Fry Tank Help..Need Suggestions!!

Brody3665

Brody3665

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Jun 16, 2005
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I have an eclipse 12 gallon that I am currently cycling and am almost done the cycle. I plan on using the tank to raise my swordtail fry and then when old enough put them back into my 65 gallon.

I was wondering what type of fish I could keep in the 12 gallon to maintain the tank if all the fry die and I am waiting until the next pregnant female produces. I was wondering what fish could stay in the tank permanently to produce enough ammonia to feed the bacteria colony (so i don't have to keep cycling the tank over and over) and also not eat the fry...


Thanks
 
Panda or pygmy corydoras shouldn't bother the babies and will help keep the tank in good order when there aren't any young fry swimming about in there. Word of advice, though... make sure your filter's suction isn't too strong. I've had to peel baby guppies off of mine onve or twice. It's not pretty. If you can't replace what you have, it's easy enough to wrap a bit of clean washcloth or cheese cloth around the intake and tie it off with a bit of string... or an idea a friend of mine came up with was she put the intake tube down into a modified mesh breeding pen (I believe she bought hers at a Wal-Mart) and it kept the babies at a safe distance and didn't put any added stress on the filter motor. Hope this helps.
 
you can go to the pet store and get a sponge that will fit over the filter intake and make sure that they fry do not get sucked up.

as for the fish to maintain the cycle- its best to keep your fry tank free of any other fish except the fry. believe me, you'll have plenty. you can always add some fish food to the tank to create ammoina every few days if you arent going to have fry for a while.
 
Why not just keep some cories in it to keep it cycled? It'd keep the tank in good condition and then the babies could come and go as-needed.
 
I was thinking the same as far as corys but wasnt sure if they would try to eat the fry or not?
 
Corydoras, especially the smaller ones, have small mouths to begin with. If they DID, it'd only be because the fry was weak or sick and had settled to the bottom. Nine times out of ten, healthy fry will dart quickly away from any sudden movement... and in most cases, books and online articles suggest cories as the bottom-feeder of choice for most brood tanks (other than the ultra-tiny fry of some fish species, of course)
 
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