# Gravel in fry tank ok now?



## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

My fry were hatched about 10 days ago and growing so fast!! I really need give the tank a really good clean out.The bbs are building up on the bottom and sides no matter how much I suction it out and I got some new black glitter gravel today and was wondering whether, in the more experianced breeders opinions, if I can now catch the fry, clean out the tank and add some gravel and plants?


I eagerly await your opinions

Thanks all


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

never add gravel. you need to change water everyday. plant is ok though.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

I do change the water daily, well I suction out all the bbs from the floor with small tubing and as much water as I can then top the tank back up again. It gets so dirty and foul smelling so fast it's hard to keep up. I only have 10 fry left...would they be ok temperarily in a small take away tub whilst I organise the clean out etc? That is if i can catch them all! It's hard enough trying to make sure I find them all amongst the waste that I suck up!


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

anasfire23 said:


> I do change the water daily, well I suction out all the bbs from the floor with small tubing and as much water as I can then top the tank back up again. It gets so dirty and foul smelling so fast it's hard to keep up. I only have 10 fry left...would they be ok temperarily in a small take away tub whilst I organise the clean out etc? That is if i can catch them all! It's hard enough trying to make sure I find them all amongst the waste that I suck up!


try to cut back the bbs if they are leftover. adding gravel will not solve the problem, it will only make it worse.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

Ok, I just did a total clean out, carefully sorted through all the waste to make sure I got all the fry, and at final count there is 12. I've been defrosting an entire block every 4 hours and spreading that throughout the tank so none get left out. I mean there are 12 of them in a 3ga tank and they're teensy tiny little things still (between 4-5mm) and I don't want any to die from starvation. If they all congregated in one section it wouldn't be a problem but they all spread out! I think from now on i'll chop a block in half and just water it down and spread it thinly throughout!

Thanks for your advice aaa.


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

anasfire23 said:


> Ok, I just did a total clean out, carefully sorted through all the waste to make sure I got all the fry, and at final count there is 12. I've been defrosting an entire block every 4 hours and spreading that throughout the tank so none get left out. I mean there are 12 of them in a 3ga tank and they're teensy tiny little things still (between 4-5mm) and I don't want any to die from starvation. If they all congregated in one section it wouldn't be a problem but they all spread out! I think from now on i'll chop a block in half and just water it down and spread it thinly throughout!
> 
> Thanks for your advice aaa.


in your case, try to get a snail. he will eat the leftover


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Yes it does sound like you are overfeeding. I assume you have a sponge filter in the tank at least. How big are the fry? I always used a HOB filter after a month with nylon hose over the intake.


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## anasfire23 (Jan 19, 2005)

No I don't have a sponge filter in there. I only have one pump and that's used to filter my 15ga tank. After xmas I'm going to be looking into getting another pump and a sponge filter for the fry tank. If you refer to my previous post the fry are about 4-5mm long.


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## aaa (Jan 19, 2005)

anasfire23 said:


> No I don't have a sponge filter in there. I only have one pump and that's used to filter my 15ga tank. After xmas I'm going to be looking into getting another pump and a sponge filter for the fry tank. If you refer to my previous post the fry are about 4-5mm long.


at least get a snail. it helps out a lot, trust me.


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## (RC) (Jan 18, 2005)

cut WAY back on the amount your feeding. It will keep the water mch cleaner and the fry will still have prenty to eat.


RC


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