Weaning from copepods straight to golden pearls?

[LordJoshaeus]

Hi everyone! I remember when I had my banded bushfish (Microctenopoma fasciolatum) fry, I was able to transition them to fry powder by giving them the fry powder at the same time as the baby brine shrimp I had been feeding them; they got the point within a week and started eating fry powder as well as live foods. Could I do something similar with saltwater larvae, perhaps with golden pearls instead of the fry powder? For example, if I start the fry on copepod (perhaps Parvocalanus) nauplii, when it would normally be time to transition the fry to baby brine shrimp (or perhaps a little earlier, as golden pears are available in sizes smaller than baby brine shrimp), could I use golden pearls instead, feeding them with the copepods for the first week or two so the fry recognize them as food? Thanks

 

[ichthyogeek]

What fry are you working with? If it's clownfish, I've heard of people transitioning straight from rotifers to TDO Otohime.

Part of the struggle with saltwater fish rearing, is that sometimes the fry are...very, very stupid. They rely not only on smell, but also swimming patterns of the prey item in order to acknowledge that it's delicious/good for them. You can certainly try it, but keep this in mind.

 

[ThRoewer]

Amphiprion larvae, if properly conditioned, are like little Pacmans - they eat everything in their path. Other larvae study their prey closely for a while before deciding whether it is edible or not. Most annoying to me where Calloplesiops larvae who have nearly the same excruciatingly slow feeding habits as adults. Even rotifers were fast enough to escape before the little idiots made up their minds... don't even think about dead larvae food with such species.

 

[LordJoshaeus]

What fry are you working with? If it's clownfish, I've heard of people transitioning straight from rotifers to TDO Otohime.

Part of the struggle with saltwater fish rearing, is that sometimes the fry are...very, very stupid. They rely not only on smell, but also swimming patterns of the prey item in order to acknowledge that it's delicious/good for them. You can certainly try it, but keep this in mind.

Amphiprion larvae, if properly conditioned, are like little Pacmans - they eat everything in their path. Other larvae study their prey closely for a while before deciding whether it is edible or not. Most annoying to me where Calloplesiops larvae who have nearly the same excruciatingly slow feeding habits has adults. Even rotifers were fast enough to escape before the little idiots mad up their minds... don't even think about dead larvae food with such species.

Hmmm...guess when I get around to trying marine fry, it would be best to give a baby brine shrimp period before introducing prepared foods of any kind. Oh well...good to learn this now before I actually have a bunch of little fry to feed. Thanks