setting up a nursery tank

[cathrynlisa]

Hi,

I have just bought a small 2nd hand set up to use as a nursery tank for my ever breeding platies (dirty minxes!). I have 2 pregnant ones at the moment and want to put them in it as soon as possible, but as it is not cycled will this be dangerous for them and the young 'uns?

[cathrynlisa]

Advice please? Anyone? Lives are depending on it! (Does that sound toooooo desperate?)

[Mgamer20o0]

put a filter on the cycled tank for a week or two. move it over to the new tank and move some gravel over also.

[cathrynlisa]

Thanks for that. Will I be able to put them in then?

[phaedraeos]

You should be able to. I'd monitor daily thought for ammonia, nitrates and nitrites. I think that babies are especially sensative to it.

I'm not sure about platys, but my mollies will eat their babies if you don't separate the adults and fry. I've had entire batches of fry disappear in only 2-3 days. One way or another, I can't see the advantage of keeping the moms in after they've given birth.

Finally, make sure the fry aren't small enough to get sucked into the filter opening. To be safe, you might want to buy a breeder net (some very fine mesh around a plastic rectangular frame) and keep the babies in that until they get bigger. Give them a piece of plastic or live plant to hide in, and whenever they are big enough to be in the tank directly make sure that the current isn't too strong. As far as feeding, crumbling up flake into tiny, tiny bits has always worked for me.

Good luck :)