Okay to change water

[cdawson]

Is it okay to change my water while my cacs have fry? The fry are about a week old now. They've always bred in larger aquaria, this is a 10 gallon breeder, heavily planted.

 

[aspen]

you need to change water in small amounts frequently for your fry to grow their best. how much to change will depend on how stressful you find your water change water is to your fish. i age my water and change a minimum of 25% of fry tank's water at least bi-weekly, cleaning the bottom and keeping the tank clean otherwise. i syphon the new water in slowly, with a 1/4" syphon.

changing too much water can seriously harm the fry, be very careful, but changing large amounts infrequently will cause too much change to their environment. some fry are more sensitive to this than others. presently i have some geophagus brasiliensis growing out and they are very hardy fry. cacs are more sensitive, but not as sensitive as borellii ime. i get a magnifying glass out and watch the fry to see how stressed out they are while the new water is going into the tank.

rick

 

[cdawson]

Thanks aspen, I'm more concerned about accidently sucking one up. I use a python connected to the faucet and any sucked up would be GONE.

I think I'm going to pick up an RO unit on the weekend, it's about due time. Is bi-weekly really necessary with a heavily planted tank?

 

[Z Man]

I may be WAY off base here but I do not believe the Python is a good thing for making water changes in a tank with only week old fry. The new water replacing the old should be EXACTLY the same pH, hardness & temperature as fry tank. Just MHO.

 

[cdawson]

I may be WAY off base here but I do not believe the Python is a good thing for making water changes in a tank with only week old fry. The new water replacing the old should be EXACTLY the same pH, hardness & temperature as fry tank. Just MHO.

That's exactly why I asked the question, but my water is pretty good here. It's about 7.0 and there's no chlorine or nitrates in the water. I've alreadt topped the tank off about 4 days ago and no fry have been lost.
I also make sure the temperature of the water is the same as the tank's everytime I change water.

 

[aspen]

>>'I do not believe the Python is a good thing for making water changes in a tank with only week old fry.'

i agree. i age all of my change water, esp for fry tanks.

>>'Is bi-weekly really necessary with a heavily planted tank?'

i raise fry i want to turn out good in bb tanks only with lots of water changes. you need to be able to see f/i a planaria outbreak, which predate new fry, and to control the junk that collects on the bottom. i made that mistake once and lost a whole bunch of blue ram fry from those little buggers.

>>'i syphon the new water in slowly, with a 1/4" syphon.'

i made a syphon with a piece of 1/4 rigid tube and a piece of flexible tube, which i use to transfer water into and out of buckets. you are right about losing fry when you clean, at least if they are in a bucket, you have a chance of getting them back in.

raising good fry is a pita if you are doing it right. i only bother to raise fish i really want to keep. dwarf cichlids aren't mollies. dc fry tanks require daily care ime. in a planted tank you will have some fish that make it. but if you want to get a whole spawn raised with the least mortality, you need to keep things clean.

rick

 

[cdawson]

good advice guys, thanks alot. I'll use my 1/4" siphon and get an RO unit tonight.