gravel Vac and Fry

nyrmel · 06-03-2008, 02:21 PM

Ok i just found out last night that one of my fish (dont know which) had babies, I would under my schedule be doing a WC today and vacuming some gravel. Now I Admit although I am no longer swearing and splashing myself with water during a change the vacum does make me nervous mostly because I worry about sucking up my ghost shrimp and having them be crushed in the tubing.
Now i have fry and though i have tried to catch someand place them in a breeder I know I havent caught them all and there are some in the tank still.

How do I make sure I dont suck them up with the bad water. they are so small I worry I wont even see them go by.
I generally run the waste water through my larger net in the idea that if one of my shrimp was caught I could catch him before he went down the drain but the fry are so small I really cant see them in the net. It is a newer tank and so I really do need to get some water changed out. should I just pull from half way up so I can change water and wait for fry to be a bit bigger before I try to vacum?
For any advice i would be very grateful.

nyrmel · 06-03-2008, 09:49 PM

Please I really could use some advice on this I know there are lots of addicts out there that have had fry and know how to deal with this. Please any suggestions hints or hand holding would be most welcome one way or other I have to change the water tonight as I dont want to get out of pattern with what has gotten my ammo and nitrite to go low most certainly since i have added fish. PLEASE SOME HELP is needed I dont want to flush my fry by mistake

missfish · 06-04-2008, 04:25 AM

Just stop the flow of water with your thumb, move the vac to a spot, put it down when you can see there is no fry there, move your thumb and let the water flow sucking up the muck in that spot, then stick your thumb back over the end find a new spot free of fry and repeat.

nyrmel · 06-04-2008, 10:53 AM

ok that would be easier than what I had to do I pinned and taped my larger net over the mouth of the vac and pulled water from about half way down the tank. Of course that only takes out water and doesnt help with any of the solid wastes. I didnt clean the gravel last night but I had cleaned it really really well friday night and have ordered a second filter because after I did the first took awhile to clear up everything that got kicked up so I will run the second when i do clean gravel then take it out after it cleans all the muck. I did rinse out the first filter pad and let the second in place. It is the first that really gets all the debris so I wash/rinse it about 3 times a week and the other I leave alone I check it about 1 a week but have yet to see any sign of yuck and I dip and swish it in the old wc water and stick it back in. so far ammo and nitrite dont seem to be spiking with new fish but I am trying to be as careful as I can.
Thanks for the tip ill be doing anouther 20-30% on fri night and will put your tips and advice into practice. Thanks for the answer.

fernival brainard · 06-08-2008, 10:09 AM

I can't even count the times I have sucked up fry or ghost shrimp when vacuuming. My water goes from the tank into a bucket so I always just scooped them out and plopped them back into the tank...haven't lost any yet to the evil sucker hose so I wouldn't worry to much if one accidentally gets vacuumed (unless your vacuuming straight into the sink drain, like with a python)
Take care friend,
Fern

nyrmel · 06-08-2008, 12:05 PM

but they are so small and hard to see though my fry are getting bigger I letthe ones I caught out yesterday because I got some new plants and couldnt get them planted with the breeder in the way. They are doing well though and schooling which is kinda cool as none of my other fish seem to care about there education by going to school. Any one know how long til they start showing color I am still wondering which fish was a mommy since my mollies are all very distinct in coloring I am hoping that will give me a clue.
Thanks

Tommy Gun · 06-08-2008, 12:51 PM

Hey nyrmel,

In general, because of the types of fish in your signature, you probably would want to catch the fry and remove them from the tank since even mommy and/or daddy might make a snack out of them eventually; which is not to mention the other fish as well. Otherwise, you might find some relief in placing a dense grouping of plants (fake or real) in one area of the tank so that the fry can hide out there...and subsequently, make it easier for you to avoid sucking too many of them up since you will have a good idea where they are without having to see them.

Keep in mind that one essential function of using a gravel vaccum is to remove detritus so you don't want to severely limit your ability to do so just because of the fry. As someone who has had quite a few livebearer and cichlid fry in the past, I would say that your fry should become strong enough to swim against the flow of water your gravel vacuum creates....or at least strong enough to give you enough time to see them and quickly pull the vacuum out of the water so the water and the fry fall back into the tank.

bobthecat68 · 06-08-2008, 01:30 PM

using several layers of cheese cloth can produce a very fine mesh that will filter out fry and ghost shrimp. Seal the cheese cloth around the vac with a rubber band. Adjust how many layers of the cloth you use so that you suck up bad stuff but not animals.

nyrmel · 06-08-2008, 06:23 PM

Thanks
Tommy I had them in a breeder (the ones I could catch) but they are now to big for my fish to eat (bigger then there mouths at least) by about 2-3 times size so I did just let them out. I have groupings of plants but they spend just as much time in the open as hiding.
I now think I have about a dozen all together as I saw 3 groupings of about 4 each this afternoon. I guess I dont get to buy any more fish at least all the mollies appear to be female so I dont have a breedeing pair to over power the tank. I will try the chees cloth idea bob thanks
at the rate they are growing I think in one to two weeks they will be to big for the vac. then i will just have to worry about my shrimp

Tommy Gun · 06-08-2008, 08:05 PM

Quote:

then i will just have to worry about my shrimp

Well I do hope that things get easier for you. I am not trying to downplay the risk of sucking anything up but IME with both fry, and shrimp (which I have had some in both freshwater and saltwater tanks for a very long time), they are generally more aware of your location than you are of theirs so it shouldn't be a very huge issue over the long run.