Well, my ill-timed business trip did my fry in. I'm sure that if I could have stayed behind, I'd have salvaged a few offspring. Alas, under the care of a friend to whom I can assign no blame, the fry all died. Nine dead.

(The good news is that I just saved a bunch of money on my car insurance by switching to Geico.)

I thought I'd be crushed by this failure, but it's all OK. First, I was caught with my pants down. I've never bred fish (only far more self-sufficient shrimp).

I learned several things and will be better prepared next time.

1. First, be prepared for a spawning. Have a fry net available. If you're working with a relatively small tank (10g) like I am, it should be small and hang from the tank's side. As soon as you notice eggs on a leaf (as is the norm with Checkerboard cichlids), watch them closely and be prepared to isolate the mother and leaf (with eggs) in the fortified net.
2. Get frozen baby brine shrimp. Very different from frozen brine shrimp. The baby version is extremely fine, small enough for fry to eat. Feed fry early and often.
3. Make sure the fry net receives proper aeration...which will happen with no effort on your fry net.
4. Pay attention to what's going on regularly. I work from home (when I'm not on a dumb business trip, that is), so that's easy.

I'm stimulating the female (slight change in pH, a change in diet, and more frequent water changes) and will be prepared for the next spawning. Stay tuned. I'm looking forward to doing it right next time.

Today, I actually took time off from work to visit Justin at Ocean Aquarium. He built me a small fry trap out of an old Rubbermaid container. On each of the short vertical sides, he'd cut out a large circle. Over each of these holes, he'd epoxied the finest netting, fine enough to prevent fry from swimming into the main tank, large enough for aeration from the main tank to occur unimpeded.

I also bought frozen baby brine shrimp, which I'll feed the fry once they're a little bigger. Now, at only about 2 millimeters, they will feast on infusoria. Today, I put about 4 drops of infusoria right into the trap. Trace elements of it will leak into the main tank, which is fine. Apparently, I need to do this 2 or 3 times a day.

The Neon tetras are frustrated that they can't get to the fry through the trap walls. The two fry I left behind in the main tank are already gone, either eaten or sucked into the filter.

Two of the 9 fry in isolation are rather intrepid, striking out on their own to explore the rather large trap (about 1.5 gallons). The others huddle in a corner.

I think I've seen one of the fry dart enthusiastically in search of food. That's a good sign.

I'm very excited about this, although I haven't yet given any thought to what to do when these fish get bigger. I may divest the 10g of its tetras and devote the tank to cichlids. We'll see.

Last week, I noticed a number of small eggs on one of the Anubias leaves. The sole surviving female cichlid—Aeon—protected that leaf like it was gold.

Today, as I was preparing to vacuum the gravel and change the water, I noticed that several small shapes were swimming below Aeon, who looked a little battered, not to mention extremely focused on her job of protecting the fry from tetras and the large Checkerboard male.

Since my experience with breeding has been limited to shrimp, who survive quite well on their own (despite filter deaths or death by being eaten!), I wasn't sure how to proceed with fish fry. I called my LFS, Justin, at Ocean Aquarium, who instructed me to remove the fry with a turkey baster. He said to place them in a protected container that could float in the main tank. He said to use the water they came from and to feed them baby brine shrimp 2 or 3 times a day.

So, I've isolated the fry. Here they are.



Although checkerboard cichlids aren't mouthbrooders, I noticed that Aeon would scoop into her mouth the sole fry I left behind in the main tank, carry it a few inches, and eject it. Fascinating. What's also fascinating is how the fry, before I separated them, stuck to her like glue. Their rhythms as a tiny school mesmerized me.

A few hours after isolating the fry, I fed them finely chopped frozen brine shrimp. I may buy some infusoria or other very small food tomorrow. I have no idea, otherwise, what I'm doing. Hopefully, my pleas for help on the FishProfiles.com breeding board will yield some clues to the healthy and productive raising of my new tank friends.

Yesterday, I decided to spice up the 10g tank with some life. One lone female checkerboard cichlid and 7 Neon tetras had occupied it for some time. The cichlid's mates (described below) didn't survive, so I though she could use some company. I got her two large and healthy companions: a fully-grown male and a female. The new female is twice the size of the current one. I've decided to name the male cichlid Chang and the new female Aeon, in deference to Peter Chang, creator of animated icon Aeon Flux.

I also bought three Rummy-Nose Tetras, an experiment for me of working with generally larger fish. Most of my experience has been with fish who don't exceed 1-inch in length. The Rummy-Noses, at a max of 2 inches, are giants in my tank. Justin at Ocean Aquarium assures me that the Neons, Rummy-Noses, and cichlids will all live happily together in my 10g. I've named the new tetras Exú, Oxossi, and Naña. These are Orixas—African gods imported with their slaves to Brazil—who were often fused with the Christian icons missionaries forced them to acknowledge. St. Anthony became the vessel for recognizing Exú, St. Sebastian, the vessel for Oxossi, and Our Lady of St. Anne the vessel for Naña.