’t eaten what I’ve given them so far but they are actively swimming around. They’re probably quite shocked to be outside of the dark, cramped filter world. (Amazing they grew in that unclear water) I put some moss in the box for them to hide in. I’m afraid they’re too tiny to go in with my cardinals and honey gourami who have happily devoured cherry shrimp before. Although I have had a few Sterbai Cory fry miraculously survive in the community tank without help. Can these stay on the hatchery awhile and grow? I will eventually need to re-home some Corys as I don’t have the space for more adults.
So main questions:
Age?
Food?
Space?

 

What a nice find! I just found a 1/2" Julii in my 20 gallon tank this week and am over the moon! I'm guessing my 1/2" to be a month old. Yours seem smaller, maybe 2 or 3 weeks? When I purposely hatched some last summer I used First Bites for a week then added baby brine shrimp. They were in a 10 gallon and didn't go to the top for food, so I put some in a little water in a cup and sucked it up with a turkey baster and let it go in the tank and it dropped. Any good food that's crushed into a powder would be okay for them. They need to be fed at least 3 times a day. Just my opinion but I think they'll be okay in that box awhile. I think your honey gouramis would go after them at this size, I know mine liked to chase guppy fries around. Being on the floor of your tank most of the time would make them more vulnerable unless you have a lot of java moss or other dense plants to hide in. I'd wait a couple weeks. How large is your community tank?

I keep a sponge pre-filter over my Aqua Clear HOB filters, not sure I'd ever catch something. But of course pest baby snails get in there somehow. lol

Lots of people here are a lot more experienced than me, just giving you my thoughts - it's how I'd handle it.

My little hatchery thing will NOT stay attached to the sides of a tank, the suction cups aren't good enough.

Congratulations and good luck!

 

It’s a 29 gallon community tank. A few of the fry are smaller than others too. Pretty tiny. You’re probably right about their age. I also thought I had enough plant cover in the community tank when I had cherry shrimp (which were eaten) so I’m cautious about releasing them. Unfortunately, I live remotely on an island and have to ship everything in. Shipping special fry food would probably take a few weeks. Hopefully crushing what I have will work.
That’s cool about your Julii! The few fry I found in my tank before were about that same size. It was a total shock when I moved a rock and there it was! I couldn’t believe one would survive! Maybe these were lucky and had their own hatchery in the dirty filter. I also get tons of ramshorns in there too. I’ve tried a sponge cover for the intake but it seemed to not clean the tank as well as I wanted. Oh well.
The brand of my hatchery box is warm tone. There were three size choices and I got the medium. I had to clear the (annoying) duckweed but then the suction cups worked great.

 

Maybe I should try a turkey baster to get out leftover food? Is that what you used for your fry? Not sure how the water quality will be in hatchery box/how much flow through the slits.

 

When I had fry, I'd use a medicine dropper to get out excess food. It would suck out food with less risk of sucking up any fry. But if you don't have one, a turkey baster works just fine too!

 

A medicine dropper is a great idea, thanks!

 

When raising Bolivian ram fry I found more survived when I added a thin layer of sand into the breeder box. I only added about 1mm of sand just enough to dust the bottom. I have since read some articles that confirmed fry that rest at the bottom will be less likely to contract fungal infections when not kept on bare bottom. Bolivian rams also rest on the bottom frequently. You just have to be very careful to properly maintain the substrate though or it will increase the chance of fungal infection. You could make a siphon with airline tube to pick up debris a couple times a day. Just be careful to check your waste water before dumping it!

 

When raising Bolivian ram fry I found more survived when I added a thin layer of sand into the breeder box. I only added about 1mm of sand just enough to dust the bottom. I have since read some articles that confirmed fry that rest at the bottom will be less likely to contract fungal infections when not kept on bare bottom. Bolivian rams also rest on the bottom frequently. You just have to be very careful to properly maintain the substrate though or it will increase the chance of fungal infection. You could make a siphon with airline tube to pick up debris a couple times a day. Just be careful to check your waste water before dumping it!

Interesting, I never thought about a bit of sand, thanks for the advice!