So many fry...

[TorPeteO]

Hello fellow livebearaholics,

I noticed my female swordtail was pregnant again a few days ago, but I assumed there wouldn't be many fry because in past litters I've only managed to save about 1 or (max) 2 fry, and undoubtedly zero from some.

This morning, however, I saw about 20 of them hiding behind the breeding net in my tank. I tried to catch as may as I could, and managed to find 15 before I could catch anymore. I saw one get snatched mid-water by a neon, it was kind of funny to see a neon do that. Maybe that's why mine are so big.

So, including the fry that was already in there, I've now got 16 fry in a 12 x 16 cm breeding net, which I realize is a problem. They'd be in there for months before they grew large enough to be released, unless they died first.

I've got a 2.5 g and a 5 g tank, both empty, in my house which could be used as grow-out tanks. I haven't got a cycled filter, though. I could put an undergravel style filter (with no gravel) in there, or I could just put an airstone. I can't devote to myself that I'd be able to do a water change daily, although I'm pretty sure I could do one every other day or so. What would you guys recommend?

Thanks a lot,
Peter

 

[yvez9]

i have a 50 gallon growout tank! lol

you could just put them in the 5 gallon tank and buy a cheap sponge filter. Let the sponge filter run for a week or so in your established tank and it will be cycled.

Then do as many water changes as you can on the fry tank.

 

[TorPeteO]

Until I get the sponge filter cycled and in the tank, can I put them in the 5 gallon with an undergravel? Do undergravel filters pose any serious threats to small fry? I know that will pretty much just be keeping water moving, and oxygenating the water, but I don't think it would hurt until I can get actual biological filtration in there.

Thanks for the help!

 

[Polardbear]

I've used an UGF in a 10 gallon fry tank and didn't have any problems. I'd still get the sponge filter though and use both. You could put the sponge filter in your other tank for a week or so and then put it in your 5 gallon. I'd leave the fry in the net for the week that your prepping the sponge and then move them if you can't get to water changes. I think the ammonia is hard on the little guys. For a week it wouldn't be that crowded.

 

[TorPeteO]

I didn't read your post until after I'd already moved them, polardbear. My reasoning was that I probably can manage water changes pretty much every day, or at least every other day, of about 30-50%. I figure that will keep the ammonia and nitrite down, especially since they're all so low on the bioload chart.

I didn't buy a sponge filter per se, but I bought a Penn Plax Clear-Free filter...it's a lot like a sponge, air pump attached to some dealie, which pumps air through and triggers a biological colony on the sponge. It's currently in my 15 gallon, takin' bacteria from there.

Thanks for all the help!

 

[vidiots]

I use an undergravel filter in my 10gal fry tank. I have the filter plate covered with a sheet of filter foam and snug against the sides so there are no cracks for the fry to get stuck in. or you run into the same problem you do with coarse gravel and fry getting stuck in it. I imagine that you could also use a fine gravel that was big enough not to fall through holes in the plate but small enough to eliminate crevices for the fry to get into. My UGF with the filter foam has been working for months with no problems. I just set a dirty filter cartridge from power filter in the bottom of the tank on top of the foam on the filter plate for a couple weeks to jump start the cycle. I guess it works like cross between one of those Hamburg Matten filters and a standard UGF. I used fishing line and a sewing needle to attach the bottom of the foam to the filter plate.

A benifit of using the foam instead of gravel is that the food bits don't fall down into the gravel and just sit on top where it is easy for the fry to find and eat every last bit keeping the top of the foam clean. I have yet to see a need to clean the top of the foam.

 

[thrdwatchfan]

Hello all, I have a question... I just had a batch of Swordtail frys and was wondering why you have to do water changes everyday? I have them in a 10 gallon tank with an UGF with gravel.. How often should I do water changes and such? I'm new to the breeding thing and find it very exciting to have new babies... Thanks

 

[Jen]

I set up a 5 gal with a sponge filter and then a little HOB filter that came on one of those 1/2 gal candy cubes when they could swim stronger and not get sucked up into the filter. I half filled it with water from the tank they were in, and a handfull of gravel. I had the babies in a nursing/breeding net thing and let the 5 gal run for a day and then put them in. I had no problems and the babes are still going strong a year later.


thrdwatchfan - from what I have been told, the fry grow faster and stronger in water that is very clean. I did a change only once a week and had no problems at all. They never looked sick or like they were breathing heavily. If you have good filtration then you can probably go longer than every day without hurting the fish