Water Quality Issues With Fry In The Tank....

[melknee]

My Jack Dempseys just recently hatched 150-200 fry and they all seem to be thriving quite well. I've been feeding them fry food 3 times a day as well as feeding the parents once a day with cichlid pellets, I was feeding them flake food as well, which is what they seem to prefer,  but I stopped because I feel like the water quality is going to suffer from left over food remaining and breaking down. I feel like a water change would be best but im reluctant to do so because I dont want to suck up any of the fry which have begun to explore the tank more. I was contemplating buying some shrimp because that way some of the extra left over food would be eaten and the large Dempseys could eat the live food rather than me just giving them more flake and pellet food to go uneaten and break down. Is this a good idea or do you think the shrimp would hurt the fry?  Should I risk doing a water change? Its a 65 gal corner bow front tank with ground and regular filters, its got potted plants and probably about 7 lbs of rock. It contains two dempseys, a large sailfin pleco, and it used to have a melon barb but I relocated it when the fry hatched. The tank was due for a water change when the fry hatched, and even having a fry was a surprise and I've never dealt with babies before, i just want to make sure all the fish are healthy and safe, and was hoping shrimp might be a feasible feeding/cleaning solution, or maybe i should just risk a water change. Any advice would be welcome and thanks in advance. 

 

[Livewire88]

I would recommend going with water changes. just be careful not to suck the fry up. When raising fry you always want to keep water as clean as possible to minimize losses. 
 
You could use a net to keep the fry away from the pipe when removing water. 

 

[Murrayjane]

If your water conditions are starting to take a toll, I would definitely do one. You will be better off losing a few fry over causing any health problems to your entire aquarium. Provided that you are careful, I doubt you will face losing many, if any.