worms, fry and other wiggly things

[SANND]

Okay, here's what happened...

I put some danios in a 5 gallon tank hoping they'd spawn but they seemed too terrified so I put them back with their friends in the big tank, that was Sunday. Monday night I did a water change on all fishy tanks and decided to clean filter media in the 5 gallon cuz I wanted to see how well the filter on that tank works and I would just change the water later since all that's in there is a bunch of free loading snails. This morning I woke up to lots of adorable danio fry stuck to the sides of the tank. Tonight I found wiggling around a bunch of those little white worms and something else that sticks to the side of the tank. They kinda have the same shape as the danio fry (two big eyes and a tail) but they're so tiny I can hardly see them even with a magnifying glass.

I know I have the creepy crawlys because of the crap I put in there from my 3 tanks but now what do I do?? When is it safe to do a water change? Can I just leave it all? I tested and ammonia/nitrite 0 and nitrate <5

 

[Lotus]

The wiggly things most likely won't harm your fry. I'd leave them until the fry are bigger.

 

[SANND]

Thanks for the reply lotus. Is there a guidline of when it is safe to change the water? I didnt think my 'love den' would be a success but now that I have about 40 fry at last count, I'm thinking a 5 gallon might be a bit too small for them as a grow out tank? I have a 20 gallon with 3 upside down cats, could I put the fry in there in a few weeks? I can move the cats to another tank if necessary, oooooooooor might I have a valid excuse for buying another tank?

 

[Lotus]

You can safely do a water change pretty much any time, but you will have to watch out not to suck up any fry... so you might not be able to vacuum the gravel. Yes, the 5g will be too small in a few weeks, but there may be some fry die-off by then, depending on how well they're doing. It's not unusual for a few to die. You can probably move some of them out to another tank in a few weeks. You might want to consider a divider for the 20g, as a precaution.

 

[Masta_Cheef]

Are upside down cats known for making tasty snacks out fry?