Week 1 — Free-Swimming
Once fry are free-swimming (3-4 days post-hatch), feed newly hatched brine shrimp 4-5 times daily.
Both parents typically tend fry. If they start eating fry, separate parents and rear artificially.
Weeks 2-4 — Growth Phase
Continue BBS, add crushed pellets, and tiny daphnia. Move fry to dedicated grow-out tanks.
Daily 25% water changes. Heavy filtration with sponge filters (avoid power filters that suck up fry).
- ✦Sort fry by size every 2-3 weeks.
- ✦Slower growers stay smaller permanently if not separated.
Weeks 5-12 — Sorting and Culling
By 1.5 inches, you can identify the best fry. Look for: balanced body shape, early kok development, color emergence.
Cull or sell off poor specimens. Reputable breeders cull 80-95% to maintain line quality. The "throwbacks" make perfect dither/feeder fish.
Tank Requirements
50 gallons minimum per 100 fry. As fry grow, density must decrease. By 2 inches, 50 fish per 50 gallons. By 3 inches, separate into smaller groups.
Bare-bottom tanks for grow-outs — easier to clean and waste does not accumulate.
Selling Grow-Outs
At 2-3 inches, fry are sellable. Quality fish go to flowerhorn enthusiasts (online forums, local clubs); average fish to local fish stores.
Top breeders develop reputation and waiting lists for quality strain offspring. Build connections in the flowerhorn community early.