Livebearer Fry and a new tank

Hello Everyone,

About 3 weeks ago, I found some fry in my main tank (20g), and again, 1 week later. The fry are a mix of Platy, Molly and potentially Guppy. As of right now, they are all in a breeder box in the 20g. I believe I now have 20ish all together.
I recently purchased a 10 gallon tank to house them in. I know it's not big enough for 20 fish, it's just a temporary home (for most) until I can find someone who would like to take some. I'm currently letting this tank cycle (via adding fish food).
My question is, after my tank is cycled (I'm new to this, so I'm guessing in about 2-3 weeks?) would it be a good idea to introduce the fry into the tank, or would it be too soon for them? I just don't want anyone sucked up into the filter.

Thanks!

 

you can put a sponge or tie some filter floss over the intake tube to keep them from getting sucked up. Cycling can take several weeks (6-8), so waiting might not be an option for you. I've cycled a tank with fry in it before, and they did well, but I also stayed on top of daily water changes to keep the water pristine.

 

You could also try using Tetra SafeStart to get it cycled in about 7-10 days. Or even using some filter media from your existing tank to get it cycled quickly.

 

Welcome to fishlore!

Congrats on the fry A 10 gallon tank should be ok for a grow-out tank while they're young. As others have suggested, is it possible to use some of your old media from your cycled tank? A bit of filter floss, or cut out a piece of sponge (or whatever filter media you use)? I also like to put a panty-hose bag with a handful of gravel from a cycled tank too, at least for a few weeks. I got an instant cycle on my fry tank by transferring a gravel bag as described plus a few ceramic noodles from a filter in my cycled tank to the filter in the fry tank, as well as a decoration. I also cut a piece of filter sponge to fit over the intake for my filter so no one can get sucked up I take it off each week during my water change and squeeze it out a few times in old tank water.

What type of filter does the 10 gallon actually have?

 

My 20 gallon tank has a Top Fin 20 filter, and my 10 gallon has a Aqua-Tech 5-15. The Aqua-tech seems to be an older type filter, so I am considering going to buy a Top Fin for it aswell (just because I like it in my bigger tank).
I'm gonna try the gravel in the pantyhose trick. Would it be a good idea to use that, plus the Tetra Safestart? Correct me if I'm wrong, but a tank is considered 'cycled' when the water has nitrate and nitrite readings?

 

20 nitrate and 0 nitrite and 0 ammonia is when it is cycled

 

Thanks!
My other question is....I have gravel in the bottom of the tank...is this a good idea for fry, or will they crush themselves?

 

A bare-bottom tank would be easier to keep clean, as you can see exactly where the poop/uneaten food is and suck it up with a syringe catrdige or turkey baster. However, I've kept mine on gravel and haven't had anybody get stuck yet over the last 5 months. I do try to be really careful though when I move stuff around in there. The only thing is I have to very carefully use my gravel vac to clean up the aforementioned poop/food. I've only done with it fry over 3 weeks old, as before then they live in a breeder net, so I'm not sure how this would go with newborns.

 

if the gravel has big enough gaps in it, when you go to clean the tank they may freak out and dive into it, I've had this happen with river pebbles and the smooth glass stones but not with regular aquarium gravel.

 

I have regular black aquarium gravel in the tank, plus 3 fake plants. I can't wait to let the babies swim free.

 

Good safe filtration for fry are corner boxes. They are cheap as well if you already have a few spare pumps sitting around. The best part is you just use stuffing from any craft store for filter media.

Its nice to have the air control on a fry tank filter setup as you can turn it up or down depending on if the fry are getting too close to the filters or not.

 

All 18 babies are free and swimming in their new tank. They actually grew quite a bit in the past 3 weeks, so I'm not to worried about them being sucked up or squished in gravel. I actually released 9 platy fry in to the tank about a week ago just to see (they were older but much smaller) and they did amazing. I released the 9 molly fry today, and they seem to be loving the space!

 

Thanks!
My other question is....I have gravel in the bottom of the tank...is this a good idea for fry, or will they crush themselves?

When I had some gravel.. (pebble size) My convict fry got stuck in it and about half of them died

A bare bottom tank is recommended for fry as it is easier for water changes.

Hope this helps!

 

I've got a story!
When I had my first batch I initially had 20 fry. Two were sucked up the filter. A day later it was the weekend, so I started my cleaning. When I got to the filter I pulled the sponge out of the HOB and looked at it. One was stuck on the sponge! He had a curved spine. I pulled him out of it and dropped him into the breeder net. After a month I figured the five undead were large enough to venture into the world of 10gal. Every to weeks one died. After three weeks I only had 2, one other female and the female I pulled out of the filter, still with a funny spine!!!