Need suggestions for changing water with a nursery box in the tank.

iamgroovy

iamgroovy

Nature Lover
Jul 7, 2005
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PA USA
As some of you may recall, I recently acquired some gorgeous purebred German black metalhead guppies. At first I made no efforts to save any fry and they all got eaten. Over the weekend I installed a plastic livebearer baby nursery. It slides in a frame that's attached to the side of the tank with suction cups. One of the females had just dropped fry and I was able to scoop up seven of them and put them in the nursery.
This may be a stupid question but.... how do I deal with the nursery when I'm doing water changes?
I assume I'd have to slide it down and then back up as I make the water change. Problem is, it takes two hands to slide the thing and I need at least one hand for the python. I also thought about sliding a container under the nursery to lift it out with some tank water.

Any suggestions for a better way??
 
Is there any way that it could float freely while you change the water? Like could you just take it off the suction cups for a little, so it can float down and up with the water level change?

or possibly net the fish out of the breeder quick, put them in a cup, then put them back in the nursery, when your done with the water change.
 
Good suggestions but the nursery will not float. It has openings all around it and I think it would be easier to scoop out the whole nursery than try to net the fry. I don't have a net small enough to fit in the nursery anyway and I want to keep the process as stress free as possible for both of us :) .

Thank you for your suggestions though!
 
I'd just siphon off the first bit of tank water into a bucket, slide out the breeder box and pop it right into the bucket, then finish with the PWC, and pop the breeder back into the tank after refilling. I wouldn't think a quick transfer from tank to bucket would hurt the fry. Or, like you said, enclose the breeder with a larger container (something like a Rubbermaid or Gladware box) before removing it from the tank, so the water doesn't drain completely. If the "scooping" container was big, to retain enough water, you could probably eliminate the bucket part altogether.
 
Yes, I'm thinking the container route would be the best, least stressful option. I think I have a rubbermaid container that's just right. I'll let you know how it works. By the way, are some pics of the guppies. I may have some for sale down the road!
 

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those are very beautiful guppies!
 
soobie said:
I'd just siphon off the first bit of tank water into a bucket, slide out the breeder box and pop it right into the bucket, then finish with the PWC, and pop the breeder back into the tank after refilling. I wouldn't think a quick transfer from tank to bucket would hurt the fry.
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That's what I did with my platy fry.. had no problems. They'll be fine with the transfer
 
Draal5 said:
I would get a cheep breeders net like this one http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18269/si1380182/cl0/leesnetbreederfinesmall

Much easier to deal with. You can get them anywhere.

Got-a-Love those guppies
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I have a couple of these breeders basket thingys and I absolutely hate them. I find that the fry get stuck between the plastic parts and the netting--usually the bottom corners--and then they end up dieing. Thus, I think they're HORRIBLE. Am I the only one that has this problem?
 
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