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hi i have various fry in a 10litre fry tank, so far i have calico platy fry, sunset platy fry and black swordtail fry. I moved em to a rearing tank to give em more space to grow.... The water is the same as the tank they were born in and is heated to 26' C. While feeding today i notice a few of the fry had died and had littered the bottom i imediately removed them and i did a 20% water change. My are feeding but some have clamped fins and some have what looks like fin rot (bits missing in their fins) only seems to be the black swordy and calcio fry at the moment.<br><br>Can i add Melafix to the tank??? Would this be wise to do?

Before adding anything, what are ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Are you sure this tiny tank (10 litres = 2.64 US gallons), isn't cycling? If there is any ammonia or nitrite at all could cause such a die-off.

Where you really have to worry about using anything at all in a tank is when you have egglayer fry. Livebearer fry are already pretty developed. You don't have to worry about them missing mody parts as they develop due to chemicals in the tank.

If they have caught something then I would ask how long it has been since they were transferred. Were they needed? If so, was the net sanitized first?

If there is evidence of fish growing fuzz and stuff like that, you can use melafix and when in doubt, start with half dose.

Are you using salt? I would add some if you have not, but very, very gradually. Part of the problem is that 10 litres is a very tiny tank and very hard to keep up on water quality. I would predissolve one teaspoon of freshwater aquarium salt and dribble it in over the course of the day. Especially if you should find nitrites.


Last edited by Cory_Di at 23-Mar-2005 17:05

No i tested for Nitrites and ammonia and nothing should up the test tube was clear... I don't understand why they dying so fast... they seem to sit on the bottom and when i next look they are dead... All are clamped fins and they look like round tails like you get on guppies. They are thin (some are) There are a few that are doing well mainly sunset platy fry.. The black swords are all looking at death.

It is very important to remove any dead fry. Do you have any other tanks that you could transfer the sick fry into?

What have you been feeding them? Any live for frozen/thawed foods? If so, maybe the batch is bad.

How is the tank filtered and has the power been off to the filter even for a short time?

Last edited by Cory_Di at 23-Mar-2005 17:14

10 litres is all i can have for the time being, i borrowed the tank off college and i clean it well with hot water and special disinfectant, which i rinsed off well. So far I've had;-

2 calico fry
4 black swords
1 Plumtail Platy die so far.

i performed a 20% water change... Is there anyhing else i can do????

I feed my fry Liquid fry Flake food twice a day. They were transferred last night....if that makes any difference. The filter im using is cycled with bacteria from main community tank.

You mention a special disinfectant. What was it? You really shouldn't use anything much more than salt or a mild bleach solution to clean and sterilize the tank. It may have left a residue no matter how much rinsing you did

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I used this disinfectant before with no ill effects. Its called Safe & Easy Aquarium cleaner manifactored by API. Says if using on inside of aquarium make sure you rinse well which i did. My fry have only started to die today.

Thx for all the kind replies tho.

I'm trying to stay calm

- I made the same mistake when I first heard people used it on the inside of the tank, but it does state that it can be used, provided it is rinsed well.

Safe and Easy is not really a disinfectant and I'd skip it. YOu'd be better off using aquarium rock salt and rubbing it around with a sponge. It's amazing what it can break loose.

I asked about the filter because if oxygenated water does not flow through a filter for as little as an hour (per Marineland pamphlets), it ends up growing deadly anaerobic bacteria, which grows without oxygen. When we turn such a filter back on, it spews out this bacteria and sickens fish. Smaller filters and UGFs may actually foul in less time.

I asked about transfer because things like columnaris can strike within 24 hours and up to 72 hours after transfer. Transfer is not only highly stressful, but the nets can remove slime coat and even cause tiny unseen abrasions. These openings infect real easy with stressed fish. Columnaris looks like fungus - its fuzzy, but can also cause a type of finrot, white creamy leasions and raised scales in a localized area. Some darker fish easily exhibit outlined scales - an early sign.

I would advise melafix and daily water changes. Include the salt as I described above and promptly remove dead fry.

If you see signs of columnaris as I described above, make sure all uneaten food is vac'd from the tank daily. Uneaten fish food grows columnaris and puts more of the bacteria in the water column.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 23-Mar-2005 18:16

thx for your replies it helps to talk to someone who has experience...Today i have netted out 3 more dead fry it seems to be the black swordies aand calicos. 1 of the fry had what looked like fungus on its head but because it was so small its really hard to tell.

I will add some salt today when i do my water change, it's in the back of the tank cabinet some where!!!