Fry Bag

[furryrabbit]

im only 14 and have quite limited resources 4 my hobby. I plan on adding 4+ livebearers to my tank and was wondering: if I were to place the fry in one of the bags that you buy fish in and keep that in the tank -to maintain temperature etc. would this be adequate for some rate of survival. which livebearer would you recommend??

 

[bucsfan914]

i would recommend buying at least a breeder trap to put the fry in...i dont think they will do to well in the fish bags.

 

[Annastasia]

You won't want to use a bag. Since it won't allow any water flow (which isn't good), or water from the main tank, it will be impossible to keep cycled. You definitely don't want to keep fry in something uncycled. I'd go for a breeder net. Either way, you can only keep the fry in there for a few weeks, without risking stunting. Since you seem to suggest you don't have the resources to set up a fry tank (which would be the best) you could keep the fry in a breeder net for a few weeks, and then move them into the tank with the adults. If you add in some floating plants and hiding places, you should get some survivors.

What Livebearer depends on what size tank you're looking at. What kind of water do you have? Are you looking to keep any other fish with them?

And good for you, doing your research before you buy fish! A common beginner mistake is not researching, and you've nipped that in the bud. Have you read all the Livebearer Pinned topics and FAQs too?

 

[Tolak]

Here's an angel fry trick you may want to try, it works for angels if you have 2 batches of young swimmers that are more than a couple of days apart.

If you have a 10 gallon tank running, get a 1 gallon glass jar. Make sure it is clean, you don't want any leftover pickled tomatoes or whatever left in it. Put this in the 10 gallon, with a small cycled sponge filter. The heater in the 10 gallon will keep the 1 gallon warm, and you put the fry in the 1 gallon. Make sure the water level in the 10 gallon is below the top of the gallon jar. You can keep anything you want in the 10 gallon. Once the fry are bigger than the adults mouths, they can go in with them. The jar gives them much more room than a breeder net, and you can get them for free, check most any Italian restaurant, they go through them like crazy.

Doing things on the cheap is one of the most enjoyable aspects of aquatics for me. If I could figure out a cheap way to build heaters, I'd be doing it. I'll crack that nut someday.