Can a tank be literally "over-fryed"?
- Thread starter Rocky998
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OP
OP
Somehow they all die in there
Up the water changes - both quantity and volume - as the number of fry increases and as they get bigger, both because more/bigger fish means increased fish waste, but also because fry grow better and faster in pristine, regularly changed water. Yes, fry tanks can be "overstocked" compared to a normal tank, but yes, they can become too crowded/too hard to maintain at a certain point too. That point really depends on you, and how many fry you're producing that are surviving to a decent size.
But if you're not testing the water in the fry tank, you're not going to know when you've reached that point. What's your water change routine on it now, and how old are the eldest fry? How close are they to being old enough to rehome?
But if you're not testing the water in the fry tank, you're not going to know when you've reached that point. What's your water change routine on it now, and how old are the eldest fry? How close are they to being old enough to rehome?
Depends on the store owner really. Most won't want to take newly hatched fry, but they might be more willing to take the eldest, largest fry that are getting close to selling age. Always worth asking! My previous store was happy to take my livebearer youngsters when they were around 3 months old as he could sell them straight away, and we were on friendly terms after a while of this, and me being a regular customer. When I then was going on holiday and was concerned about the fry I had at the time, he agreed to take all of my fry, including newborns, so I could go away without fretting about the tanks. He just kept the tiny ones in a tank out back of the store. It's worth being on good terms with your LFS when you can.
You could also network with other fishkeepers in your area. Join clubs, FB groups etc. Find other people local to you who might be interested in the same fish, and willing to either take and raise a spawn or two, or at least to find homes for the fry once they're old enough. You've gotta think about what you're going to do with all these fish if you successfully raise them too.
OP
OP
I change over 50% every week on Fridays. (Sometimes saturday if Friday doesnt work)
OP
OP
Not joking when I say there are no groups within an hour radius.
I don't know the size of the tank/number of occupants/filtration etc, so can't advise on how often you need to change the water, but just as an example - my usual tanks of adults are lightly stocked, and parameters remain fine with 50-70% W/C weekly, cleaning the substrate at the same time. But with nursery tanks, especially with a large amount of fry needing fed often, I raise that to 3-4 times per week 50% minimum. The more fry, and the bigger they get, the more often I've needed to change the water to keep the parameters in a good place.
You're gonna need to think about what to do with these fry once they're old enough to begin fighting or mating, and need to be rehomed. Find out if there's a store or supplier who will buy them, sell to people privately yourself etc.
OP
OP
Its a 10 gallon long aquarium.
These fish take 6 months to tech sexual maturity, so I am not worried about mating at all...
And probably max amount of WCs I can do a week is 2 or 3... I'm busy a lot and dont have time for 3-4 water changes a week.
2-3 might be enough, without numbers for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, you won't know, which is why testing is important
OP
OP
Testing right now2-3 might be enough, without numbers for ammonia/nitrite/nitrate, you won't know, which is why testing is important
In my rearing tanks, when the fry were a month old and eating newly hatched brineshrimp and other foods, I would do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day. The fry were fed 3-5 times a day and given as much food as they could eat.
You don't keep adding batches of fry to a rearing tank because the bigger fry eventually eat the new smaller ones.
You get some large plastic storage containers or buckets or whatever holds water, and put new batches in their own container to grow up.
If you only have a small tank to do water changes on, fill up a couple of buckets with water and have them sit near the tank. Each day a couple of hours after feeding, remove a bucket of water from the aquarium and replace it with some clean water. It will take 5 minutes and help keep the water cleaner for the babies.
Don't give the fry to the shops, they will die, get eaten or be ignored and end up wherever. Just grow them up and sell them when they are about 1 inch long. If your going to give them away while small, you may as well not even bother taking them out of the parents tank.
You don't keep adding batches of fry to a rearing tank because the bigger fry eventually eat the new smaller ones.
You get some large plastic storage containers or buckets or whatever holds water, and put new batches in their own container to grow up.
If you only have a small tank to do water changes on, fill up a couple of buckets with water and have them sit near the tank. Each day a couple of hours after feeding, remove a bucket of water from the aquarium and replace it with some clean water. It will take 5 minutes and help keep the water cleaner for the babies.
Don't give the fry to the shops, they will die, get eaten or be ignored and end up wherever. Just grow them up and sell them when they are about 1 inch long. If your going to give them away while small, you may as well not even bother taking them out of the parents tank.
OP
OP
I guess I could let them "vanish" in the parent's tank but that feels wrong...
But if its the only option I will. I just dont have the space for aquariums and containers everywhere
Then your not an insanely dedicated fish keeper then, are you
Also the extra food can make things go haywire. You may have to do daily water changes.
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