Question about cleaning my Fry nursery tank...

Hi, I just put about 35 baby Molly fry into a 20 gallon nursery tank which has no rocks in it. I was just wondering, is it ok to put a small catfish or algae eater in the tank to keep the bottom clean. I'm not sure if that is a good idea or not. Don't want it to eat the fry thinking it's food. I plan on doing a 25-30% water change daily but would still like to know if a catfish. algae eater, or pleco would bother the fry... any suggestions? Thanks !!

 

It depends on how old the fry are. If they were just born and lying on the bottom a catfish or pleco would eat them. If they are swimming then they'll be fine.

 

You can use Otocinclus cats without worry of them eating any fry. I've also used shrimp, dwarf crayfish, and of course the old stand-by, snails.

Dennis

 

The fry are just over 2 days old. They are swimming very actively at all levels of the tanks and are eating good. I haven't had any problems with any of them getting sucked up into the filter, they seem to be strong swimmers. I just want to make sure to keep the bottom as clean as possible... I appreciate all the help I can get. This is my first time actually trying the breeding thing. I do have more pregnant females so I am learning as I go here !! Thanks for your suggestions !!

 

Thanks Dennis...

How much does the snail actually eat? Every time I see them in tanks in stores, they never move around. Will they eat as proficiently as a "scavenger" catfish or algae eater?

 

It would be better (cleaner) for you fry if your tank was bb (bare-bottom). That means no substrate. This way you can clean any filth from the bottom of the tank with a vacuum.

 

RougeAgent94, the tank is bare bottom, I read articles that it's better to keep the fry tank without rocks because it holds the old food and bowl waste and the fry can get stuck between rocks and die. It's also easier to clean without stiring the garbage up throughout the tank vacuuming through the rocks. I just needed to know if a small catfish or something similar would be ok without posting a danger to the fry and not eat them. They are swimming at all levels of the tank !!

 

How much does the snail actually eat? Every time I see them in tanks in stores, they never move around. Will they eat as proficiently as a "scavenger" catfish or algae eater?

In a word, no, but they also won't eat any live baby fish like most catfish.

If you really want your fry to grow, you should do daily water changes and you can use a piece of rigid tubing attached to some air line to vacuum the tank bottom. The air line will gently syphon the water and you won't run the risk of sucking up the fry, but it will be sufficient to clean the bottom of the tank. Most any good LFS will stock some rigid tubing so it's not hard to find. Just be sure to get the size that fits normal air line, I think it's 3/16".

Best of luck with your new fry!

Dennis

 

Thank you Dennis, I appreciate the advice. I will check with my LFS and see what they have that I can use. Happy St. Patricks Day and thanks again !!

 

Cory catfish, and plecos don't eat fry. If they do, the fry is already dead and they are cleaning up. Both of these fish are not true scavengers they do need to be feed too. They do eat extra food that hits the bottom but not the poop of other fish, so water changes are still needed. Mollie fry are quick. As you tank is bare bottomed you may want to add a few plastic plants to give the fry some protection and the feeling of safety(if even just from you). They will also sleep in the plastic plants. The best thing to keep the tank bottom clean is just do daily vacuums of the tank bottom. As cories and plecos will eat but then will poop, making the bottom dirty. My BN plecos had fry and neither the cories or the adult BN plecos have ate any of the baby plecos and they are all over the tank on the sides and on the bottom. Good luck with your fry.

 

thank you Plecodragon, I'll look into a cory cat !!

 

Corries need to be in groups of 6+.

 

HI I am raising angelfish fry at the moment and I didn't use the filter until they were big enough (about a month and a half) and cleaned the bottom of the tank using a vacum.