Daily small water changes?

[PK Tester]

What do you all think of daily small water changes?

Maybe about 10% ?


I HEAVILY feed my aquarium due to guppies babies and normally I feed kinda heavily and lately I have been changing water a lot because of this...

On tank has so many babies it its insane.

Does this daily 10% hurt?

 

[FishLover14]

It shouldn't hurt too mcuh but i wouldnt reccommend overfeeding any fish for any reason.

Dan

 

[PK Tester]

it isn't exactly over feeding...There are a so many fish that eventually it all is picked up. The problem with just feeding small amounts at a time (as I have tried many times) is the adult fish do indeed get all the food first.

 

[FishLover14]

oh okay.

Dan

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

Changes that small aren't really going to have much effect on your system. I'd suggest Hikari First Bites or finely ground up foods for your fry: those should be too small for the adults to eat, allowing more food to reach the little ones.

 

[TankGirl]

I know what you mean, PK, I have a tendency to overfeed tanks with fry in them, and with all the Endler's that's a lot of tanks!

In addition to the First Bites, Sera makes a tiny ground food that I just tried and it is perfect for babies.

Other than being a pain in the neck, I think your tank would only benefit from tiny daily water changes. You'll keep your DOC's low, but, the caveat is that if you acclimate your fish to this regimen, which will likely bring about a generalized reduction in nitrate, then you decide to quit doing it, the fish may become stressed when the general nitrate level raises. This is not a huge deal but it is something to consider. Conversely, fish will acclimate to higher nitrate levels also, and that's why changes in water change schedules should be done gradually, IMO.

All done picking nits....

 

[PK Tester]

Thanks Tankgirl I love your advice!

 

[FawnN]

Would it be possible for you to get a breeder net that you can hang over your main tank and put the fry in there?

This will insure that they get enough to eat and won't foul up your water as quickly, since most of the uneaten food will get trapped inside the netting.

I have 2 nets for this and will switch it out every week to clean it out.