Baby clown killifish eat what the surface offers. Everything about this little rocket-shaped killifish points upward — the upturned mouth, the habit of hanging just beneath the surface film, the ambush lunge at anything small that lands or drifts overhead. Fry inherit the full design at miniature scale, so their first-weeks menu is defined by two rules: the food must be tiny, and it must arrive at the top of the water, because food on the substrate might as well be in another tank.
Infusoria for the first days at the surface
Infusoria carry baby clown killifish through their opening days. Newly hatched fry are slender and small-mouthed, and a rearing tank rich in floating plants — water sprite, salvinia, riccia — comes pre-stocked with the microscopic life grazing on those plants. Green water or cultured infusoria added at the surface keeps a constant low level of food in exactly the layer the fry patrol. Skipping this stage and opening with powdered food alone is the commonest cause of a batch dwindling in week one: the food was present, but almost none of it was small enough or alive enough.
Microworms and baby brine shrimp at the film
Microworms and newly hatched baby brine shrimp take over once baby clown killifish are snapping visibly at the surface. Both float or hang in the top layer long enough to be picked off one by one, and their movement provokes the strike that still food does not. Sprinkle feeds across the whole surface rather than in one corner, since fry stationed under distant plant rafts will not travel far to compete. Powdered fry food dusted lightly onto the film can bridge a failed hatch, though growth on live food alone is visibly faster and survival noticeably better.
The lid, the plants, and the calm surface
Cover is a feeding tool for baby clown killifish, not just decoration. Fry under a raft of floating plants feed boldly and continuously; fry in an open, brightly lit tank hug the edges and startle at shadows, burning their tiny reserves on escape lunges — and this species jumps from the day it can swim, so a gap-free lid protects the same fry the plants are feeding. Keep filtration gentle, because a strong current sweeps surface food down and away before slow, deliberate fry finish inspecting it. A sponge filter turned low is usually all a fry tank needs.
Little and often, watched closely
Several light surface feedings a day suit baby clown killifish best. Their stomachs are minute, the surface clears quickly, and surplus powder rots in the film where the fry live, so small portions repeated through the day beat any single large feed. Siphon the bottom weekly with fine tubing, top up gently, and watch the school after each feed for the rounded silhouettes that confirm a successful round. Within a few weeks the bolder fry take crushed flake at the surface, but live food should stay in rotation while the smallest catch up. Sharing those repeated daily rounds via KinsLe's Care Teams means a named person owns each surface feed, and every finished round is stamped with its time.