fry emergency

[brookie]

i have a 10 gallon tank with now 6 balloon molly fry and i count them alot and this morning i only counted 6 (there were 7 before) i counted again when i got home 6 i checked the filter nothing i lifted up all the decorations and i was dead under one of them i havent moved the decorations for a while and it was only at the most 24 hours it was there so it wouldnt starve to death how could this have happened and should i put the decorations back in or not they like to hide but i dont know



HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Allivymar]

Not exactly sure what you're asking. What happened to that one fry?

What other fish are in the tank? How small/old are the fry? How many were there originally? And what sort of filter are you using?

 

[cindywindy]

Brookie, relax, and I will see if I can help you.

The survival rate of fry is generally much fewer than what is actually hatched or spit. There are a lot of factors for this, including genetic defects, water chemistry sensitivity, or parental or tankmate cannibalism. This is the way that nature weeds out ones that are sick or unable to survive on their own, and is an inevitable fact of breeding fish.

I would put the decorations back in place, and just let nature take its course. If some fry are going to die, they are going to whether you have the decorations in the tank or not, I'm afraid. I can almost tell you with certainty that the fry did not die of starvation. This is rarely ever the case, as fry can quite easily find a variety of microorganisms on the substrate, decorations, and tucked inside algae to keep them nourished.

I'm sorry for your losses, I know you are devastated, but unfortunately, these things are likely to happen when your fish breed.

EDIT : Oops, sorry, Alli ! We were posting at the same time !

 

[AJ]

I lost a neon tetra once. Found him a couple days later swimming around in my HOB filter. Don't know how he got in there but he survived okay. Sometimes they go missing and you never find them too - I always wonder if they jumped out of the tank and the dog ate them (eww). Anyways, sometimes you find them later on without ever really looking for them. And you can drive yourself crazy trying. Put the decorations back in - the remaining ones will need them and chalk it up to a loss, there are lots in the aquarium business. Good luck!