That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information
Ever wake up one day, take a look in your tank and see a horde of tiny little baby fish that weren’t there the night before? Did you have to run out in search for something to feed the new little fish? Here’s a quick and nutritious solution that you probably already have on hand…egg yolk! Yep, normal old chicken eggs that are probably already in your refrigerator. Just hard-boil an egg and remove the yolk (you won’t need the white, feel free to munch on that while you prepare the fishes’ portion). Put a small piece of the yolk in a small container of water and shake it up until the yolk is completely suspended in the water. You may want to break it up a little before you start to get a headstart but if you still notice larger chunks in the water that haven’t broken up enough, you can strain the mixture through cheesecloth or a coffee filter to get rid of the bigger pieces. Once the yolk is suspended in the water, just add a little to the tank with the fry. It’ll make the water a little cloudy so you don’t need to add much and you can save the mixture for a few days in the refrigerator.
Quick, easy, and healthy for just about any small fish fry!
Thats very interesting. I have around 30-40 Demasoni fry and noticed they are very sensitive to most high protein food. I feed them mostly spinach, pees, carrots and garlic mixed together in a blender to a fine paste.
Thanks for the tip. I think I will try it. 🙂
how much egg yolk do you mix and how much to feed a nd hpw to store it
You can mix as much yolk as you need depending on how many fry you are feeding and how often. Use a small plastic container to mix and store it in the fridge for up to a week.
How much water do I add
Just a little, maybe a teaspoon for a pea-sized piece of yolk. You want the particles of the egg yolk to be suspended in the water and small enough for the fry to consume.
woooow thanks,will this make my fry grow faster? oh and is it okay to also feed my fry with the normall fish food?
Healthy fish will grow more quickly than unhealthy fish. Egg yolks are rich in vitamins and nutrients which will benefit most fry, along with proper maintenance and water quality. This can be used as part of your fry diet and along with other foods that you may be feeding, but is no “magic bullet” that will make them grow large overnight.
Is there anything that I can feed my catfish with or do, such that 3 month from the time of purchase as fingerlings they can attain a size of 1kg. I have a friend who does achieve this but not ready to reveal the secret to anyone. Pls help.
Hello Kevrick, What type of catfish are they and how are they being housed? There aren’t many within the aquarium trade that grow to 1kg and without knowing what type of catfish you are referring to, it is difficult to say what kind of diet they would need..
i have a saltwater fish fry, what to feed this baby fish
Hello sreenu, It would depend on what kind of fish they are. You can try egg yolk like explained here or crushed up flakes but most saltwater fish that can be bred in home aquariums will need live foods like newly hatched brine shrimp, copepods or rotifers.
Hello, could you please help me to know the reply of the following questions:
(1) How many times/day can I feed my Gold fish newly hatched fry with boiled chicken egg yolk?
(2) What exactly the amount of egg yolk/time? Is it pea size or lentil size/tea spoonful?
(3) How many water needed to dissolve a half of egg yolk, and what is the dose (ml/liter of aquarium water) of this
solution which is needed/ one time ?
(4) How can I change the water for the Fry? Is it necessary one time /day or one time /week?
(5) How long does refrigerated egg yolk solution in water spoil.
Many thanks,and my best regards
Mona Ramzi
Hello Mona,
1) The fry should be fed small amount 2-3 times a day for the first couple weeks.
2) and 3) That would depend on how concentrated you make your mixture (how much water you add to your yolk). There is no exact measurement for this method that I can give you but for a rough estimate, a ratio of 1 part yolk to 3-4 parts water should give you a good concentration. The amount to feed at a time depends on how many fry you are feeding. Feed a little bit at a time and watch the fish as you feed; as with adult fish, feed only as much as they will eat in about 5-10 minutes.
4) That would depend on what type of filter you have, how many fry you have, the volume of water and the water quality. You can use a cup or small siphon tube to remove the water.
5) A mixture should last a few days in the refrigerator. If it smells badly or like rotten eggs, dispose of it.
Thank you very much, My best regards.
can catfish fry feed on egg yoke, when will I start giving the fry egg yoke after hatching and won’t the yoke desolved in the water ,
Hi Jonathan, It would depend on the type of catfish and size of the tank. A method like this is best in a smaller system where the food concentration is higher so the fry can find it easier. As stated in the blog, you would want to suspend the egg yolk in the water. For a bottom-feeder like catfish, a sinking pellet like shrimp pellets would be better to help them find the food easily. Most fry will need to be fed once they are free-swimming.
hallow, am seriously interested in aquaculture and successful to have a laboratory special for artificial propagation of African catfish and am now producing the fingerings but I met with different challenges and I experienced from it, the issue of feeding is seriously confusing in these activity, let me ask for the help some tell me if w’l get Artemia eggs and produce Artemia fries then feed them to my fingerings(African catfish) I w’ll run from this challenge how can you help me for this and if its possible how can I get Artemia eggs
Hello Ignas, Artemia, aka Brine Shrimp, eggs are commonly available from most pet stores. You can find the selection of them that we sell on our website (click here).
do newly hatched fries move like worm? because mine moves like that
Hello ewaski, Fry will usually move like the parents but it depends on what animal’s fry you are referring to.
