Round Two!! Finchy + Ruby
- Thread starter Iggy
- Start date
I did my first water change a few days ago. The water level had really dropped (down to 4" deep) and the bottom of the tank was getting really scummy from bbs eggs and green algea.
I made a mini siphon using a piece or rigid airline tubing and some flexible air tubing. I cleaned about 1/2 the tank bottom and poured the waste water into a clean container to check for fry (none this time).
I used aged, treated water that I pre-heated using a tank heater in the bucket to match the water temperature in the fry tank. I then used my mini-siphon to add the water back into the tank, using a very slow flow and pouring the water over the submerged tank heater so it would not distrub the water too much. I raised the water level back to 1/2 full for now.
I was really concerned about doing a water change, because if you do it wrong (diff temps/untreated/stress) you can loose your fry! I took my time and made only a small change for now.
It has been two days since the change and the fry show no bad signs, so I am hoping all is well with the water change.
They are now moving a lot more, some are getting really big while others are still quite small. On average, the majority are growing really well, about 3/8" now at 3 weeks.
I made a mini siphon using a piece or rigid airline tubing and some flexible air tubing. I cleaned about 1/2 the tank bottom and poured the waste water into a clean container to check for fry (none this time).
I used aged, treated water that I pre-heated using a tank heater in the bucket to match the water temperature in the fry tank. I then used my mini-siphon to add the water back into the tank, using a very slow flow and pouring the water over the submerged tank heater so it would not distrub the water too much. I raised the water level back to 1/2 full for now.
I was really concerned about doing a water change, because if you do it wrong (diff temps/untreated/stress) you can loose your fry! I took my time and made only a small change for now.
It has been two days since the change and the fry show no bad signs, so I am hoping all is well with the water change.
They are now moving a lot more, some are getting really big while others are still quite small. On average, the majority are growing really well, about 3/8" now at 3 weeks.
I just started my 5th micro worm culture. The first one just died out, the 2nd one is going strong, the 3rd one just started going and the 4th one is ready to use.
I prefer the micro worms because they make less of a mess on the bottom of the tank, however I think my fry like the baby brine shrimp more.
I did my first body count, I am probably closer to 200 fry! OMG 100 +/- jars!!!! Holy Cow!!!
Right now I am cycling a 40 gallon for my goldfish, so my 17gal will be ready for the betta fry in 3 to 4 weeks. I have another 3 weeks before I fill the 10gal to the top, then a couple weeks before I move them to the 17gal, then soon after, I will need to jar (seperate) the aggresive fry.
Thats a whole lotta mouths to feed!
I prefer the micro worms because they make less of a mess on the bottom of the tank, however I think my fry like the baby brine shrimp more.
I did my first body count, I am probably closer to 200 fry! OMG 100 +/- jars!!!! Holy Cow!!!
Right now I am cycling a 40 gallon for my goldfish, so my 17gal will be ready for the betta fry in 3 to 4 weeks. I have another 3 weeks before I fill the 10gal to the top, then a couple weeks before I move them to the 17gal, then soon after, I will need to jar (seperate) the aggresive fry.
Thats a whole lotta mouths to feed!
Arrgg I killed one!
I accidentally killed one of my fry during a water change today
My mini-airline siphon was cleaning the dirty tank bottom and I accidentally picked up 3 betta fry. One of them looks like it got pinched by the edge of the siphon during cleaning, and he was dead
I got the other two back in the tank.... I feel quite bad about it, and I will be a lot more careful next time, but the tank needs cleaning or I stand to loose them all.
Boy, I have 8 micro worm cultures going and 1 bbs factory and I can tell you, I am having trouble keeping their bellies full (all +/- 199 of them)!
I accidentally killed one of my fry during a water change today
My mini-airline siphon was cleaning the dirty tank bottom and I accidentally picked up 3 betta fry. One of them looks like it got pinched by the edge of the siphon during cleaning, and he was dead
I got the other two back in the tank.... I feel quite bad about it, and I will be a lot more careful next time, but the tank needs cleaning or I stand to loose them all.
Boy, I have 8 micro worm cultures going and 1 bbs factory and I can tell you, I am having trouble keeping their bellies full (all +/- 199 of them)!
awww... the fry are cute!
And sorry about the death of the fry.
Now, I'm using a small gravel cleaner to do the tank clean up instead, since it has a longer piece for fry to escape before it gets to the tube. What I also found is that I can use my other hand to hold the water-out-end of the tube, and I can always stop the water flow by blocking the hole. So even if I accidentally suck a fry, I can immediately stop the water flow, and the fry can escape. This works out pretty well and I didn't suck up any fry recently. I can imagine the cleaning task is much tougher for you... as your tank is filled with frys! Good luck!
And sorry about the death of the fry.
