How To Raise Fry? And.... Is My Female Pregnant?

[OldMan47]

Do your big clean before seeding that new filter. Most stores only carry java moss if they carry any at all. Things like Christmas moss are much harder to find locally. Fish food is one of the things that can produce ammonia which is what it will take to keep the new filter's bacteria developing. I have gone as far as to do the filter cleaning while I had fish in the tank when I got fish unexpectedly and didn't have a cycled filter. It didn't seem to bother them much but it did a good job of kick-starting the new filter. The entire cycle is often done in just a few days with that approach and I have never seen it take over a week. In my mind it makes a big difference when I get caught short and don't have a cycled filter when the fish come home.
I usually keep a few filters running on established tanks so that a fish club auction buy can be set up in a new tank with no trouble, but sometimes there are more nice fish at an auction than I anticipated and I need to cycle a filter in a hurry.

 

[Amberleaf]

Okay, so I cleaned the tank and set up the sponge filter in it; but the water didn't turn cloudy. Is that a bad sign? GOD, that thing is noisy -- maybe I shouldn't have set it up in my room but I want to do things RIGHT! XD Still need to go to Big Al's and get the java moss and a thermometer; what kind of food is best for fry?

 

[OldMan47]

Just cleaning the tank and getting the filter set up will not make the tank water cloudy but cleaning the mature filter in the tank will do it if the filter needs cleaning at all.
Fry food is basically the same thing that you feed the adults except that it must be small enough to fit in the fry's mouth. For a platy that will often be a flake food that is high in vegetable or algae content. If you pinch a bit between your finger tips it will turn to a coarse powder and be small enough to feed to the fry. Other good foods that can be used sparingly are brine shrimp that you hatch yourself or daphnia that are often available frozen.

 

[Amberleaf]

Yeah, well, does cleaning mean just dipping the filter packet and sponge into the tank a few times? Because that was all my Mom let me do.... Are you saying that I should really, like, squeeze the filter (which part? The sponge or the little packet?) to get it cleaned?

 

[Amberleaf]

Oh, and also, here are some pictures of the platy who *might* be pregnant. ^^; The first one is just of her belly (her head isn't showing, I believe....)

Look, you can see her white spot by her anal fin. ^^; And I realize she is looking like a male in that one, but I assure you that Neika is most definitely a female (she's fat and HUGE); hold on, I need a better pic.

Oh yeah! And that's my male. He was stalking Neika. ^^;

And here is the other female (on the left), and you can see Neika in the background. ^^;

Sorry I don't have better pictures. Dx But she looks like she IS pregnant, right?!

When I look at her from above (but I don't often get to see her like that -- she dashes off too fast), she looks like she has swallowed a football. Yikes!

Oh, and also; I called Big Al's today and they said they had Java Moss. ^^;

So, nows, my fry to-get list (my Dad is taking me tomorrow) is:

Java Moss
Fry Food
Another Light (mine broke; anywhoo, if it gets fixed I would still like two lights, as they are those flimsy little things that go on the corners of fish tanks)

And there *MIGHT* have been something else but I can't remember exactly *WHAT*!!!!

Oh, and for the last picture; any chance the other female might be with fry, too? ^^;

 

[OldMan47]

I actually squeeze out the sponges in my filters to clean them and doing it to a new filter will give the filter some of the right bacteria to work with. It won't totally coat the new filter media with good bacteria but will give a big enough head start to seriously shorten a typical cycle. My filters are usually not very clean, unless I have cleaned them in the last week or two, so I can often take one that has been uncleaned on the tank for a month and get quite a good start for my new filter from it.

 

[Amberleaf]

Well, I'll take the sponge part of my filter right now and squeeze it out, then. ^^;

Actually, I have to get off the computer in a few mins, so I'll do it then~ ^^;

I sure hope to raise some good fry! ^^;

 

[Amberleaf]

Would it be alright to maybe turn the filter off at night when the tank has somewhat cycled? 'Cause I couldn't sleep well last night on account of how loud it was and had to sleep on my sister's couch. =/

 

[Harlequins]

Its not a good idea to turn any filter off,the bacteria will start to die off if its turned off,

 

[Amberleaf]

Okay.... Thanks. I used to turn my filter in my big tank off, but since this 5-gallon is a pretty new set-up, I'm just not *SURE*!!!!