Lacey D
- #1
**Post about fry death**
I have a 10 gallon aquarium which had a semi-surprise birth of over 20 Endler's Livebearer fry a few days ago. I had bought the female from the lfs a few days before, so other than shape I had nothing to do on as to when she would drop her fry. I was surprised she didn't absorb/abort them all together after the stress of the move/new aquarium. The substrate in my quarantine/plant grow-out aquarium is a substantial layer of soil, capped with a thin layer of sand, and then another thin layer of gravel (about 1-2 piece deep most places).
I vacuumed the aquarium a few days ago, moving slowly and carefully to avoid sucking up any fry (and tips on that would be appreciated!), and as far as I can tell I didn't. When I checked the aquarium yesterday, to my surprise and dismay I saw there were two dead fry in the gravel against the glass, in one of the rare spots where it was about 3 pieces of gravel deep, right down against the sand layer. So I vacuumed the aquarium again, and had to dig a little to get them up, which tells me the odds that their bodies just settled down there are pretty remote.
Could they have worked their way under the gravel (maybe searching for food) and been trapped? Or could I have accidentally buried them the last time I vacuumed, despite being careful? Or could they actually have died and settled down there? Anyone else have an experience like this? I still have well over a dozen who are healthy and thriving.
Sorry, no pictures (I think it's against forum policies?), and the spot they were is no longer an issue. I'm just worried about other places where fry might get trapped, and preventing this if I can. In the future, I WILL have a bare-bottomed fry grow-out tank.
I have a 10 gallon aquarium which had a semi-surprise birth of over 20 Endler's Livebearer fry a few days ago. I had bought the female from the lfs a few days before, so other than shape I had nothing to do on as to when she would drop her fry. I was surprised she didn't absorb/abort them all together after the stress of the move/new aquarium. The substrate in my quarantine/plant grow-out aquarium is a substantial layer of soil, capped with a thin layer of sand, and then another thin layer of gravel (about 1-2 piece deep most places).
I vacuumed the aquarium a few days ago, moving slowly and carefully to avoid sucking up any fry (and tips on that would be appreciated!), and as far as I can tell I didn't. When I checked the aquarium yesterday, to my surprise and dismay I saw there were two dead fry in the gravel against the glass, in one of the rare spots where it was about 3 pieces of gravel deep, right down against the sand layer. So I vacuumed the aquarium again, and had to dig a little to get them up, which tells me the odds that their bodies just settled down there are pretty remote.
Could they have worked their way under the gravel (maybe searching for food) and been trapped? Or could I have accidentally buried them the last time I vacuumed, despite being careful? Or could they actually have died and settled down there? Anyone else have an experience like this? I still have well over a dozen who are healthy and thriving.
Sorry, no pictures (I think it's against forum policies?), and the spot they were is no longer an issue. I'm just worried about other places where fry might get trapped, and preventing this if I can. In the future, I WILL have a bare-bottomed fry grow-out tank.