When you receive the eggs you will check them daily to see if there are any dead ones. (White and opaque) The dead eggs will have to be removed because they get a fungus on them that can infect the healthy eggs & later the fish. A turkey baster works pretty well to remove dead eggs or use a siphon hose.
When the eggs hatch they will have their yolk sacs attached and will stay on the bottom feeding from the yolk sacs. Scoop out as many egg shells as possible with a net to keep them from building up in the filter, and then perform filter maintenance every other week if you have an inline system until you start to feed the fish.
When the yolk sacs disappear on about half of the fish, and they are swimming freely up the water column, it is time to remove the paper from the tank and to start spreading a pinch of feed (size 0) on the top of the water 3-4 times a day. Gradually increase the amount as more fish button up and start swimming. There should be just a little dust of left over feed on the bottom. If the feed is piling up on the bottom you are feeding too much. If you feed them often on Fridays, you should not have to come in on the weekends, but during school vacations they should be fed every other day at least. (It is totally fine to release your fry just before Spring Break, so you don’t have to feed over the vacation, or to purchase an automatic feeder) Remember to continue removing any dead alevins or fry daily.
As water evaporates from the tank, be sure to replace it so the tank remains full of water.
After you start feeding the salmon it is recommended that you remove 10 gallons of the water in the tank twice each week and replace it with clean water. Using a siphon hose & bucket makes the job easier. REMEMBER, IF YOUR WATER HAS CHLORINE; LET IT SIT 24 HOURS BEFORE ADDING TO THE TANK OR USE WATER CONDITIONER. Also, follow the directions on your water conditioner bottle and use regularly at this point. The mechanical (white) filter inserts should be rinsed once a week. If fish start dying, change out more water and rinse the white filter inserts more often.
If the bottom of the tank gets food build up you can use a siphon hose to clean it as needed.
Be sure the air pump is running so the fish get plenty of oxygen.
Yakima Basin Environmental Education Program 