# Setting up a Fry Tank



## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

*I need help With setting up a fry tank*

Ive got a small tank and some sponge filters so I was gonna set that up this afternoon for these yellow lab fry I have. What do I need to do? Are fry tanks supposed to be cycled ?? Should I transfer some of the bacteria from my big tank to the fry tank??


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## meyerhaus (Feb 27, 2006)

I would season the foam filter in a cycled tank for a couple days and then put them in the fry tank. You could also take some surface water from the cycled tank (without as much poo as scrum covered gravel water) and use that as part of the fill water. I always keep 1 seasoned in my 30 and 1 in my 38 for this very reason.


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

I need this tank now.. I have the fry in a holder but they real small and are getting out through the holes that it has for water circulation. I had 22 of'em last night, Im down to 5 now..


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## meyerhaus (Feb 27, 2006)

Then I would definately get some of the water from their present tank, add it to some clean water in the holding tank and use that sponge filter. You may have to do more frequent changes for awhile, but you know that. Make sure that the sponge filter is not bubbling too hard. If you have a control valve, use it to adjust the flow.

How do those little labs look?


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Oh No! Sorry to hear about your losses GP.
If the new tanks much smaller than your big tank, you can fill it up 100% with water from the other tank and then use a sponge filter, don't add any substrate unless it's fine sand. With a small syphon you can hoover all the waste up. Good Luck!


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## Georgia Peach (Sep 23, 2005)

they look great! Im guessing they are about 3/16 of an inch in size.. 

thanks for your help!

CM - yes, its a small 2 gallon tank. 

this is my first ever fry from any kinda fish so its definately a trial and error thing! Ill be ready for the next batch though!


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## Osiris (Jan 18, 2005)

Yup just take water from old tank into new tank is best way 

I have a 50g tank sits 6ft in the air, i fill new fry tanks up with it so their ready to go on the dime, just a simple siphon into the new tanks...

New spawn should be in 5 weeks or so.


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## meyerhaus (Feb 27, 2006)

Let us know how those little fishies turn out, Georgia! I am going to be spawning some bettas mid-May, so that will be my first non-livebearer spawn. I can't wait. The male, Samurai, is my avatar.


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

I used a brand new 10 gal with a new sponge filter, an extra air stone and added half parents tank water and half new water, bare bottom as it is easier to keep clean. That was for BN fry. I now have over 100 fry in this 10 gal tank. I rinse out the filter daily and do daily 95% water changes as the tank is horribly overloaded. But this has been going on for 1 1/2 months and I have not yet lost a fry (except for 3 on the first day, one did not hatch, one died right after and one I squashed while setting up the tank). I might have gotten very lucky with this set up, but it has worked wonderfully so far. The only cycled "matter" I added were 3 small pieces of driftwood from an established tank.


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