Now, I'm using a small gravel cleaner to do the tank clean up instead, since it has a longer piece for fry to escape before it gets to the tube. What I also found is that I can use my other hand to hold the water-out-end of the tube, and I can always stop the water flow by blocking the hole. So even if I accidentally suck a fry, I can immediately stop the water flow, and the fry can escape. This works out pretty well and I didn't suck up any fry recently. I can imagine the cleaning task is much tougher for you... as your tank is filled with frys! Good luck!
Ya, so many fry in a small floorspace makes it a little harder to clean. Plus, the fry seem attracted to the siphon tube, so they are always getting in the way!
I can pinch and stop the water flow, but what happened is that I pushed the siphon tube against the bottom of the tank and that ended up pinching the little fry!
I also got 4 or 5 guppie fry on Saturday, and they were in danger from getting eaten by the other adult guppies in the tank, so I used a turkey baster, sucked them up and dropped them into the betta fry tank!!!
So now, I have 199 betta fry and 5 guppy fry. They are not bothering each other at all, and the guppies are getting a chanse to eat good fry food and grow up a little before I put them back into the guppy tank.
I can pinch and stop the water flow, but what happened is that I pushed the siphon tube against the bottom of the tank and that ended up pinching the little fry!
I also got 4 or 5 guppie fry on Saturday, and they were in danger from getting eaten by the other adult guppies in the tank, so I used a turkey baster, sucked them up and dropped them into the betta fry tank!!!
So now, I have 199 betta fry and 5 guppy fry. They are not bothering each other at all, and the guppies are getting a chanse to eat good fry food and grow up a little before I put them back into the guppy tank.
A change in behavior
My fry are acting a little different the past two days. I last did a water change a couple days ago, and I raised the water level in the 10gal to just over 1/2 full capacity. The water is about 8" deep now. I also increased the air flow to my bubble filter.
I think the labyrith organ has develloped in most of the fry, just because now they are hanging around the surface and taking little breaths like my adults do.
Some are now a good 1/2 inch (12mm) long, and have all the fin formations started, and even some little ventral fins showing.
They recognize me now too, and swim to the front of the tank to get ready for food when they see me come close. Its kind of neat having a few hundred pair of eyes focused on you.
So far, this has been a real enjoyable experience. I am still very worried about screwing up or the fish getting sick on me. I am not sure if I want to do this again in the future, but so far it has been everything I expected it would be.
I am leaning how to get the most out of my food supply. My micro-worm colonies (all 7 of them) were not making a lot of food, so I had to find a way to simulate them. I now put them ontop of the tank light cover, so they get a little heat, and they reproduce a lot quicker and crawl up the sides. I also have to add more yeast more frequently to keep the worms well fed.
I added a 2nd BBS bottle for food also. I have two 2l pop bottles in a small cooler filled with water and a heater set at 80F. It takes about 24 hours for BBS to appear and I can usually get a little more on the 2nd day as well.
My fry are acting a little different the past two days. I last did a water change a couple days ago, and I raised the water level in the 10gal to just over 1/2 full capacity. The water is about 8" deep now. I also increased the air flow to my bubble filter.
I think the labyrith organ has develloped in most of the fry, just because now they are hanging around the surface and taking little breaths like my adults do.
Some are now a good 1/2 inch (12mm) long, and have all the fin formations started, and even some little ventral fins showing.
They recognize me now too, and swim to the front of the tank to get ready for food when they see me come close. Its kind of neat having a few hundred pair of eyes focused on you.
So far, this has been a real enjoyable experience. I am still very worried about screwing up or the fish getting sick on me. I am not sure if I want to do this again in the future, but so far it has been everything I expected it would be.
I am leaning how to get the most out of my food supply. My micro-worm colonies (all 7 of them) were not making a lot of food, so I had to find a way to simulate them. I now put them ontop of the tank light cover, so they get a little heat, and they reproduce a lot quicker and crawl up the sides. I also have to add more yeast more frequently to keep the worms well fed.
I added a 2nd BBS bottle for food also. I have two 2l pop bottles in a small cooler filled with water and a heater set at 80F. It takes about 24 hours for BBS to appear and I can usually get a little more on the 2nd day as well.
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Well, after the above post, I started a new thread:
' My fry are dieing'
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12963
I lost around 70 fry because the 'Change in behaviour' was in fact Nitrite poisoning from my tank load being too high and my water changes too small to handle the build-up.
I was planning on getting rid of about 100 anyway (feeders for Earl) because 200 is NOT MANAGABLE. However, I would have preferred to do it on purpose and with control instead of by accident.
The fry are now in two tanks, 1 x 10gal and 1 x 5 gal. My 38 gal tank is not done cycling (nitrite spiking) so I cannot remove my small goldfish from my 17 gal, where most of the fry females will end up.
I have stopped the micro-worm feeding. My mentor breeder says that microworms are not very nutritious. I am feeding Sera Mikropan for older fry and a little BBS. In a few days, I will stop the BBS entirely.
I am also reducing the tank tempeature. It was 80-82F for a long time, and now I am bringing it down to 78F, and eventually to 74 - 76F. Why? Because most LFS betta tanks are only 72F, so I don't want my bettas to go into shock when I sell or trade them in!
