Bristlenose fry dying :(

Hi,

My two and a half week old bristlenose fry keep dying, i had approximately 60-70 now i have roughly 30 left, they where in a 65litre tank.
Ph 7.4
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 20
With 10-20% water changed evey 2-3 days and a 25-50% water change and gravel vacume every Saturday.
The ones who have died seemed to have swollen stomachs, and become darker then the others. I fed them algea wafer and cucumber.

Ive recently moved the rest into a fry saver and into my 150litre tank, only a few have died since them.

Any ideas on what could be happening to them and what i could do to precent them from dying, this is my first spawn so im not that experienced and i dont want anymore of them dying

Personally i think your problem lies with the big water change.

BN fry are very sensitive to water peramiter changes.

I have a 4ft & can do a quick over the top gravel vac in less than 20% of my tank volume.

I do a 10% change daily with the gravel vac on the 3rd day.



But it could be anything. I keep my fry in a frysaver until they are 2cm, that way i know they are eating properly

Thanks

I have a cycles 3ft tank i might put them in and see how they go in there

Be careful moving them, you will have to do it over 1 hr period,

Take them & 1L of water, put into a 4L container or bucket with an airstone

Over the course of an hour, pour in 250ml at a time of the new tank water. (250ml = 1Cup) put a new cup in every 5ish minutes

You can add them to the new tank but keep an eye on them in a frysaver for at least 48-72hrs to make sure everything is ok

Regardless of what your water parameters say on paper, different tanks have different water & the slightest change too quickly can be death for little babies


I have moved fry this young & had them survive by doing the above. Keep a towel under the bucket to try keep the warmth in

Ok ill do that hopefully none have died since ive been at work,

Thanks so much for the info

Hi,was there any other fish in the tank with the babies? I personally wouldn't keep moving them as this alone can kill them.Did you have plenty of water movement in the tank and surface agitation? Did it have good filtration?



Bristlenoses  

I agree with bristlenoses on this and wouldn't move them. I would also revisit your feeding regimen. Some "algae wafers" contain more protein than you'd expect, or just not have quality ingredients. I would try feeding them more vegetable matter as opposed to processed foods.

Personally I do 75% water changes/gravel vac every other week and have had no incident with BN fry loss. But more frequent and smaller volume water changes in general are a better choice.

Are there other fish in the tank? Maybe they are eating some of their food?

i also second the ample water movement/surface agitation. You'll notice very lethargic BNs hanging out towards the top and gulping air when they are in respiratory distress.

Is the tank warm enough?

Good luck with everything and keep us posted.