# fry and growout tanks



## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

how do you setup new fry and growout tanks 
what type of gravel should i have
decorations
etc.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

My fry tanks are bare bottom (no substrate) with Lucky Bamboo stalks and Java Moss... The root clusters on the Bamboo & the moss make great cover for fry, I constantly see them nipping/eating things off the plants and both plants eat nitrates out of the water...

My grow out tanks are usually my fun tanks. I try to fill about 50% of the tank up with some kind of decor. Any kind of decor. Some have pots, some rocks/slate, random objects I think would look cool in a fish tank... I'm thinking about buying a Lego castle to put in a 30 gal 

The reason I fill 50% of the tank with decor is to give as many caves, tunnels, shelters, rooms, etc, etc as possible to give the fish opportunities to own mini territories if they need to do so. Pre-sexually mature fish are not territorial like adults, but often the toughest of the group like to claim a few square inches. This allows me to stock a lot more fish in a smaller environment during the grow out period.

Just keep water quality in mind when the tank is heavily stocked. Plumbing multiple tanks together and/or to a sump increases the total water volume and allows more creative stocking. But obviously if plumbing 5 heavily stocked tanks together you still have a heavily stocked system.

The two most important points in raising fry & growing out fish... water quality & diet... With pristine water and live BBS even I can keep fry alive!


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## LuV_DeM_CiChLiDs (Dec 29, 2003)

I know most ppl like bare tanks but in my grow out tanks I use sand as a substrate and have not had any problems. There are also a few pieces of lace rock in the tank for decoration. My moms do pretty well and almost never eat the fry so she is usually with them for a while after spitting to gain her strenght back and I think it is good to have a rock or two for her to hide behind. Hope this helps.


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## tylerj (Jul 20, 2008)

thankyou for your comments I am thinking in my 29 long tank I am going to have gravel and that is already in there and my first fry tank is going to be a eclipse twelve with a filter sponge over intake and I am going to have another one with sand and that one will be a 20h so the moms can recover and it can be a place for myfish to go to if there is no room in the growout ( just incase) also there will be a divider and one side will have some breeder nets and injured fish can go on one side and after I strip the mothers fry they can either stay in the breeder nets or in the tank and recover.


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## BurgerKing (Jul 1, 2008)

about the lego castle, I've tried a few different strategies for that. The problem with lego is that it holds air in the little pockets between bricks, then it floats. To prevent it from floating you can anchor it with gravel, marbles, stones, magnets etc.. Try building your castle under water so there isnt any air to worry about.

I know this information is pretty random, but fry love lego. Lol


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## css virginia (Jan 29, 2007)

I place my fry in a bare-bottom 10g tank with just a small amount of plastic decor. I use gravel in my grow-out tanks.


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## scuba20v (May 28, 2007)

i use a rubber-made tote for a fry grow out tank. no gravel! you will regret the gravel if you ever have to get them out. use a sponge for the inlet of any filters you use


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