Extra food not filtering?!

[jhawk__]

So In my nursery tank, I feed my baby fry 1-2 times a day and they usually don't eat it all. I figured the filter would just cycle the food buts its not doing anything. It's just sitting on the bottom of the tank. I want to put a catfish in there to clean it up but the fry aren't big enough and the catfish might eat them. Should I continue to feed them or just see if they eat the food off the bottom of the tank. It's sitting on the sand so they can. Still get to it if they want. I can post pictures if needed. PLEASE HELP!

 

[librarygirl]

Why not just do a water change with a siphon and suck out all of the excess food? If left to decay it's going to cause water problems and fry are sensitive to ammonia, etc. I've also read something about frequent water changes being beneficial to fry to enhance growth. If you're worried about sucking them up, either put a net or something over the siphon or use an airline tube---just suck on the opposite end to create a siphon flow and it'll suck up the food along the bottom with minimal water and less chance of sucking up fry. I'd double-check the bucket though before you toss out the water.

 

[jhawk__]

Ok that's a really good idea! I never thought of putting a net over that. I'll try it let you know how it goes. I'll post before and after pics! Thanks