otherworldone
New Member
I have noticed a few 'runts' already. And there are a few that are already starting to really outgrow everybody else. Depending on how much longer I'm able to raise them, I may have to move the largest ones to my 'stand-by' tank, which is already planted with live plants (and a few snails) that I managed to VERY carefully remove once everyone was freeswimming and a sponge filter that should be established by the time I have to move anyone in there.
So far, I have only attempted to siphon out debris once...which went fairly well with the exception of one of the fry getting sucked up and out to the bucket. After replacing him in the tank he appeared to have been injured and could not swim properly. So, I have my first KNOWN loss. Since siphoning water out is still pretty risky at this point, I'm just going to continue adding water (using the airline tube thing) until the tank is completely full unless it becomes critical to remove waste. But so far, the snails and scuds (and of course the sponge filter) have done a very nice job of keeping the tank clean and I DO have an ammoia alert in the tank, which has yet to indicate a problem there.
The airflow to the sponge filter is still pretty low right now since the babies still aren't strong enough swimmers for me to turn it up. But I plan to adjust the airflow very gradually as I see that they may be able to handle the change.
It's impossible to get a good count right now. They are so small and have so many spaces to hide in between plant leaves and all...invariably, there are always some shy ones just out of view. And since they just CAN'T sit still for the count... But so far as I can tell, I haven't had any noticeable loss. The one I lost due to cleaning of the tank may very well have been the ONLY loss so far. SO...whoever adopts all these little guys will have about 45-50 of them on their hands (if my initial count was accurate and the move doesn't cause any significant losses). *keeping her fingers crossed*
So far, I have only attempted to siphon out debris once...which went fairly well with the exception of one of the fry getting sucked up and out to the bucket. After replacing him in the tank he appeared to have been injured and could not swim properly. So, I have my first KNOWN loss. Since siphoning water out is still pretty risky at this point, I'm just going to continue adding water (using the airline tube thing) until the tank is completely full unless it becomes critical to remove waste. But so far, the snails and scuds (and of course the sponge filter) have done a very nice job of keeping the tank clean and I DO have an ammoia alert in the tank, which has yet to indicate a problem there.
The airflow to the sponge filter is still pretty low right now since the babies still aren't strong enough swimmers for me to turn it up. But I plan to adjust the airflow very gradually as I see that they may be able to handle the change.
It's impossible to get a good count right now. They are so small and have so many spaces to hide in between plant leaves and all...invariably, there are always some shy ones just out of view. And since they just CAN'T sit still for the count... But so far as I can tell, I haven't had any noticeable loss. The one I lost due to cleaning of the tank may very well have been the ONLY loss so far. SO...whoever adopts all these little guys will have about 45-50 of them on their hands (if my initial count was accurate and the move doesn't cause any significant losses). *keeping her fingers crossed*
. I don't know what your circumstances are, but if you want to keep any of the adults maybe you could ship them to your new residence? Just a thought
But they're big enough now that I don't really have to worry about them getting sucked up if I'm using the small siphon to clean up the debris. The problem is keeping from sucking them up in the larger siphon when I'm trying to remove water a little faster after I've cleaned up the bottom of the tank.
Oh, how my parents would kill me.
