thanks all. i seperated the fry from the father on thursday night. it was one of the most heartbreaking things i had to do in this hobby. the male refused to leave them, he even swam into the bag and i had to physically remove him. last night they were in their fry net in a seperate tank and an apple snail climbed in and ate all but one of them. i am so angry and depressed about it! i never had a reason to dislike an apple snail before, but now it's on.