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i am getting a hatchery this week, so i dont have to feed it much longer, i HATE feeding it

i think it was from not cleaning it as much as i should have, and maybe a bit of overfeeding i will do another test after the wc for today

Do you have any ideas as to how the ammonia and nitrite ended up in this tank? If it is not cycling, then it must be overloaded or have too much detritus, unless the sponge was vigoursly rinsed. Even then, it holds a good bit of bacteria.

oh,yes the sponge filter it had been seeded for a few months, before i started to try and breed these 2 so yes, it is verymuch so seeded

Are you talking about Amquel Plus or Prime?

Even Amquel or Ammo-Lock will at least take care of the ammonia. The Amquel Plus includes nitrites.

You can get it online if not locally. While you may not have it now, it is good to keep on hand in the future.

You are better off with the larger bottle if you have to mail order it.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4057&inm=1&N=2004+113565

You didn't mention if the sponge was seeded previously? Or did you put something in the water like Cycle?

Last edited by Cory_Di at 21-Feb-2005 07:40

no where areound there has any of those maeds i have looked for ads or anything for a fishstore coming, but nothing yet, i may have to start this on my own well, maybe but maybe when i go away this weekend i can find somthing

One other comment I'll make about food in fry tanks. Uneaten food has been proven to carry columnaris bacteria, not to mention mold and it happens quickly. This increases the columnaris bacteria and mold count for the water column. By removing it daily you lessen that chance and hopefully, can adjust feeding to avoid uneaten food. It's hard with fry tho.

Good luck with the rest and watch the ammonia and nitrite. A water change means nothing to the cycle and those numbers will shoot back up in as little as 12 hours. I'd be testing daily and using Prime or Amquel Plus.

i just finished the water change for tonight and sadly, the end of the tube had somehow fallen from the water jug, and went all over the floor, i accidentally sucked up some fry, and i wasnt worried because i thought could just put them back in the 10 gallon but sadly i found 3 fry on the floor after a bit of searching, but sadly none could be saved but i salvaged 5 fry from the water that made it into the jug now the tank is in mend, i checked my culture for infusoria and it was teaming with life so i gave them the culture, i have another up and running now, i saw some of the tiny ones darting about some, so i think they were enjoying a good meal am i doing things right now? i dont want to jeperdize their lives anymore

i do have a bare bottom tank, and i do syphon water back in, i syphon it out on one side, and syphon it in on the other, so that when its going in, it pushes most debris tord the other side so it can be easly syphoned out, i am changing my routine to doing that once a day at night, and seeing how i am going away for a few days, im leaving on wendsday, and i am coming back, like saturday, so i will make sure they r fed, i would take then with me, but i DO NOT want to travel with 3 week ols fry, expecially betta fry, but soon i HOPE my bad mommy() problems will be over

Fishy - I would personally get something like Prime or Amquel Plus to help with ammonia and nitrite. The tank is obviously cycling. However, only use one drop per gallon every 12 hours for 3-4 doses as it can really cut o2 levels down. I don't know if the fry use their gills to some extent even tho they are labrynth fish. You may get false positive readings on ammonia after using them, but what matters is to stop the losses. Unfortunately, such delicate fry can be damaged from such ammonia or nitrite, especially that high.

Nitrates are too high. Either the tank is too small for the amount of fish or there is overfeeding. It is a delicate balance to get the leftover food out of the gravel while not harming the bacteria growing there. For fry tanks, you should strive to keep the nitrates at 5ppm or lower.

Was the tank seeded before the fry were moved there? A good thing to try is to seed a sponge filter in a healthy tank for 3-4 weeks before you plan to breed. Then move the filter with some of that tank water, provided nitrates are low and the tank is healhty, with no chemicals or treatments, other than chlorine/chloramine remover.

Hard lesson to learn, that's for sure.

I agree on the pH. Something is wrong there, but don't try to play with it as only a 0.1 or 0.2 per 24 hours is tolerable. For fry, probably less so. Are all your tanks that high in pH? If not, what kind of substrate do you have in this tank? Is it light colored? Do you have any light colored stones or rocks? Any shells? Something is giving off calcium. Please don't use pH adjusters as I believe something in the tank is driving that up.

