Guppy Fry: Small Tank Set Up...

[bogwood]

I have a small 12x8x8 inch glass tank - with plastic cover - that I'm thinking of using as a guppy fry tank. It has a 25w heater and a Hagen Elite Mini filter.

Is this set up suitable for fry? It will have around an inch of sand (could be fine gravel if it makes a difference) as substrate, and a clump of java moss and some floating Indian Fern for cover. There is no lighting facility - does this matter?. My main concerned is that any fry will get sucked up, into the filter?

 

[seanc]

The lightning will not be needed; lightning is more for your benefit than theirs, and the java moss will not suffer from low light levels: the ambient light should suffice, not too sure on the fern though. The set up should be ok except for the filter as they can be sucked up very easily. I suggest you use a divider to seperate the filter from the rest of the tank: it will remove a little room but should keep your fry safe. You don't necessarily need any substrate in the tank; just vacuum syphon the waste from the bottom, and make sure you check your bucket for any fry you inadvertantly syphoned with it.

Good luck!

 

[Annastasia]

Instead of dividing off an already smallish tank, just put a breeder net or pantyhose over the intake. That will prevent the fry from being sucked into the filter.

How many fry are you thinking of putting in there, and for how long? I'm guessing that tank is under 5 gallons, which means you could probably only keep the fry in there for 1-2 months max....