Fry and filters.

[jonruthy]

Hi,
We thought we would post this as we think it could benefit some fish keepers.
A few weeks ago we had our first fry and we got told of a good few people to cover our filter with a stocking to stop the fry being sucked up and mashed (1 of those people was a guy at the LFS) so we did what we thought at the time was the right thing to do and put the stocking over the filter.
All our fry died within the first week or so, we did daily water changes, kept an eye on the water quality etc.
We had fry again 5 days ago and we did the same, covered the filter! within a day some of the fry started to die, so we started to think well, what if the tank isn't being filtered as it should be, so we took the cover off the filter, now I don't know weather this is just coincidence or not, but since we took the cover off we haven’t lost a single fry and lost none by being sucked up into the filter. It’s been off now for 3 days.
Our fry are thriving, getting bigger by the day :)
We would love to hear your comments on this.

Many thank
Jonruthy xx

[Evil Slimy]

I experienced a similar issue when I put stocking over the siphon I use for water changes in my fry tank. It's a small siphon with little suction, but I watched contact with the stocking kill two fry instantly, despite my quickly stopping the flow of water.
I'd be curious to see what the thread looks like when magnified. I still haven't been able to find a reasonable explanation myself.

[toddnbecka]

Sponges are much better than stockings, they don't clog as quickly or restrict flow. I use part of an aquaclear filter insert to cover intakes when necessary. It's quite possible there was something toxic to the fish on or in the stocking fabric.

[luvfins]

Sorry to hear about your fry, that is really strange :(

I agree use an aquaclear (or any filter) sponge. Cut a hole down the middle lengthwise with scissors but not all the way through to the bottom, then slip it over your intake. It also gives you extra filtration and the fry will eat stuff off it too.

[1Brotherbill]

There are too many jokes for this one. However, what kind of fabric was the stocking made of? Was it synthetic or natural? That would have a factor in what killed your fry.

[MandyL]

Interesting post. I put a nylon on my filter a while back and the fish were fine, but it stopped the flow of the filter altogether within a couple days.

[jonruthy]

There are too many jokes for this one. However, what kind of fabric was the stocking made of? Was it synthetic or natural? That would have a factor in what killed your fry.


It was a nylon stocking 1Brotherbill, but as we said the fry are staying well away from the filter, so we haven't lost 1 since we took the stocking off completely, the fry are thriving now.
jonruthy