Filter And Fry

[rosebud280282]

I just got my new tank set up in time for my platy to have her fry. I put her in the new tank and shes had more, I'm just worried will they get sucked into the filter?

 

[walker001]

Which kind of filter do you have? If it is a HOB (hang on back) like a Bio-Wheel model, it could actually work in your favor. Just turn it off and look in the filter box and see if any are swimming around in there. Heck, thats the only way I ever caught fry/ If its a cannister filter, you may want to take an old pair of nylons and clip the toe out and put it over the intake part in the water and rubber band it on so nothing but water can pass through for the time being.

Good luck! Hope you catch some and are successful in raising them.

Walker

 

[cichlidtank]

A very valid concern. Here's some suggestions: you can net the fry in a breeder net, cover the filter intake with a piece of a stocking (reduces the effectiveness of the filter and this doesn't that great- they can still be caught by the suction almost as easy and you risk getting the stocking stuck in the filter's empeller mechanisms), or divide the take with either a pre-made take divider or a stocking stretched out over a coat hanger.

 

[Annastasia]

Which kind of filter do you have? If it is a HOB (hang on back) like a Bio-Wheel model, it could actually work in your favor. Just turn it off and look in the filter box and see if any are swimming around in there. Heck, thats the only way I ever caught fry/ If its a cannister filter, you may want to take an old pair of nylons and clip the toe out and put it over the intake part in the water and rubber band it on so nothing but water can pass through for the time being.

Good luck! Hope you catch some and are successful in raising them.

Walker

I've also found some chopped up fry o) in the filter too, so I'm not sure you'd want to use that as a means to catch them. Preventing them from getting in the filter is the safest bet. Pantyhose or a breeder net works well for that. The fry are usually smart enough and strong enough to get away from the suction. If you can turn the power down on the filter some, that'd be best. Just make sure it's still doing an adequete job.

 

[Tolak]

Use a filter sponge. Get an Aqua clear 20 sponge, or something similar. Stab a hole in it with a sharp knife & slide it over the intake. It plugs less than screen or stocking, and adds that much more media to your filtration.

 

[neon_platy]

as my note, i use an airstone and cover the filter with stocking as I had that happen where the first fry i had and saved from being eaten, survived 2 weeks only to be sucked in the filter and then by the time i noticed it was gone and not hiding, it was already dead in teh filter...the rubber band idea is great, I enver thought of htat as I cut them short then usually stretch them up so that it's just a thin layer over the intake instead of being bunched up, but i have found maybe with the rubberband it won't do this, but it still get's kinda tangled and of course filtration isn't as good...i've never seen the sponge thing everyone mentions so i'm pretty sure it's not just a normal sponge obviously, which is why i think the panty hose idea is the best...or the tank divider, as i have that in my 55 gallon and i have a handful of fry in there still