What can I do?l my newly fries refuse to pick feed.
Hello John, What are you trying to feed and what food have you been trying?
I woke up to a batch of baby fry in my tank. Do I need to separate the other guppies? They don’t seem to be going after any of the babies; but will this matter when I try to feed the fry?
Hello Rondi, I wouldn’t expect the other guppies to eat the fry but the fry may get outcompeted for food by the adults. It would be best to raise the young in a separate nursery tank from the adults, at least until they are bigger.
Hi..could you please suggest me when I have to start feeding frys. Immideatly after they hatched or after 48 hours when they hatched.
Hello Anonymous, That would depend on the type of fish you are referring to, but most fish would need to start feeding when they are free-swimming and/or have absorbed their yolk sac.
How will i prepare the egg yolk to Feed my fry catfish.
Hello bukky, You can prepare it as described in the blog above.
My female Africa catfish is not eating. I used it for hatching two days ago and I still want to keep it. It is about 4kg in size. I saw some injury on the side of the mouth and some side of the analysis fins. How can I rescue the fish from death.
I pray answer will arrive before the fish die
Hello bukky, If you need immediate assistance, I would recommend contacting us at 717-299-5691 and discussing your tank in more detail with our staff. The egg yolk mentioned here is appropriate for fry, not larger fish. I don’t see a mention of the tank size, but for a fish that large and with some sort of injury as you mention, I would first and foremost recommend checking the water quality in the tank to make sure it is healthy; at the very least, check the pH, temperature, Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels. I’m not sure what species you have as an “Africa catfish”, but at that size, I imagine it is a predatory catfish and you are feeding it meaty foods? You can try soaking these foods in an appetite stimulant like Selcon, GarlicGuard or VitaChem, or try some live foods to help trigger a feeding response.
Hi there, how do i force-feed my fry? They’re few days old fry guppy that doesnt seem to be eating the egg yolk & i see them taking a bite then they’d throw it away back. Is it normal?
Hi Elsa, It isn’t possible to force-feed fry. You can try a different food like crushed-up flakes if they aren’t accepting the egg yolk.
Hello, I have angel fish fries and till now they all die as I do not have the appropriate food. Can buy nothing with the Covid pandemic
Can they feed only on egg yolk for some weeks?
Thank you,
Anili.
Hi Anili, They should be fine on just egg yolk for the first week or two. After that point, they should be large enough to start mixing in some crushed flake food. If you are in the US (excluding California), our store is still open and shipping, and we do have flake foods in stock. International shipping may be different at the moment. If you would like to speak with someone about ordering options, you can reach our Call Center at 1-888-842-8738.
Good day!!! Please I have a few questions to ask. They include:
1. How many weeks does it take to feed a newly hatched fry’s with egg yolk
2. If fishes are up to three week yolk after hatching, can egg yolk and starter feed be given together
3. How do you correct a water PH if the water is acidic?
4. What can be done to prevent worms from entering the pond?
5. What feed do you recommend to aid growth of fishes eg. Coppens, scrating, top feed, aller aqua or please recommend any feed that can be gotten at least in Nigeria
Hi SHOLLYBEY, 1. They can be given egg yolk until they are large enough to transition onto larger food items. 2. By the time they are eating larger food items, they shouldn’t need the egg yolk any longer and it may be too small for them to feed on. 3. You can use pH buffers to raise the pH and buffer the alkalinty. Some rocks and substrates will also help to do this as well. 4. I’m not sure what worms you are referring to. An artificial lining can help stop critters from coming through the soil, and new fish can be quarantined and treated before being added to the pond if you are concerned about parasites on the fish. 5. We are in the United States and don’t have information on what is available in Nigeria. I would recommend checking with local stores or hobbyists in your area to see what is available to you. I am not sure what you are referring to in the examples you mention.
My goldfish fries are now 3 days all of them started swimming. Can I feed the pellet powder? Egg yolk? Can I continue with egg yolk or pellet powdered till it get bigger? Is aeration required from these days? Or a live plant is enough?
Hi Alex, You could do either or a mixture of the two until they are large enough to accept larger foods. The tank should be well-filtered and aerated just as for older goldfish.
Can we feed egg yolk to zebra danio fry..?
Hello Siddharth, Yes, you can use egg yolk as described here for Zebra Danio fry.
I have 5 weeks old black molly fry. Out of 13 survived 7. I red about the yolk and fed them boiled yolk. Their stomachs seems to get bloated after and 4 more died within a couple of days after that. I did not munch it with the water though.
Hi Tata, You would want to crumbed up the yolk as described here. You can also use finely crushed flake food.
Just want to inquire, a friend made the said food for his baby beta. And he was not able to disperse all of the food. Until when would this food be edible for betas? Does it not spoil?
Hi Clarius, You can save the mixture for a few days in the refrigerator.