baby fish

[Dave]

we set up a small, 10 gallon aquarium about 3 weeks ago. we also got a little overzealous about adding fish and put too many in too soon. we had 7 after the first week and a half. the tank didnt have time to cycle properly and the ammonia/nitrate levels were completely out of whack. now we appear to have a brown algae problem to tend to.
we were going to put the remaining fish (4) in a seperate container and completely clean the aquarium out and replace the gravel.
however, one of the fish had babies sometime last night. i was looking closely at the fish to see if they had any type of crud growing on them when i saw something darting along the bottom. so far i've counted 12 baby fish hiding in the plastic plants and in spaces under the gravel. got to be like a game of "where's waldo" looking for them.
i guess we'll go back to taking out and replacing a gallon or two at a time a few times a week and hope that everything clears up in time.

 

[greenfreak]

What kind of fish? Some of them are dirtier than others. I had a constant battle with my goldfish in my 30 gallon aquarium. Had to replace 25% of the water every week and all of it every month, and even that didn't resolve all the problems.

If you leave the babies in there, they'll probably get eaten by the adults anyway.

 

[MrBishop]

You've got to get a good batcerial balance before adding in the fishies... if I start an aquarium, I leave the water inside circulating through the filter (sans the carbon) for 2 weeks prior to adding fish.

I suggest a snail or three...maybe an octosinclis (sp?)...a sucker. to help clear out the crap.

As for the babies... setu up some hidy-holes for them...low lying plants are good, propping rocks against the sides of the aquarium so that it leaves only small entries is good too. Shame that you didn't know that one of the fish was preggers ahead of time. There are great tank add-ons for raising baby fish. Not too expensive either.

 

[greenfreak]

Be careful with the snails, they are asexual and can reproduce on their own. They're great at cleaning but can become a problem in itself. I had one that became two but that was as far as they went.

I also had 2 algae-eaters, I forgot what their names were. They even burrowed under the gravel to eat there too, they were great.

 

[Dave]

i figured we were going to have baby fish real soon. was just hoping that we could get the tank cleaned first. we have plastic plants and loose gravel on the bottom, which is where they are all hiding.

the cloudiness has started to resolve. still need to check the ammonia levels in a day or two to see if they've come down any.
i signed on with a couple of aquarium forums and it seems the brown algae will resolve on its own. Diana is going to the fish store today to see if they have any additional hints for us.

 

[PT]

I've got about a dozen babie guppies in my tank right now. I've got one momma guppy that has been eternaly pregnant since I stuck her in the tank about two months ago. At first they would follow her around and eat em as they came out. Now the dozen that are in there are about a half inch long and seem like they're going to make it. As for the snails, I've got em too, they come and go though, I've had as many as 20 in there, then didn't see any for a couple months, now I've got four or five.

 

[Mare]

so far i've counted 12 baby fish hiding in the plastic plants and in spaces under the gravel. got to be like a game of "where's waldo" looking for them.

where's waldo.......

i know you can buy the little plastic tanks to put in your tank that holds the babies, it makes it easier to take care of them and see them.....Goodluck with the babes.....

 

[PrincessLissa]

I like the algea eater guys too. They do a good job although they are gross little creatures. I wouldn't leave the babies in there either. The big fishies might think they are snacks.