mbuna fry

[Craziiininja]

My pseudotropheus saulosi has been holding for 18 days in a 10 gallon by herself. My lights on all my aquariums come on at 4pm and go off at 12am. My question is should i feed the fry at 4pm and 11pm like i do all the rest of my fish? Or do i need to feed them in the morning, noon, then night. Basically is it okay to fast them for 16 hours or do i need to feed them in the actual morning time. Also is it okay to feed mbuna fry baby brine shrimp for the first 2 to 3 weeks. I ask because baby brine shrimp is high in protein and i dont want to bloat them. Thanks for any help. 

[Rob E.]

Its always best to feed several small meals as opposed to one big meal, but I routinely feed my fish and fry once per day.  Its not ideal, but it works for me and i haven't had any problems.  Fry will grow faster if you feed them several small meals each day but they wont starve if you feed them once.  They are always searching for food, picking at biofilm, picking at substrate, I think you will be fine only feeding them when you feed your other fish.

I found a surprise saulosi fry in my tank a few months ago and pulled him out into a separate container.  I fed him live baby brine for months, along with crushed up flake and pellet food.  Then one day I notice some more fry about his size in the main tank, so I returned him to his friends. I continue to squirt a bit of bbs into the tank from a pipet, but not a lot.  I plan to stop feeding it to them soon.  I know the adults eat some of it, but I haven't had issues with bloat, It is a very small amount. I think that you will be fine feeding it for a few weeks. 

[Craziiininja]

yeah i just plan on feeding baby brine for first 2 to 3 weeks. then feed them what i feed the adults. I think i'll feed them 3 times a day with 8 hours between each meal so they only fast for 8 hours instead of 16 hours all at once. just spread feedings out a bit more should be good. thanks so much for you help. my first time raising mbuna fry so just trying to get my plan together.