Fry dieing - need some advice

[Mo99]

Hi I’ve got a query, I have been successful in saving fry recently due to me buying a breeder box. anyway way I have 3 batches of guppy fry ,
1st batch (9 only)-6 weeks old (now 3 i guess)
2nd batch (11) 2-3weeks old.
3rd batch (30 odd) 7-10 days old.

1 & 2 batch are in a net breeder, while 3 batch are in the plastic breeder.

I have not lost a single fry since they where born except if the mother/other fishes
eat any during birth.(1st batch was a rescue job)
a few days ago 1 of the 1st batch fry died
the day after another one was dead ( 1 st batch) . 2 days went by no loss.
today I now find 5 (1st batch) fry dead.

When I find them dead , its always in the morning , lying at the bottom of the tank.
I just don't understand it , all of them where ok, non of the 3rd batch fry have died, even though some where born pre-mature, with-in a day they where all swimming at the top.
So why is this happening to the 1st batch even though they are older bigger, and fast swimmers. their cage is a net one, so more water , oxygen etc. than say the plastic box. (just for arguments sake). 1 thing though , a week a ago I moved them into a new net breeder. same size and all but just cleaner than the one they where in ...
Its getting a bit hot in the UK , temp even with the heater switched off it is still around 81 deg.
This is very weird , if I was to lose any then it should of been the 3rd b. fry, or the 2nd , after all the 1st batch have been around long enough than the 2nds or 3rd..

Nitrite=0
Nitrate=50
Ammonia=0
Ph=7.2
GH=10 (a bit high I know)

 

[Mo99]

Hi, still havn't herd back from anyone, so will keep you guys informed,
Went back home to find another 3 died, this time it was 2 1st batch fry and 1 2nd batch fry.
I moved all the remaining fry (1 & 2) from the netbox to the old netbox., so far today morning didn't find any dead. not looking forward to going home today , don't know what i'll find. Can some one help me here with advice....Thanks

Mo.

 

[tstenback]

Not that we are ignoring your plight its just hard to imagine what is happening. Are you cleaning out the breeders daily? Are the fish getting too big for the breeder? is something getting in to the breeder and then back out? Are the fish getting wedged under the edge of the net or between the net and the frame? Just ideas but it sounds very strange that only the older ones are being found dead. Could be the heat affecting the bigger fish, are they big enough to let out into the main tank?

 

[aloaring]

Sames been happening to me in my platy tank but its not just babys dying the adults are going as well and it happens in a matter of hours one minute they are fine and showing no syptoms hour later they are dead!! Done all the water tests but nothing is showing ! So i can sympathise ! I still don't know what to do about it, i have done regular water changes but don't want to risk medicines till i know what it is. Good luck

 

[Mo99]

Not that we are ignoring your plight its just hard to imagine what is happening. Are you cleaning out the breeders daily? Are the fish getting too big for the breeder? is something getting in to the breeder and then back out? Are the fish getting wedged under the edge of the net or between the net and the frame? Just ideas but it sounds very strange that only the older ones are being found dead. Could be the heat affecting the bigger fish, are they big enough to let out into the main tank?

Thanks for replying terry, aloaring, i was begining to feel lonely, you guys have cheered me up.

I'am not cleaning eveyday , but every 2 days , do't seem to have much waste (uneaten) in the 3rd batch breeder. I don't think the there are too many in the netbreeder orthe fry are too big, the large ones measure 1 cm , small ones poss 0.7 cm its hard to tell. I don't think they are getting wedged, did see 1 from 1st batch get wedged some time after birth, but he was able to get out again. I don't understand what you mean by getting into teh net and out again ? do you mean like say one of the adult fish. Could be, but then again that doesn't makes sense as , the dead fry are pretty much intackt and i would see less smaller (2nd batch) fry. Curretly i only have 2 1st bacth, 6-9 2nd bacth fry left. teh net breeder is 8*8*8 inch and approx. 1 inch from the water level. But tonight i will place soemthing over the mouth of the netbreeder (didn't think of that one). Unforftunatly the 1 st b. fry are still to small to be released into the main tank..I just can't fathom it. i am thinking that is could be somehting to do with the new netbreeder (which i have chnaged back). soem chemical or something??...bu then wouldn't that affect teh small fry (2nd btch). I have to say i have lost soem from the 2nd batch but just only 2 to that of 7 from the 1st batch which a bigger. werid.

 

[Mo99]

Just to keep you guys updated,
I've followed what terry mentioned and put a pond net over the top of the netbreeder, also added an extra air pump fizz thing to increase oxygen (just incase that was it) , unfortunalty i've lost another two today morning, they where from the 2nd batch. Interesting to note , that last night when i got home, i found one dead, when i tried to remove the little guy he started to move. I guess he was dieing, as this afternoon , he is dead. The temp. seems to be pretty high, it reached 82*f , 27*c , usually its 24*c . What do you guys think ?, surely where guppies come from south , central america , its way more warmer there?? ...i am totally lost here ...

 

[tstenback]

guppies generally dont like temps above the high seventies but that is not drastically higher so not sure if its a prob. try to bring the temp down a few degrees and see if things get better also with the high temps the oxygen level is a major concern so keep the surface agitated with the air stone. Good Luck Mo99

 

[Mo99]

Thanks T, i'll keep you informed , lets hope i don't lose any more, or i won't have any left..

 

[Fishkiller]

Get those fish out of the breeder if you leave them in ther more than a week they become fry killers

 

[Mesome]

I agree with fish killer. Put some floating plants in your tank, and release the fry. They will probably have a better chance of making it then in the breeder net. I have fry live out of every batch, except the last which was premature I think. They are pretty quick, and can hide very well. I have taken no measure other then providing floating plants and hiding places. Besides, what are you going to do when all of your fry have fry? LOTS of babies then!

 

[Mo99]

Get those fish out of the breeder if you leave them in ther more than a week they become fry killers

Hiya,
Sorry fish-killer i don't quite understand what you mean by fish out of the breeder, there are no adult fish in any of the breeder nets. what i do have are fry , currently 3rd batch in the plastic breeder and whats left of the 1st & 2nd batch (only 4) in the netbreeder.
Like i said in my original post , the whole reason i have to use a breeder is becouse i have a community tank , this is my first sccesful fry birthing (3rd one) , as since i have had the fish they have been breeding ,only to be eaten up by the other tank dwellers. Even though my tank is very well planted (IMO). So no matter how fast or good the fry are in swimming or hideing, i have not yet got any fry from natural birth in the tank. Hence the reason why i am useing a breeding net. Mesome, I am trying to grow the fry untill 2-3 months of so, when i can give them to friends, local kids, LFS.