I have a 10g laying around and I think I want to use it as a fry tank. Is there anything special I need to do? I know it is suggested to put nylon sock over the intake of the filter so as not to lose any fry, and no gravel/substrate if I am breeding Corydoras but what about air pumps or anything like that? Do I need one, or anything other than a tank/filter for that reason?
Need help setting up breeder
- Thread starter Sageofstupidity
- Start date
Hello; A sponge filter in a fry tank works well especially when the fry are very small. I have used them alone for a while untill fry are of a size to hanfle a power filter.
A screen of some sort over the intake of a power filter is a good idea. I have found that increasing the surface area of the screen by making it oversized helps. Sort of balooning it out. Otherwise it will soon clog up with junk. I have fitted a plastic Tee used with plastic water pipe to create a second intake with success.
A screen of some sort over the intake of a power filter is a good idea. I have found that increasing the surface area of the screen by making it oversized helps. Sort of balooning it out. Otherwise it will soon clog up with junk. I have fitted a plastic Tee used with plastic water pipe to create a second intake with success.
Hello; Although I have not purchased one in years, I believe sponge filters are a common fish shop item. They are listed in the Foster & Smith catalogue.
Yes a sock over the intake (suction) tube of a HOB power filter is a good idea. The ballooning out of the sock is intended to somewhat reduce the force of the suction at the intake. The notion is that very small fry cannot cope with much flow and may be pinned to the intake mesh even if not sucked thru. Make the sock much bigger than the standard size of the intake (do not wrap it tight). I have placed something inside a mesh like a plastic peanut butter jar cap to keep it spread out. I secure the mesh around the tube with rubber bands or nylon zip ties.
Yes a sock over the intake (suction) tube of a HOB power filter is a good idea. The ballooning out of the sock is intended to somewhat reduce the force of the suction at the intake. The notion is that very small fry cannot cope with much flow and may be pinned to the intake mesh even if not sucked thru. Make the sock much bigger than the standard size of the intake (do not wrap it tight). I have placed something inside a mesh like a plastic peanut butter jar cap to keep it spread out. I secure the mesh around the tube with rubber bands or nylon zip ties.
Sponge filters are cheap and easy to find, but your sock idea is okay - the point is, as skjl says, something without strong current and no holes that can suck up delicate fry. Bare bottom tank is best, so you can see your fry and be able to siphon up detritus without sucking up any fry! I used a very narrow siphon - basically a piece of airline tubing - for cleaning my fry tank - I could clean up all the waste at the tank bottom without taking out a huge amount of water (you want to keep your tank as free of detritus as possible, so I was cleaning my tank bottom almost daily). Also a chunk of java moss is great - it will help adsorb nitrates, collects infusoria for the fry to eat, and gives then a secure place to hang out. Hornwort would also work - both are floating plants that don't root.
