Fry.....

[Haych]

right, yesterday i cleaned out the pump as 1, i expected fry to be in there, 2, i have had some issues with the tank.

well, i was right, there was FIVE squishies swimming around in the tetratec, which i rescued and put in the breeding net.

now, last night, i saw a tiny fry swimming around the tank, and to save me having to retrieve yet more from the pump, i thought i would put them ALL in the net. (i usually leave them in the tank to save being over run, but getting them out the pump is a pain in the bum!)

yet, when i looked, i didnt have SIX fry, i had four

now, this morning, there was another TWO fry in the tank, which i had assumed would happen as i have a very square guppy female. but when i caught the first one, and put him in the net, still only FOUR in the net. then there was one under the net, caught him, put him back, STILL only four!!

Kev came down, had a look, only THREE in the net and a squishy swimming round the back!!

now, i cant be chasing these little blighters round all day!

my question is this, CAN they escape (as i thought they werent supposed to be able to), or, is shylo sucking them through, eating them (even though he was no where near when the last one "escaped"), and what I am finding new stock (they do appear smaller than the three in the net)??

i am SOOO confused! and being taken for a mug

 

[Harlequins]

They're naughty little so n so's

Unless you have a very small hole in the net? or floating out over the top?

I know from past experience if its the floating traps with the holes in the bottom,they tend to get out of them.

 

[sami the cichlid]

well.... r the other fish interested in the net full of babies? once, one of my fish sucked a baby through a net to eat it! and it worked! have u checked for any size holes anywhere in the net? could the fry just be hiding under or behind the frame part of the net?

 

[aly_starh]

The net is like a safety thing, if im not wrong, its used so that when the fry are feeling in danger they can quickly swim up, into the net, then when they want to explore, they can do, through the holes in the net, and go down into the main tank. Or so ive heard

 

[Haych]

thanks for the replies guys

i have checked in the moss balls in there, and theyre not in there, but theyre not supposed to be able to escape (according to the pinned thread in the livebearers section) and i cant see any holes

i have a net one, not a plastic one, as i also learnt they can escape from these years ago lol

Shylo, my betta is GLUED to the side of the net, and does try to suck them through. he literally sleeps stuck to it so can get first dibbs! the bigger babies swim around the top of the net, the young ones tend to get tired and sleep on the bottom, which shylo tries to get.

TBH, i dont mind if thats the case, as i know its the life cycle, but i just dont wanna be chasing the same ones in and out the net twenty times a day its a nuisance! but at the same time, i couldnt see them stay in the filter, as i have seen first hand how it can CRIPPLE a fish - my friend found some in his eheim once, and the babies grew, but very bent and deformed.

the level of the net is out of the water so they cant get over the top, and as its suckered on, it doesnt move

i swear, the baby thats "escaped" keeps teasing me! kev thinks i'm nuts for keep catching him

 

[OldMan47]

Although such a net may exist, the typical fry trap or net is intended to contain the fry until they get big enough to survive in the main part of the tank. I have read lots of reports of fry being eaten by predators sucking them through the net but do not use nets myself. I have used traps when I was younger and never saw that kind of thing happen with them. On the other hand, a female confined to a trap or net will often jump out fairly quickly after being put into the trap.

 

[Haych]

no mother in there, just babies as they get sucked in the pump

 

[aly_starh]

If you really want them, then your best bet is too carry on with what you are doing unforunatley, but if not, then leave them to escape when they want, they may survive, but then on the other hand if they make food for some of your fishies its not really a bad thing.

Hope that helps

Not got experience of livebearer fry, as you can probarly tell.

 

[Haych]

lol dont worry betta_246, we're all as bad at different things!

i have had guppies for years, and usually i do have the policy of survival of the fittest, but dont want to make them disabled in the pump either

catch 22!

i will just have to check the pump every so often, a pain in the backside but obviously needed

 

[Haych]

well.... as much as some were escaping (turned the light off, one swam out passed me) i wasnt as mad as i originally thought!

i was getting rather narked today as i saw a fry swimming around, thought the little nuisance had escaped again, until kev had a look in the top and told me that all six were still in the net, and that i had two more swimming around...

so, i caught the two, put them in, and now had eight.... so i thought..... there is another one suddenly appeared... so i have nine!

someone must have dropped!

so, i now have eight in the net, and one more to catch when i see him.

so as much as the babies had been escaping, it may have been shylo DID manage to have a good snack and pull some through, as i definately have nine now, and originally only pulled five out of the pump!

 

[Harlequins]

How annoying having to keep getting them out the pump,why don't you put a stocking over the end of the intake?

 

[OldMan47]

If you just want to save the fry being sucked up by the filter's pump, you might try a filter sponge over the intake tube. I used one of these sponge filter inserts.

I cut a slit in one end and forced it over the end of the filter tube. It keeps my Heterandria formosa fry from being sucked up. This is the sponge in place after about 4 to 6 weeks, I don't recall exactly since it has now been there over a year.

 

[Haych]

thanks guys.

the thing is, i need the pump exposed, i do a daily "sweep" of the surface of the sand as i have two messy plecs and 6 corys to clean up after, and then i would have to clean that too.

theyre ok in the net for now! (i'll make kev work for his tea by sorting the pump for me )