Need Help - Eggs Laid!!

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:37 pm

8 babies been kicked out now,

il wedged a piece of slate under the front of the cave to tilt it backwards a little. hopefully this shold help.

pleanty left in there with dad.

some of the babies that have been kicked out sometimes lie on their sides, is thisnormal until they develop a strong sucker to stay the right way up?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 1:41 pm

they shouldn't lie on their sides. They have a very strong sucker right from the moment they are hatched.

Sounds like dad is kicking out those that are not well...

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 6:35 pm

well iv lost 5 fry already and iv got 10 more in a breeder that have been kicked out.... nearly all of them are lying on their sides!!!!!

he still has some in there but im not very hopefull!

something has to be totally wrong in the tank for all of the fry to die so soon!!!!

it cant always be that dads inexperienced. this is his 4th spawn and the same thing has happened every time!

i dont know what to do!

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:09 pm

What's your water parameters? The fry are very sensitive to Nitrates. how often do you do water changes? And are you sure your tank is fully cycled?

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:31 pm

the tank is definatley fully cycled, it has been running for a just over a year now and has 3 filters working together.

nitrates is a good point tho! how sensative are they?

i never really check nitrates.

the tank is just over 90 liters and i change a 15 liter bucket a week on average, sometimes a little more.

il go check it now and get back to you!

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 7:46 pm

oh dear just check nitrate levels and its about:

40-45 ppm/mg per L

i assume thats high enough to kill 1 day old fry???!

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:00 pm

yes, that's not good... have you checked your tap water?

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:25 pm

just check the tap water and it has 5ppm of nitrate.

which isnt so bad, but considering the amount of food the zebras get and also the fact that when they are spawning i tend to cut down on water changes as to not disturb them everything is pointing to the high nitrates being the cause!!

as i speak all the zebras in the cave look dead and the ones in the fry trap are not too well either...

i really hope i have found out the cause of this problem!

do you think thats what it is McEve?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:33 pm

It could be

I can't promise that it is though

But if this is exactly the same that has happened all the other times it does point to the water conditions, and like I said earlier - they don't like high Nitrates...

Crossing fingers you found the source of the problem!

Sorry for your losses

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 8:38 pm

yes the exact same thing has happened every time.

after i wrote that message earlier whilst testing my water the result changed slight and the nitrate level got even higher but its hard to tell with slightly different shades of reds on my test kit so it could be anything from 40ppm to 80ppm..

either way its way too high, at what point does it become dangerous to fry?

im going to buy some purigen to remove it from the water, has anyone used this product before?

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:15 pm

I keep my water under 20, but theless the better. Clean water is very important.... I'm sorry I didn't suggest this earlier

We talked so much about it that I assumed. I shouldn't have.

I haven't tried purigen.

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:34 pm

its not your fault, its mine

i should of been checking nitrates! i didnt realise it could effect fish in this way

McEve · Post by **McEve** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 9:56 pm

At least your fish is spawning regularily, that's the good news. You'll get another batch soon I'm sure

And I will stop assuming. I do feel guilty... Better look forward, and maybe some of those you have in the fry trap might perk up if you get them clean water. Stay positive

NetsuaiAngel · Post by **NetsuaiAngel** » Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:01 pm

Daily small (25%) water changes can help reduce your nitrate levels down slowly and not shock your fish.

My tanks experienced high nitrates and I ended up doing daily 10g water changes on my 50g tank for a month to bring the levels down under 5ppm. I have also noticed a big help on the reduction of nitrates through my live plants. Even the japanese moss I have in my 1g shrimp tank has helped the tank maintain the nitrate levels.

Hope this helps.

- Angela

andrewcoxon · Post by **andrewcoxon** » Thu Jun 14, 2007 3:10 pm

update:

after speak to you McEve i did some water changes, i changed around %40 of my tank's volume last night over the course of 3 hours and then again the same today and the only fry i had still alive is still going strong!!!

everythings pointing to that being the cause!

McEve if you didnt live in norway i would kiss you!!!

il keep you guys updated on my little fry's future!!!