What Are Baby Fish Called?

So what are baby fish called? As you may already know, all species that call earth their home undergo a life cycle.

For fish, the life cycle can vary among different fish species. But, fish, generally speaking, progress through their life cycle in different stages.

In this article, we’ll look more closely at the life cycle of fish, find out the answer to what is the name of a baby fish or what is a group of baby fish called, and how to take care of them for breeding and reproduction.

Life Cycle Stages of Fish

What are baby fish called? We are asked this question a lot, which is why we thought it best to write an entire guide on baby or juvenile fish.

Instead of giving you the answer to what’s a baby fish called, here’s everything you need to know about the life cycle stages of most species of fish:

Fertilized Eggs

Fertilized eggs are the ones that develop into fish. The majority of eggs don’t survive and mature even when placed under the best possible conditions.

The threats to eggs differ from changes in oxygen levels and water temperature to disease, predators, sedimentation, and flooding.

Larval Fish

At this stage, larval fish feed off the yolk sac that’s attached to them. Slowly, the yolk sac will be absorbed by each of the larval fish.

What are small fish called? Is it larval fish? Technically speaking, no. Small or baby fish are called…

Fry

What are baby fish called? They’re technically called fry. Fry or baby fish are ready to feed or eat on their own. They will undergo multiple development stages as they grow and mature into adult fish.

The set of development phases that fry will go through can vary by species. Baby fish, in general, are referred to as fry in the first few months of their lives.

Juvenile Fish

The time fish develops from fry to mature adults will vary among species. As mentioned earlier, the majority of fish don’t survive to become adult fish. There are various threats including competition for habitat.

So, what are baby fish called? Fry or juvenile fish? There are those that are confused by the two terms, assuming that they are interchangeable.

Juvenile fish actually differ from fry. The answer to the question, they are called fry. When fry develop to the point that they have working fins and scales, they become juvenile fish or fingerlings.

Fingerlings are usually the size of your fingers, hence their name. This juvenile stage will last until the fish fully frows, becomes sexually mature, and starts interacting with the other adult fish.

Adult Fish

This is the stage in the life cycle of fish wherein they’re able to reproduce. The time that it takes for fish to be considered as adults varies among individual fish and species.

Fish that have short lifespans will reach maturity faster. Female round gobies, for instance, mature in just a year as they only get to live up to three years.

For lake sturgeon, the oldest is 150 years old. However, the females won’t reach adulthood or maturity until they’re around 25 years old.

Spawning

Female fish will release their eggs out on the water. It’s either into a nest or a water column.

Males will fertilize the eggs released by the females by releasing milt. There will only be a certain percentage of the egg that will be fertilized.

There are fish species that spawn every single year upon reaching maturity, while others will spawn at intervals e.g. once every four years. There are also some species that spawn once and then die.

How to Ensure You Raise Healthy Fry

It’s important to note that fry are fragile and delicate. There’s a need to learn the best way to care for them in order to increase the number of fish that are healthy and capable of becoming adults.

The parents of fry are limited in their capacity to take care of young fish. Remember these tips to assist the parents to raise healthy fry.

Separate the Tank Using a Divider

It’s not advisable to move fry from where they hatched to a different body of water as it can lead to numerous deaths.

Subtle changes in the water chemistry can harm fry and fingerlings, but they may not be as dangerous to the ones that have reached maturity.

Using a divider will keep your fry safe from adult fish. Make sure that you place them in a section of your aquarium where there aren’t any environmental hazards. If you can’t get your hands on a tank divider, you can also opt for a breeder box.

Test the Water Frequently

You won’t be able to optimize the water in the tank to suit fry if you won’t conduct regular tests.

Make sure that you test at least once each week, so you can note the slight changes in the water chemistry. The ammonia levels must always be zero.

Fry usually get calcium from the water rather than their food. Calcium levels should be around twenty parts per million.

Test the water’s calcium levels with a calcium test kit. Having too much calcium will lead to several issues in your fry’s health.

Change the Water

To control the level of ammonia in your aquarium, change the water in the aquarium. Take note: a massive water change can easily throw off or alter the parameters in your aquarium for a while.

For fry, changes can become fatal. This means you need to change the water by 10 percent every 3 days.

Conclusion

When handling fry, it’s important to keep all this information in mind as they’re incredibly fragile.

Whether you are dealing with a small batch of fry, purposefully breeding fish as one of your hobbies, or expecting your first fry, the experience can be really stressful.

Just be extra cautious when taking care of them to raise healthy fry and see them through adulthood.