Moving fry into another tank.

[alunjai]

Is it safe to siphon and move 4 day old fry to another tank or container?

I'm considering to move them into a shallower container so it can be cleaned easier. At the moment I have around 30 fry in a 3 gallon but I'm finding it difficult to clean the bottom of the tank.

[LittleBettaFish]

I have moved fry that young (I just did the other day).

All I did was use only water from the previous set-up, scoop them all out with a plastic measuring cup and put them in the tank. However, I have siphoned and used a turkey baster to move fry before.

They never seemed the worse for wear because of it.

[alunjai]

Thank you for that.

I might be able to scoop some out but they're all over the place plus they're so tiny its difficult to see them....

Do you use an air stone to aerate the water? I'm worried it might cause too much movement but I read it's beneficial.

[LittleBettaFish]

I have only just added two small sponge filters to the grow-outs containing my older fry (around a week or so old).

I do have one tank that has a big sponge filter going at a fairly rapid pace and none of the fry seem affected by that at all, even when they were still in the nest and became free-swimming.

I am pretty tough on my fry. I do daily water changes and don't coddle them so the weak ones usually die early on.

However, I don't think an air stone is necessary. Only reason I put the sponge filter in was the IAL makes my water go cloudy sometimes if there is no water movement.

[MattsBettas]

Moving them at four days is extremely bad, as at that age they are very, very sensitive. I wouldn't risk it.

[LittleBettaFish]

My four day old fry are fine. I don't appear to have lost anyone because of the move. As long as the water is from their tank and you aren't chasing them around for an age trying to catch them, I see no issue with moving them.

I have to move my fry at an early age if I don't want to risk them to be eaten by both/either parents as I don't have separate spawning tanks.

I would say it was more of a risk if they still had their yolk sacs attached or weren't free-swimming. Even so I have moved fry that young (dad is a fry eater) and only lost around half of the very small spawn.

[indjo]

Moving fry that young is very risky. The water parameters must be the same or very close. If you want to siphon them out (also risky) use bigger tubes. I wouldn't use airline tubes. . . it's true fry accidently sucked out during cleaning can be poured back into their tank, but IME intentional siphoning causes more damage (with airline tube). Make sure the water level in fry tank and the new tank are not too far apart thus reducing suction power.

[Myates]

They are already in 3g of water.. why go less? Shortly you should be drip adding new water in the tank to give them more room so they can grow, as well as adding in a sponge filter (air stone isn't something normally used...).

Personally, unsure if it is worth the risk to move them into something smaller than 3g just to have to move them once more into something bigger shortly.

[alunjai]

I decided not to take the risk and left them in the tank. Just been using a turkey baster to get rid of the gunk at the bottom.

I fed them bbs last night and tried egg yolk today but not sure if they're eating. They don't seem to chasing or moving towards the food.

[Myates]

Can also use airline hose to siphon out the bottom.. be a bit quicker/easier to suck up the waste than with a turkey baster.. those are good more for spot checks :)

Hmm.. do you have a magnifying glass to see if you can watch closer?
What temp is the tank set at?