Also, check your tap water for pH and kH. Check it right out of the tap and then check it 24 hours after it is out of the tap and exposed to open air in a narrow container. Shake it a little to expose more water to the air during that 24 hour period. Your pH out of the tap and 24 hours later could vary based on gases that come in the tap water. Once it is equalized with the atmosphere, you'll know your true pH.

Does this tank have gravel in it? A good idea is to have a bare tank as it can be kept cleanest. It is hard to keep up with and it drove me to siphon out stuff daily. I stuck a straw into a piece of air tubing. You can use aquarium sealant around where the straw fits into the tubing or vice versa. I used a flexible straw with the flexible end down. It takes a long time to vac, but works well in a fry tank. I did this with just 3 fry in a 5 gallon - daily! It usually removed less than 1 gallon and I trickled same temp water back in over 15-30 minutes and they never knew it. I even did this with larval stage fry. A few weeks later, I was able to simply pour the water back in, but gently.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 20-Feb-2005 12:17

help my 3 week old (on sunday) betta fry are on their sides gasping for air whats wrong?

Thats prolly why you are having trouble keeping it clean. Feeding powdered foods can quickly foul the tank as fry are less likely to eat it over live foods. And at 3 weeks they should be noticably bigger then newborn fry, also prolly due to water quality and food quality. Try switching them to bbs, fry will much prefer it.

good luck!
ashley

i already, said, im feeding first bites, so i am thinking about cleaning out a diff tank, filling it up a little more, and getting the temp the same, then saraning the top and when they are pretty simmiliar i will put the fry in, a few at a time, *it may take a while, seeing how only a few are "nettable" size*

What are you feeding?

ashley

I wouldn't see why not, as long as they are free-swimming.

oh, and i have a sponge filter thingy running, so it is getting airation, can i rise the water level yet?

other than the fact that you are getting readings for Nitrites and Ammonia, that ph seems a bit high for Bettas.
and I would aerate that tank ASAP.



Last edited by Jessnick at 19-Feb-2005 17:32

ok im testing right now

i just did a water change a few days ago, and i use rightnow a turkey baister because i still have newborn size fry while i also have fry about the size of newborn guppy fry i think i counted like 13 left i think some of the fry that were on the bottom are swimming again but i am having trouble keeping the floor clean i did a major water change the day i removed the male but i couldent get evrything clean and i dident want to stress them any more, ok i think the tests are ready.....
nitrate- 20ppm
nitrite-.5ppm (crap i guess i need to do a water change)
GH-300ppm
KH-(not quite sure, mine is a light blue)
ph-8.4
ammonia-.... !! 3.0
ok so i have to do a water change, i will do after i post this

well i guess i just answered my question

i have the top covered with a saran quick wrap, and i am feeding powdered food i am getting a realy cool brine shrimp hatchery on wendsday i hope i know at least 1 fry is going to make it, what on earth do i do about those poor little runts i have alot of them, so maybe one of these are those "most beautiful of the spawn" but thanx for the help, and i think i answered everythng

Also, with Betta fry, the additional question has to be asked, is your room air temperature significantly lower than that of the aquarium?

Betta fry need a warm air layer above the water surface for the first few weeks of life. If they ingest cold air, this causes numerous complications and is a contributory factor to Betta fry deaths, particularly among first-time Betta breeders.

Keep the aquarium lid closed fairly tightly, and try to minimise the ingress of cold air when performing feeding and water changes. For water changes, it's even worth rigging up a permanent siphon tube in the fry aquarium so you don't have to lift the lid to change the water.

Oh, and don't forget to answer Cory_Di's list of questions above. Because if you're not suffering from cold air ingress into the fry aquarium, then something more serious is going on.

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

fishy - we need a full range of parameters, especially in a mass crisis.

Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
pH:
Temp:

Additives such as dechlorinators/chloramine removers?

Are there live plants? If so, are you dosing fertilizers? What kind?

Explain your maintenance routine with this tank and the filtration. Was it seeded before the fry were added?

Sorry it is not going well. Any fish on its side, including fry - it is not likely to end well.


Last edited by Cory_Di at 19-Feb-2005 14:25

Last edited by Cory_Di at 19-Feb-2005 14:26