# all fry died in half a day... dont let me do it again!



## m1ste2tea (Nov 12, 2009)

this is so frustrating... My yellow lab mated with a red zebra cichlid and I stripped the yellow lab mother and got 18 good sized fry with their yolk sacks all gone. I put them in a 10 gallon tank with an aquaclear 20 thats good for 100 gph, seachem matrix in the filter with sponge media as well. I also put in an air stone what I previously used for a 50 gallon tank, so I had a good amount of water circulation in the tank.

exactly 3 weeks ago I stripped the mother and started feeding the fry hikari first bites initially and then started mixing it with crushed spirulina flakes a week ago. They doubled in size and started swimming freely around the tank more. I had cleaned play sand at the bottom with nothing else. I changed the water 30% every week.

yesterday night before work I noticed that they were once again all huddled in the corner of the tank so I did another water change and put extra water conditioner and extra carbon into the filter. They started dying, so I took out 50% of the water and put in bottled water instead with some aquarium salt...

then I had to go to work

I came back and they were all dead.

their eyes were popped out, and the bodies already started to fall apart

I just dont know what I did or didnt do that killed them.

so here's my dilemma I have another yellow lab holding that has the same daddy and I am planning to put those babies in the same tank.

what should I do to prepare the tank after they die-off and what can I do to prevent fry death?


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## justinf67 (Jul 19, 2009)

dont pull the female and let them be snacks for the tank... hybrids are frowned on and have no place in the hobby. :thumb:


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## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

Was the fry tank cycled? What were your NH3/NH4, NO2, and NO3 readings when the fry were dead? Did the edges of the gills look enflamed, red, or brown? Was the filter media you used seeded for a few weeks in the big tank, or was it just out of the box?


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## soulpride (Aug 30, 2009)

why are you keeping hybrid fry. if you plan to sell or give them away i say don't. hybrid are hard to tell their personality and to id. why are you changing water every weeks for the fry tank. it is suppose to be very days until they are .75" to 1' then every week. 50-60% water change everyday to keep the fry alive. bottled water have a very low ph. only at 6.0 to 7.0 ph. even aquarium salt won't rise the ph in bottled water. what are your tap water ph? don't use hob filter use only sponge filter it more safer with the fry. since you have sand in the tank it is much hard to vac the bottom. some breeder use bare bottom tank to keep their fry in and a lot easier to clean too.


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## m1ste2tea (Nov 12, 2009)

my filter media came from the adult tank and it had plenty of BB on it, I let it run for a few days before putting in the female. I kept the female in there for a few days before I stripped her.

I want to keep the fry because I want to start another cichlid tank in my daughter's room. she's 4 and is amused by any fish whether they're hybrids or not. I was not looking to sell them as I know people hate hybrids.

the tap water here is pretty good, it is very hard and keeps its ph at about 7.1-7.2. the water in the tank was cycled and my parameters were all at zero.

so for the next attempt I am just going to put an air pump driven sponge filter, and no sand.

I have never heard of changing water every day for fry, is this true?


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Your nitrates should not have been at zero. But if ammonia and nitrites were zero and you remembered the dechlor and the aquaclear had seasoned filter media in it I don't see the cause.

Mbuna fry are pretty sturdy, I lose adults more than I lose fry.

Daily water changes are to increase speed of growth but are not necessary to keep fry alive.

Seems like a toxin got introduced to the tank that day. A household cleaner? A child "feeding" the babies something not good for them?


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## Number6 (Mar 13, 2003)

I suspect that this is a case of ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. The symptoms sound bang on. Check dates on tests, etc. With your filter, you do need to be wary about a dead fry getting sucked in and decomposing. If I ever have fry acting like that I usually do a large water change AND clean out the filter/ scour that tank for dead bodies.


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## m1ste2tea (Nov 12, 2009)

yeah, thats what I suspected it... I did a 50% water change before I left for work... and I did look at the filter, cleaned the sponge...

it just stumped me.


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## John27 (Jun 6, 2010)

Be aware that if you stock the hybrid fry in a tank and let them grow (such as in your daughters toom) there is a *chance* that you'll end up with just one fish, unless he also dies in the crossfire. Hybrids are not _guaranteed_ to be super aggressive, but it's also not uncommon for a hybrid fishkeeper to walk up to an empty tank all of the sudden. Again, it's not a guarantee, in fact that's the whole issue with hybrids- you have no idea WHAT they are going to do or how they will behave. They might be great, or they might be vicious, you really never know. They could also develop unknown diseases or die prematurely. If it were me, depending on the constitution of your daughter (i.e. her ability to handle dead fish / fighting fish), I would stock something I KNOW would work, like some yellow labs or something, and then play with the fry somewhere else.

But that's just personal advice that has nothing to do with fish keeping, so, my $0.02 I guess!

-John


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## m1ste2tea (Nov 12, 2009)

i might just do that...

annoyingly enough the same red zebra just mated with another yellow lab... I just cant get any purebreds.


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

m1ste2tea said:


> my filter media came from the adult tank and it had plenty of BB on it, I let it run for a few days before putting in the female.


If you let it run for a few days without any fish in it or without feeding it, I think it might be possible that the BB starved & died ?

If you don't want hybrids (and you really shouldn't want them) I think you should separate the red zebras from the yellow labs. Red zebra males are notorious for mating with yellow lab females & since they are a more aggressive species, than the labs, they probably won't give the male labs a chance to mate.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

m1ste2tea said:


> i might just do that...
> 
> annoyingly enough the same red zebra just mated with another yellow lab... I just cant get any purebreds.


You may not get any as long as there is a male red zebra in a tank with yellow labs. Apparently your male RZ is dominant over any male labs you have in that tank.


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## iplaywithemotions (Dec 18, 2008)

Yup, red zebras and notorious for crossing with labs. If you want purebred fry, get rid of the zebra, or vise versa.


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