The fry are now up to 5/8" (16mm) long, some show red on fins already, and the larger fry are getting a little nippy.
The 5gal has less fish, but the bigger ones. I will leave the smaller runts in the 10gal after I move the rest to my 17gal tank in a few days. Hopefully, this will give the runts some time to catch-up. If they don't.... I will feed them to Earl (my Gourami)
Thats it for now! New pics next post!
'
My fry are dieing'http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=12963
I lost around 70 fry because the 'Change in behaviour' was in fact Nitrite poisoning from my tank load being too high and my water changes too small to handle the build-up.
I was planning on getting rid of about 100 anyway (feeders for Earl) because 200 is NOT MANAGABLE. However, I would have preferred to do it on purpose and with control instead of by accident.
The fry are now in two tanks, 1 x 10gal and 1 x 5 gal. My 38 gal tank is not done cycling (nitrite spiking) so I cannot remove my small goldfish from my 17 gal, where most of the fry females will end up.
I have stopped the micro-worm feeding. My mentor breeder says that microworms are not very nutritious. I am feeding Sera Mikropan for older fry and a little BBS. In a few days, I will stop the BBS entirely.
I am also reducing the tank tempeature. It was 80-82F for a long time, and now I am bringing it down to 78F, and eventually to 74 - 76F. Why? Because most LFS betta tanks are only 72F, so I don't want my bettas to go into shock when I sell or trade them in!
The fry are now up to 5/8" (16mm) long, some show red on fins already, and the larger fry are getting a little nippy.
The 5gal has less fish, but the bigger ones. I will leave the smaller runts in the 10gal after I move the rest to my 17gal tank in a few days. Hopefully, this will give the runts some time to catch-up. If they don't.... I will feed them to Earl (my Gourami)
Thats it for now! New pics next post!
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More than 200 betta's
OK, my 38gal finally cycled, and I moved all my golds into it which freed up my 17 gallon.
I took 50 of the largest betta fry out of my 10 gallon, and 30 of my big betta fry out of my 5 gallon, plus the 4 guppy fry and moved them into my 17 gallon LONG tank (it has the base of a 33 gallon, just short).
I still have 30 fry in my 5 gallon and about 100 in my 10 gallon!!!!
So, my first spawn was 30 + 80 + 100 + about 50 dead (nitrite poisioning) = 260 fry.
Man, even now, I need over 100 jars!!!! I still might have to get rid of about 1/3 of them, but I want to wait till I can sex them first and see if any defects appear.
I am feeding the fry Sera Micropan (like mini betta bites for fry), and no more BBS or microworms. I have had 3 fat little fry that eat too much and get swim-bladder already, so I have to cut back the food to keep the tank healthier.
No nipping or fighting yet, but soon I imagine.
OK, my 38gal finally cycled, and I moved all my golds into it which freed up my 17 gallon.
I took 50 of the largest betta fry out of my 10 gallon, and 30 of my big betta fry out of my 5 gallon, plus the 4 guppy fry and moved them into my 17 gallon LONG tank (it has the base of a 33 gallon, just short).
I still have 30 fry in my 5 gallon and about 100 in my 10 gallon!!!!
So, my first spawn was 30 + 80 + 100 + about 50 dead (nitrite poisioning) = 260 fry.
Man, even now, I need over 100 jars!!!! I still might have to get rid of about 1/3 of them, but I want to wait till I can sex them first and see if any defects appear.
I am feeding the fry Sera Micropan (like mini betta bites for fry), and no more BBS or microworms. I have had 3 fat little fry that eat too much and get swim-bladder already, so I have to cut back the food to keep the tank healthier.
No nipping or fighting yet, but soon I imagine.
CUPS! CUPS! NEVER CUPS!
I have enough glass and small tanks to build enought space for about 30 betta's right now, so that means another 30 to 50 jars or I need more glass/spare tanks.
Maybe I will pick-up a bunch of clear food containers (3/4 gallons) - its really the lids that concern me.
My barracks design keep changing... I am spending a whole lot of money on fish supplies (about $120 to $250 per month) for the past few months so I need to keep my spending down before my wife takes me out back and shoots me!
Simplicity for now... build barracks with the glass/silicone I have now, and use 1/2 gal jars, tubs, anything clear for the rest of the fish.
I have enough glass and small tanks to build enought space for about 30 betta's right now, so that means another 30 to 50 jars or I need more glass/spare tanks.
Maybe I will pick-up a bunch of clear food containers (3/4 gallons) - its really the lids that concern me.
My barracks design keep changing... I am spending a whole lot of money on fish supplies (about $120 to $250 per month) for the past few months so I need to keep my spending down before my wife takes me out back and shoots me!
Simplicity for now... build barracks with the glass/silicone I have now, and use 1/2 gal jars, tubs, anything clear for the rest of the fish.
