Microworms
In stockPanagrellus redivivus
The go-to first food for betta, gourami, tetra and cory fry
Size±1–3 mm
Culture mediumOats / instant porridge paste
Temperature18–27 °C (room temperature)
DifficultyVery easy
R50 · 15 ml starter culture
Fry feeding guide
Best live food for livebearer fry (molly, platy & swordtail)
Livebearer fry are the kindest fry in the hobby: born at a size egg-layer fry take a month to reach, able to eat real food from their first hour. The only real enemies are the adults’ appetites and slow, uneven growth on flake alone — and live food solves the second while you manage the first with plants and timing.
Photo: Gourami Watcher, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
The feeding plan
| Stage | Feed this | Why it works |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1 | Microworms + newborn daphnia (moina) in the water | Fry are born hunting; food present from the first hour is survival and growth in one move |
| Weeks 1–4 | Daphnia (moina) most days | The fastest, most even growth — fry on live food size up uniformly, which also ends most size-bullying |
| Week 4+ | Adult moina + crushed staple | Transition toward the adult diet while live feeds keep growth ahead |
| Breeding females | Daphnia-rich feeding between broods | Females rebuilt on live food carry stronger next broods; molly females especially show it |
Practical tips
- Feed adults first, far end of the tank, then drop fry food into the plants — distraction saves more fry than breeder boxes.
- Dense planting or a spawning mop is the fry’s real refuge; a bare tank is a feeding bowl.
- Sort by size at week 3 if growth spreads out — big fry eat first at every feed, forever.
Watch out: Breeder boxes buy days, not weeks: fry stunted in a box for a month never catch their tank-raised siblings. Move fry to real water with real food early.
Common questions
What do molly fry eat?
From day one: microworms and newborn daphnia (moina). They are born far bigger than egg-layer fry, so no vinegar-eel stage is needed — go straight to the growth foods.
How do I stop adults eating platy and swordtail fry?
Plants, mops and distraction: dense cover to hide in, adults fed first at the opposite end, and fry food delivered into the cover. In a community tank you will raise the fry that reach the plants in the first minute — which, well fed, is most of them.
Start these cultures
In stock in the Western Cape, dispatched Monday to Wednesday, door-to-door across South Africa.
Daphnia (Moina)
In stockMoina sp.
The small “daphnia” that suits fry and small fish — and breeds fast in warm water
Size±0.4–1.5 mm (adults ±1–1.5 mm)
Temperature20–30 °C (fastest at 24–28 °C)
FoodGreen water, yeast, spirulina
DifficultyModerate — keep a backup culture
R50 · starter culture
Fry Starter Kit
In stockAll four fry cultures in one parcel
Every fry size covered, from first bite to grow-out, in one courier parcel
IncludesDaphnia (moina), microworms, banana worms, vinegar eels
Culture mediaWater tub (moina) + oats paste (worms & eels)
TemperatureRoom temperature (moina warmest, 20–30 °C)
DifficultyVery easy
R200 · 4-culture bundle
Feeding livebearer fry (molly, platy & swordtail)? Get the culture right first time.
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