where to raise fry

hi everyone i am new to the hobby and new to this site.
i have read many articles and posts about this issue but i am still having mixed thoughts about how to best raise fry.
i have a 4x18x18 tank ran by a eheim 2217 with a sponge filter and undergravel filter. i have a trio of bristlenose in the tank and there are around 50 fry in the tank from them. they have spawned again and i am unsure what to do.
i have another 4x18x18 with same filteration sitting empty for now as i have it prepped for more fish but could use it for fry.
should i keep the fry with the adults or move them into a new tank (the other 4x18x18).
if i keep them in the adult breeder tank would the there be enough space in the tank for the adults and fry? and would the filteration be sufficient enough?
if i move them, do they really need adults to be in the tank with them?

longy-

that is a good question I would say that it is purely personal choice and depends on the set up and the parents.

I have fish that both like to be in the tank with the fry and sometimes don't..

it is hard to say.... my male gets a little over protective of his cave after the fry have left and I have noticed
he whips the sand substrate up now and again when the babies are close. That as been a little awkward since I use fluval filters
and on occasion he as kicked a couple into the inlets at the bottom of the filter-resulting in a few dead fry.

not had any losses apart from fry swimming into the inlet and not being able to get back out.

now that is corrected with a ladies stocking over the bottom lol... we all have our resources lol...


I know other people on here that swear to leave the fry in the tank if there is enough room.

While others remove them and place them in a grow out tank to rear and then sell from.

I also sometimes remove the fry from their cave (spine shell in my case) to a fry saver for the first 4 weeks as this enables me to have less filter fatalities (until my pocket allows sponge filters ofcourse).

Must admit the fry and babies are easier to catch in a grow out tank than the mai one with their parents.

Stay tuned and I am sure others will give you their thoughts..

Hi & Welcome
Congrats on all your fry success
I'd leave them for a few days after they come out of the cave, They seem to thrive on hanging out with ma n pa, specially when feeding, (even tho dad will be tending his new batch), he'll still be cool with the juvies) then after a few days even a week, catch them & give them their own grow out tank, that way you can reduce the attention the breeding tank is getting..gonna be fun catching those bubs tho, lol, remember to keep an eye on the grow out tanks levels as they can rise rapidly as the fry grow so darn fast...Your going to be over run, I would pull out the female soon and put her in the grow out tank with the fry , cos they will be at it again , as soon as the second lot are swimming lol, The flood gates have opened

Tip: Cover all intakes of filters with a round sponge specifically designed to not let small fry through...Otherwise you will loose fry to the filter monster

Moo thanks for the tip, alittle late Imight add.... lol

but other newbies might do well with it.

On the same lines have you ever tried getting a sponge to cover the inlets at the botom on the new Fluval 4 plus filter.....

lol... me thinks not - that is why I resorted to using the tights around the bottom...lol...

also worth pointing out that most sponges would not allow room to fit when the fluval filters are stuck to the side with suckers and only give sufficient room of about 10mm

.... might be worth while setting a new thread up on this at a later date

thanks for the help,

so what am thinking is that i may leave them in the main tank for 2 weeks then remove to the growout tank, then continue this process until i have all the fry out of the tank and they are ready to spawn again.

my concern with moving them at this stage is i have read that they need parents poo and the parents to be in with them. is this true at all?
also how many fry nwould i be able to growout to 3cm in a 4x18x18 with my filteration setup? i was hoping a couple of spawns.

oh yeah thanks for the tip on the filter, i didnt even think of that.

thanks again for the advice.

Hiya
its a good sized tank..You should be able to fit a few batches of fry in that tank...

Re "Do the fry need the parent's poo?", This question hmm Its is quite a debate, I would say the fry would get many lifestyle tips off the parents, I don't know about the benefits of the fry and the adult waste tho (although I have read that also), They apparently do get something beneficial from the bristles of the adult (this is under debate also),

Like I said, I would take the females out and leave them with the youngens (might help the fry), this way you will also be able to regulate the amount of fry you get, Don't breed them madly, if they breed continuously, it is going to quickly give you too many fry to cope with in one grow out tank, the fry grow fast remember...& breeding too often can have a detrimental affect on the female, a break every other month or so will do her well...

Let the male raise the eggs/fry he has in his cave now, while you grow the first batch up with their mums..Then when you're about to sell the fry off, put the females back with him again..the tank will be ready for the next lot of fry then....your tanks should cope this way, keep up the wcs in both tanks.
If you have too many fry in there you will get problems, so think of their growing size when your counting the fry...
Just my opinion of course lol, But thats how I would do it...

Moo..

very sound advice that is... my female is due a break in the next week or so.....

kinda weird for me I have to move the fry out into my third tank then I put my males together in one tank for a month....

a little hard when you have three tanks and males in them all....

it's like crop rotation but female rotation between the tanks..lol....

Solid advice

How many litres is your grow out tank?
I've no idea how to work it out with the measurements and just wondering out of interest.... to know if a tank I have could be used as my grow out tank

does this site have a tank water calculator...lol...

cant tell on my mobile right now.... if not then try out badmanstropical web site out, think that is the one I use for calculating water volume and other things I can not find on here )

if not pm me the measurements and i will work it out for you next time I get to the pc...lol..