Vacuuming with fry in tank

[Gayle B]

I have a community tank including guppies doing what guppies do, and I have two batches of fry. I tried to vacuum the gravel (and need to) but the fry swim right down by the intake!  Help!

[Pookies Aquatics]

Put the guppy fry in a net breeder. That way, they will be close to the surface and cannot get sucked up. This will also keep them from getting eaten or lost.

[Gayle B]

I did just get one, but it is unlikely that I can corral all of them. It is a heavily planted 75 gallon tank.  The plants (plastic) have done a pretty good job of protecting them from the rest of the herd, but I didn’t think this problem through. I will do my best to round them up. Thank you for the suggestion!

[Ken Dyer]

You could also gravel vac into the breeder net above your bucket and use that to catch the fry 😉 

[Marc]

I just gravel vac into a bucket trying to avoid them and then when done I net any fry that made it into the bucket. Generally I try not to vac when there are really young fry.

[Daniel]

If I am concerned about siphoning up small fish, I nestle the business end of the siphon in a fine mesh fish net until I am done siphoning.

[L.W. Wetarm]

I have two schools of Brichardi fry being guarded by their very aggressive daddies that stare and flare at each other all day . So protective that they attack the magnetic glass cleaner thing.   My white sand is starting to look more like a brown shag rug.  

[Alesha]

Hey @Gayle B, does anybody at your house wear stockings? Knee highs would work too. A trouser sock would probably be too thick, though. 

That's what we use. Use a piece of the stocking material to cover the end of your python, then use a rubber band to secure it. The trick is to stretch the material as tight as you can without ripping it. We just push on the material  the first time we prime it to help the water flow into it faster. 

It doesn't get all of the particulate, but it does a pretty good job. 

Hope the helps, 

Alesha (akconklin)

[Gayle B]

On 11/11/2020 at 12:02 PM, Daniel said:

If I am concerned about siphoning up small fish, I nestle the business end of the siphon in a fine mesh fish net until I am done siphoning.

I like that idea!

 

On 11/11/2020 at 12:02 PM, Daniel said:

If I am concerned about siphoning up small fish, I nestle the business end of the siphon in a fine mesh fish net until I am done siphoning.

Great idea!