Best Fry Saver - Free & Easy!

[Melody]

I'm going to get around to writing about fry savers eventually, but I had to post about the proof I had tonight of the most effective fry saver.

I have a 10G tank that I selectively breed in. Since it really doesn't matter if I see the fish or not, I have it on a lower shelf at almost ground level. I never bother turning the light on since I can't see it easily. Its right beside patio doors so the fish get enough light. There are no plants, even plastic - I just never got around to it. There's gravel and a small tufa rock or two and that's it. No decorations, caves, etc.

Tonight I'm fishing out Guppies for Ms. Mixixe and remember that I had a few of the nicer Guppies breeding in the 10G. They've been there for around three months. I take the hood off and turn a light on so I can catch her some. There is newborn fry everywhere. Tiny little things, all born from the past week I'd guess, some within the past 24 hours. There's also a bunch that are at various fry stages. There had to be 60 fry in that tank and probably more.

Obviously not many had been eaten. Their only salvation was darkness. I usually advise people to leave the lights off when they know a female is due so they can spot the fry and net them out before they get eaten. It never occured to me that semi-darkness alone could do it though.

So if you need to save some fry in a tank that has adults but your boss won't understand that you need a week off to stare at the tank until the birth, keep those lights out!:D

[fishykisses]

i did the same thing!!! i had a 10g with 3 pregnant guppies in it and i kept the tank underneath my 25g SW tanks at the time. I left the lights out cause i was having major algae issues, well i would just drop food in every day, and other than that didn't much look much at it. Well 3 weeks later i finally decided i needed to clean it all out and deal with the algae head on and there were 168 fry in there and one was still preggers!!! Even when there was a tablespoon of water left at the bottom i was finding stray newborn fry swimming in the puddles between the gravel. CRAZY!!!

[Melody]

I guess its just not something we'd normally risk so it never occured to me how effective it was. I still wouldn't risk it if I really needed to save the fry, but now I know I'm over-fussing, as per usual. Darkness will be something I utilize A LOT more now.

I can't wait to try it on my Albinos. Albinos are almost blind at birth, so they swim towards the light rather than into cover - munch munch munch. I've even talked to experienced breeders who just thought their albino fish were very cannibalistic and had no clue about that.

Am I super smart? Very advanced? Oh noooooo - I learned the hard way like I learn everything else worth knowing....lol. I saved some Albino Mollies and tried to add them to the community after they were a few days old, which usually works fine in a tank with lots of cover. I watched in horror as they swam right into the brightest spot in the tank and got eaten. :no:

[mixixe]

I need to try that b/c the only way i can get my fry to survive is that I scoop out whatever fry are left after the fish have finished eating them, and put them in the breeder tank.

Question is how long my plants can stay alive with the lights off.

Hmm..

[Melody]

Most fish seem to give birth at night or in the early morning, so as long as you check as soon as you turn the lights on, you should be fine for the day. That's not fool-proof, but its something....lol.

I find that big masses of plants work well too - like I have a big ball of Pennywort, Java Moss, and other floating plants, right from the top of the tank to the bottom in some. In others its a good 4"+ deep. It should be away from the current as that's where the fry will head.