Effect of turbidity on Convict fry? - Aquarium Advice

gzeiger · 10-04-2009, 10:56 AM

My convicts hatched out a batch of new fry yesterday afternoon. I need to get them moved out of their parents' tank and into their own 5 gallon to induce another spawn and to minimize the chance of cannibalism. The fry tank has a HOB filter with fry guard and a brand new substrate consisting of a thin layer of crushed oyster shell for pH buffer and calcium (my water is very soft, with GH at 2-3 dH and no detectable KH).

The same tank until yesterday housed an earlier batch of convicts which grew up ok with a bare bottom, but they didn't seem to grow as fast as I had hoped so I'm trying the shell this time. Those guys are now in a 10 gallon.

My problem is that the turbidity from the new shell hasn't cleared yet. This was chick-grade poultry feed and had a lot of fine dust in it. The filter and normal siltation has cleared it up a fair amount since yesterday, but it still looks like I poured a glass of milk in it. Visibility is pretty good looking sideways through the tank, but end-on you can't see the other side.

Normally I would just wait a few days for it to clear, but I didn't plan this very well (didn't see the eggs until the day they hatched) and now I'm in a bit of a hurry to get the fry moved because (1) I'll never catch them all out of the parents' tank after swimup and (2) the parents ate the last batch of fry at 2 days old.

I'm trying to get 100% survival, not just a few, so I'm not going to leave them with the parents. Also, I want more eggs soon. Does anybody know if a little cloudiness in the water will be harmful to day-old fry?

convict78 · 10-14-2009, 01:34 AM

convict fry are stonger than most fry.i moved my fry into a small 1 gallon with no filter and they all survived(with daily water changes)i then moved them to a ten gallon with filter.i thought at some point some would die off but they didnt.i am having a heck of a time finding homes for them now.i started out with the plan to use them as feeders but as they grew i didnt have the heart.

convict78 · 10-14-2009, 01:38 AM

dont expect a response about south american cichlids here,this site is full of african cichlid lovers.if you ask them about one of their favorites they would have to open a new thread their would be so many responses.just (mho)

mfdrookie516 · 10-14-2009, 02:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by convict78

dont expect a response about south american cichlids here,this site is full of african cichlid lovers.if you ask them about one of their favorites they would have to open a new thread their would be so many responses.just (mho)

I agree and disagree. There are more african lovers (thats the part i agree about) I am a mbuna lover, but im happy to answer anything i know about south americans, since i had convicts prior to my mbuna. There are also several people on here very knowledgable about south and central american cichlids as well as new world cichlids...

redforest jewels · 10-16-2009, 08:49 AM

it is best if you get a boushy plastic plant for the convicts to hide in

convict78 · 10-16-2009, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redforest jewels

it is best if you get a boushy plastic plant for the convicts to hide in

i have java moss for my fry,they sleep in it at night.funny thing to see so many fry all packed into a plant for bed.i highly recommend having java moss for fry,even in their own tank

Liquid_Pyro · 10-16-2009, 11:42 AM

why dont you just put the fry in one of those breeder traps, in the main tank until the cloudy tank settles?

that way the parents cant get em

I had the same problem with my convict parents eating the fry at 2 days old, however now that they are in a tank with some other cichlids equal to their size they dont seem to eat they fry as they are too busy defending them...Pretty stoked to see the result

gzeiger · 10-16-2009, 04:03 PM

I haven't had good experiences with breed traps. They don't get much water circulation and tend to collect debris and a surface scum. That's fine for a small brood of livebearers, but for a hundred plus fish I didn't think it was a good idea. Anyway, it's done now.

And now I have another batch set to hatch probably on Sunday. I need to go get another tank if I'm going to keep them all segregated by age group.

Liquid_Pyro · 10-16-2009, 05:00 PM

well I assumed it was for maybe a day for the fry to stay in the trap, while the other tank settles...is what i meant

gzeiger · 10-17-2009, 02:49 AM

That is a good idea. It would probably be good for them. Maybe I'll pick some up tomorrow when I get the new tank.