Need Help! Baby Glo Fish...

[cassie1986]

hi my names cassie, i just joined this website because i need some help. i have a glo fish (danio) that layed eggs. they have hatched into 200 or more baby fish about 3-4 days ago. i have removed the momma and they are by themselves in a 10 gallon tank with a filter that dosent work the best but it does some of the job.. they look good, i have been crushing fish flakes to power like food and feeding them whenever i can. my main concern is the water.. it has been clear since they have hatched but today i noticed what looks like mucus at the bottom of the tank on the rocks and they water is getting cloudy. what do i do? the fry is so tiny you can barely see them. im scared and dont want them to die. how do i clean the tank without killing them? i cant even catch them.. can i put a sucker fish in the tank? please help. thanks cassie

 

[Assaye]

Hi Cassie!

Relax.

You need to do three things:

1) Make sure the filter is doing it's job by testing the water. You need to test for ammonia and nitrites. If these even come a tiny bit above zero they can kill your delicate little babies. You'll need a liquid testing kit such as the Salifert, API, Nutrafin or Sera ones. If the levels are above zero, you need to do a series of small water changes. Normally we'd recommend some massive ones to get the levels down fast but we don't want to shock the babies. Doing 4 or 5 little ones thought the day should be better.

2) Feed them a good diet - crushed flake is OK for now but try to get hold of some baby brine shrimp or vinegar eels, or a dedicated liquid fry food.

3) Do tiny, regular water changes using a bit of thin tubing as a syphon. Airline tubing is ideal for this - it removes water slowly and isn't too powerful so if you watch carefully while you "hoover" the bottom of the tank, you shouldn't suck up any babies. This will also remove any uneaten food, mucus and baby poop.

Good luck and keep posting. We'd love to hear how they grow up!

 

[cassie1986]

hey thanks so much! u are such a great help.. i might have done something i shouldnt have.. ooops i added a small cup of water from my other fish tank that is the same temp as my 10 gallon tank.. my fishys seem to be doing fine. do u know if walmart carries liquid testing kits? and where would i find "airline tubing" ,lol im new to all of this.. so u dont recommened putting a sucker fish with the babies?

 

[Assaye]

hey thanks so much! u are such a great help.. i might have done something i shouldnt have.. ooops i added a small cup of water from my other fish tank that is the same temp as my 10 gallon tank.. my fishys seem to be doing fine. do u know if walmart carries liquid testing kits? and where would i find "airline tubing" ,lol im new to all of this.. so u dont recommened putting a sucker fish with the babies?

No, don't get a sucker fish. They won't eat the poop anyway and many get too big or will be too aggressive for the babies and their little tank. Babies might get eaten and the new fish will produce a lot of poop and make the water bad.

Walmart should sell test kits or you can buy them online. Airline tubing is something like this - thin, flexible, fish safe tubing. Walmart or another local fish store should stock it.

Check out the links here. They might not help specifically with the babies but there is lots of great general fishkeeping information.