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Hi

I've had a couple of batches of L-134 fry this year and everything has been smooth sailing so far reguarding the growth and health of the fry. However, in a recent batch( approximately 1 month old) I've had 4 fry die within 2 days. They have been kept in a frybox in the main tank with some oak leaves and driftwood, and they have been aerated with a small air stone with low flow. I've been feeding exclusively EBO spirulina paste and repashy up until 5 days ago when I started to include some vegetarian JBL sinking wafers. They didn't really like the wafers and I suspect they somehow fowled the water and that may have caused bacterial infections in the fry. That is just a speculation though...

The other fry in a different box(in the same tank) are doing fine which leads me to believe that the water parameters shouldn't be a problem. The fry aren't showing any symptoms what so ever and that's why I suspect a bacterial infection. This morning I cleaned out the fry box and moved them to a separate grow out tank and I haven't seen any losses thus far.

I know my information is limited but I don't really know what else to include. What should I do in this situation? Is it fine to medicate so young fry? Is it just a case of causation and correlation or should I be worried?

Thanks in advance, I can provide more information if needed but I can't really think of anything else.

Hi fishyfish00,

From what you're sharing, it does sound like food fouling the water, or even perhaps not the water but the food itself - if it grows any harmful bacteria on the food and the babies eat it or sit on it, that may be enough to kill little fry.

I can't speak to how fragile or strong the fry are with regards to medicine, but my first approach would be to avoid meds with fry whenever possible. Work on water quality and tank sanitation.

Good luck!

Cheers, Eric

Thanks for your input, I agree on your assessment! I think they will be fine but I just got super worried. I think they will do better in their new tank