A ways back I asked a question about mixing juvies with fry, and after some "be careful" feedback kept them separate.

I now have my Albino Socolofi fry, who are 3/4" to 1.5" at 3 months old, and my Lab. Hongi fry, who are a month old and most are going on 1/2".

Is there a right size range at which I can reasonably expect I can mix the two in a grow-out tank?

Thanks!

The lineup of the suspects is below. The magnification clouds the fact that the albino is double the length of the Hongi, but the relative sizes of the eyes to the fish gives it away.

Don, you should be fine to mix these two groups now.

It's a tough call sometimes.

I have had mixed experiences mixing new fry (as in brand new) with larger fry. I could drop a batch of new demasoni in with various sizes and never lose a one, but just a few weeks ago, we dropped a whole bunch of brand new Ps. zebra long pelvics in with older ones, and to my knowledge, only two survived.

I'm alot more cautious (normally) with brand new fry than older fry. With my older fry, I just try not to mix anything that can be confused or consumed!

There are a few species that I've found you don't need to mix any other species with. The main one that comes to mind are auratus. I have seen brand new auratus fry attack and kill a 2 week old Cobalt fry that I accidently left in a grow out tank.

I keep a 5G running for brand new fry. If I know two species are okay growing up together and both were just born, then I will house them both in the 5G together with great results. They will be moved from the 5G to a 10G the next time a new clutch comes along for the 5G.

HTH

Kim

Thanks for the great input! That's the kind of "assembly line" I'm planning on!

I've had the same type of experience with mixing fry as Kim describes.

One thing that I do if I have any worries about the safety of the fish I'm adding, is to throw in any extra rocks, plants, and decorations that I have around. If things go okay, I remove the extra clutter soon. If not, it provides cover until they get used to each other.

Kim, it's funny you mentioned the auratus fry. I have some that I really didn't want to raise, so I put them in with a few larger fry and a couple of shellies. If they had been eaten, I would have been okay with that. As it turns out, they are taking over the little tank, so now I have to put them somewhere else. roll eyes

I felt pretty bad because I thought for sure these brevis would gobble the auratus up when I first put them in the tank and they were so tiny. Was I ever wrong! They chased him back into his shell. I'll be removing them soon - those little meanies!


Good luck and let us know how it goes for yours Pseudo.

They are the meanest little suckers I've ever seen...All that attitude in such a tiny fish! The pic is great, by the way! Poor brevis!

Kim

Great pic, Aura!

It's like they're staying there waiting for an
opportunity to attack the poor brevis!

I love the auratus, but I don't see me keeping
any of them anytime soon!

There really isn't anything any prettier than a nice male auratus...It's a shame that they have the disposition that they do!

Kim

Aura, I really like your advice about adding clutter during the acclimation process.

I think my Lab. Hongi is holding again, so I'll need that fry tank soon!

Don

I mix fry all the time..usually from the time they are spat! As long as they can't be eaten and can be differentiated as they grow, I'm all good!!!

Mixed them finally today -- Lab. Hongi was a false alarm but I have two Acei holding who need that isolation tank.

Thanks for the great advice!