1st batch of fries - Need advice

[indjo]

Massive water changes or bigger space and lots of food.

[caissacrowntails]

Originally Posted by Arch

Ok noted. Btw, is there anything I can do to accelerate the growth of the fries...like super fast?? I'm feeding microworms 3x a day and ensure i siphon all rotten food, wastage and dirt.

yes there is..and it's already mentioned before I think...it's the water change :), change it daily up to 50% ( don't do 100% water change unless there's a very serious problem like u accidentally drop hazardous liquid or something, as this can "stress" the fries and probably even killing them ), use only aged, treated water and when u add it up..do it carefully, use small tube or anything to let the water "flow" instead of pouring it.

[Arch]

Guys I have a problem...

2 days ago, I had 2 dead fries per day. Today when I checked my tank, I've noticed 20++ dead fries. Why is this happening??

Steps that I've done so far:

- I'm using aged water + API Stress Coat +
- Feeding microworms 2-3x daily depending on the no.of worms in the tank. If it's less I'll add more.
- Perform daily water changes (50%). Using a syringe to siphon dirt from the tank.

I plan to add some dark tannin water (IAL's) into the tank. Should I do this? What can I do to reduce the mortality rate of the fries :(

[alunjai]

A lot of my fry died after taking the IAL out and doing daily 50% water changes. I was adding dechlorinated water with no IAL so it was messing the PH balance. The IAL will help lower the Ph levels. When you're replacing water you've taken out make sure the PH levels and temp are the same and use a drip method to reduce any shock to the fry(as already mentioned by Myates).

[Arch]

Originally Posted by alunjai

A lot of my fry died after taking the IAL out and doing daily 50% water changes. I was adding dechlorinated water with no IAL so it was messing the PH balance. The IAL will help lower the Ph levels. When you're replacing water you've taken out make sure the PH levels and temp are the same and use a drip method to reduce any shock to the fry(as already mentioned by Myates).

Ok, I will add IAL's water into it. Btw, I didn't let it drip. Instead, I pour water into the syringe and let it flow into the tank slowly. Does this method stress the baby fries?

Btw, my water level is about 1cm++. Should I add more water?

[alunjai]

Sorry I don't really understand what you mean by "poured water into syringe and let it flow into tank". If the water level is 1cm I would gradually fill it up using the drip method as I explained before. Use an airline tubing with a valve on the drip end to control the drip at one drop per 4-5 secs. I usually let mine drip over night.

[Arch]

Ok noted. But what if I add IAL's now? Wouldn't it changed the ph levels of the water and kill more fries? :(

[Arch]

Help!!! I'm noticing dead fries in my tank. It's been 4 deaths since the past 8 hours. I did not add in the dark tannin water yet. Can anyone help me out :(

[Myates]

What temp is the water? That is a very small container you have them in, the temp most likely is not stable and fluctuations could easily cause shock/death to such young fry.

Slowly pouring the water in (same thing as using the syringe) could harm them at such a young age.. only a few days old, right? Drip systems you tend to use on something a bit bigger.. like an actual tank. Using airline tubing and gravity, along with a control valve you let the water drip into the tank - at this young of a stage it would be 1 drop per.. at least 5-10 seconds. It's a slow process.. but it gets the job done.

You may want to toss in some live plants, as you can't put a sponge filter in there.. right now the fry don't breathe the air such as the adults do - they use their gills at this point and need to have oxygen in the water either through what live plants put off, or a sponge filter.

You won't get really fast growth using that container, imo, would need to move them into something bigger.

[Arch]

Well I am not sure though. Haihz, I don't have a test kit which test the temperature or water parameters. I know it's crucial though...

I am not sure how to set up the airline tubing and gravity thingy. Any pictures or guides?

Yup, so I plan to move them to a bigger tank when the fries are 2 weeks old based on this thread http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=82911. Will try to find some live plants for them. :(

Btw, should I add in some dark tannin water into the tank? Will it cause the pH to be unbalanced and further causing more deaths to the fries?