Spawning and Fry Care
1. Use a piece of panty hose over the end of the intake tube of a power filter secured with a rubber band to protect your fish from getting stuck on it or the fry being drawn into the filter. Good substitute when you don't have a small piece of sponge to cover it. ("cga_dancer" FT)
2. Spawning Mops. To make spawning mops, wrap acrylic yarn around hand to the thickness desired. Secure tightly by wrapping a few times around the middle and tie tightly. Cut the loops on the ends, and trim to desired shape. Rinse well before use. You may attach a weight to hold in place in the tank or attach to a suction cup to hold against the side of the tank. ("klewis61" FT)
3. To prevent sucking up fry during a water change, put a piece of pantyhose over the end of the tube and secure with a rubber band. Saves the lives of your babies. ("klewis61" FT)
4. To get guppies to grow rapidly they must be fed lightly but often. When getting ready to feed newly hatched Baby Brine Shrimp do this: go & fed some finely crushed flakes. Then about 15 minutes later feed the BBS. Your guppies will fill up on flakes then EAT, EAT, EAT the BBS. This is the (secret)to growing guppies. I do this nightly before putting them to bed, this way they are not swimming it all off during the day. Try it for a month & see what happens. (guppiestoyou FT)
5. In order to get your fry to grow quickly it is said you should change at least 10% of your water DAILY!! (guppiestoyou FT)
6. You can sex live-bearers early - no need to wait until the anal fin moves back. Simply look for the gravid spot (small darkened area above the anal fin). Female fry will have this, males will not. Depending on your live-bearers you can sex as early as two weeks. Early separation by sexes is critical for the maximum growth of guppies. -Angie
7. For raising tough fry and picky loricariids paint a rock. Step 1) Grind your favorite fish food to bits. You can add any kind of fish food and even ground dried vegetables. 2) Separate an egg white from the yolk. 3) Mix the egg white and fish food. 4) Paint the resulting mixture on a flat rock or driftwood. 5) Let it dry rock hard. 6) Place it in the tank. The dry egg white will only dissolve very slowly in water. Your happy loricariids will eat away since this mimics their "natural" foods. Fry also benefit from the protein in the egg white." (Norbert Flaugger FT)
8. Plastic plants that float across the top of the water make a great place for the babies to hide and eat in safety. Purchase an extra-large size plastic plant with lots of tiny leaves on it. Remove the plastic cup for holding it in the gravel. Secure the "root" end to the top of the aquarium at the side with a suction cup and some fishing line. ("gemfins" FT) You can also purchase breeding grass or use live floating plants for this. - Seeker (176)
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Dealing with Unwanted Snails, Algae and Other Tank Pests
1. Add a few loaches to get rid of snails in a tank.
2. Zucchini Trap. Place a piece of zucchini at the bottom of the tank at night. Tie a piece of acrylic yarn to it if you like. Raise it up along with all the snails on it and throw it away. -Silver Dollar Momma
3. Snail Trap. Trap snails by using a small glass soda bottle, put some bait inside (like a piece of zucchini) lay the soda bottle on its side - leave in tank over night, snails will crawl in. Remove them in the morning and re-bait. Repeat as needed. Best used with fish too large to get stuck in the opening of the bottle. -Angie
4. Snail Pail. Use a tiny, shot glass sized terra cotta pot. Tie yarn around it in two directions and another long piece to those to raise and lower it with. Bait with zucchini or an algae disc. Empty when full and re-bait. - Seeker
5. Never kill snails with your fingers. This can lead to a bad infection. Keep a spoon handy to crush them instead. Your fish will love a snail for a treat. - Chris
6. Try a bristle nosed catfish or an otocinclus (oto cat) for algae control. - Seeker
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>Power Outages and Temperature Extremes
1. Buy a battery operated pump and batteries, in case the power goes. -Angie
2. Keep some 20oz bottles of water frozen in the freezer. If the tank temperature is getting too high due to weather or a power outage, float them in the tank. You can also float some ice in a zip lock bag in an emergency. If the heat is just due to the weather, you can place a fan to blow across the open top of the tank - Angie
3. Wrap the tank in a blanket to hold in its heat during a power outage in the winter. - (A&A?) (185)
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Links to the other Tips & Tricks pages:
Intro, Tools & Gadgets
Tanks, Used Tanks, Buying Used Tanks, Cleaning Used Tanks, Tank Set Up
Tank Set Up cont'd: Dividers & Barracks, Heaters & Air Pumps, Substrates, Backgrounds, Decor
Decor cont'd: Caves, Live Plants, Fake Plants, Fasteners, Filters, Filter Media
Cycling, Fish Wrangling: New Fish, Transporting or Shipping, Acclimating, Netting
Feeding, BBS & other live foods, Fish Health, Chemicals, Medicines & Treatment, Salt
>> Spawning & Fry Care, Snails, Algae & other pests, Power Outages <<YOU here< are>
Maintanence, Water, Water Conservation
