How to change water with fry in tank

[Newbie]

Hi everyone.......

I posted a couple of messages earlier as it has been a busy day with this new hobby of mine!

In the last 24 hours I have had all my Neon Tetras die on me but my white cloud minnows seem to be absolutley fine thankfully. I have just been getting rid of the last dead fish out of my aquarium when I noticed that there are minute baby fish swimming around (these must be baby minnows). They are so small that im wondering how to syphon some water out this week for the regular water change?

Any advice on how I am to care for these 'lil babies will be greatly appreciated - I have had enough fish death recently!

Also are fish babies known as fry as I keep coming across the term?

Many thanks

G

[Severus]

Yes, baby fish are referred to as fry. I have some neon tetra and black molly fry in a growout tank. I usually just syphon out the water very carefully for the water change. They are getting pretty big now, so sucking one up isnt really a concern. But i fed them hard boiled egg yolk (thanks octony) for a couple weeks and now they are all eating flakes. Feed them 3-5 times a day and take care of their water and they should be fine

[Newbie]

Thanks for your reply.

If I were to have a growout tank would it require a heater and a filter/pump like the one in my biorb or will some type of container do with water from my current aquarium?

Ill go and boil an egg now for their tea!

[Severus]

My grow out tank is a 10 gallon with a filter set on low. They seem to be doing well and there is not a heater either. Once you boil that egg use ONLY the yolk and mix it with water so that it creates a paste and most of the large chunks are gone. Put a little bit on the end of a toothpick and mix it in their tank

[jnmrcs]

Thanks for the info. (I take some new notes for when I got guppy fry)

[Lady Hobbs]

You may have lost all your tetra's due to neon tetra disease. It's something that can kill only the neon's for some reason. Also, I would check your water parameters for ammonia and nitrites. That's usually the biggest killer of fish and why a master test kit is so important to have........vital, infact.

Your question, I believe, was regarding changing the water with fry? I have had no fry so haven't had to do this but you brought up a good question. I wonder if putting a piece of gauze over your cleaning wand would work. You have to make very sure the water you replace is as warm as what you remove, of course.

Hopefully others with small fry can help with this question better.

[Newbie]

Thanks for your advice.

As it turns out I think that my ph may have been the death of the tetras? It was at 7.0 but I have read that Tetras need the ph to be much lower (about 6.0) - I have reduced the ph in my aquarium to 6.5 today.

The last neon that i had died last night - i think that ill get a little more experience before I dare introduce any other tetras into my tank. Im tempted to get a couple of guppies in the meantime.

The gauze idea is a great idea - ill do the change later on tonight so watch this space for my update.

:o

[Severus]

Let us know how it all goes. Did the egg yolk work out for you?

[Newbie]

certainly seemed to - the little blighters wolfed it down - thank your for your help. They have a better diet now than i do!

[Severus]

haha no problem