# Fry Control



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Hey all, 
I'm looking for a fish that would fit in a 20 gall long tank thats heavily planted and pick off some of my extra endler fry, someone gave me 15 of them and theyve quickly overpopulated my tank!

It needs to be something that wouldnt gorge themselves on fry like a betta, I still want to have some babies around, I just want to slow the onslaught a bit :lol:

It would need to be small enough that it wouldnt attack my adults either.


A singular fish would be best as well if possible, my tank is on the higher end of being stocked and I dont want to burden it with a school.
Ive got cherry shrimp too and would like to keep those living if possible, though I dont mind if shrimplets are eaten.


So a mid to top dweller thats wont gorge itself and isnt too big.

Maybe a honey gourami?




Here is the tank that has my endlers.








Ignore how unorganized it is right now, 
Im rescaping this weekend


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

fish net and toilet would be a simple problem solver. but then again it comes down to your personal opinion on that method.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

MoneyMitch said:


> fish net and toilet would be a simple problem solver. but then again it comes down to your personal opinion on that method.


Id rather not just flush a fish, I dont think its right to flush something just because it wont fit in my tank or I dont want it anymore. At least with having a predator, its not wasteful.

If worst comes to worst, I can drive the half hour to my LFS and just donate them.


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## tanked (Jan 28, 2013)

what's in the tank next door? perhaps there's an option to the unceremonious flushing (but more just interested in what's in the other tank).


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

tanked said:


> what's in the tank next door? perhaps there's an option to the unceremonious flushing (but more just interested in what's in the other tank).


The tank next to mine is cycling and going to hold male guppies 

I cant put endler fry in there though, theyll cross breed and make my problem worse :lol:


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Well.... that's the thing with live bearers, they breed faster than mice and will never stop.

Getting a fish to control the population isn't a very good idea. They might eat them all, they might only eat some, they might not eat any. You just don't know, and then what do you do with it if it doesn't do what you planned for it?

If you don't have a second tank that you could 'feed' with the babies than giving them to a LFS is the only other option short of killing them. Be warned though that the LFS may or may not take them, there is never a shortage of live bearers since they are so prolific.


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## jentralala (Oct 5, 2012)

Maybe set up a Betta tank and feed him the babies? Only other thing I can think of.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Geomancer said:


> Well.... that's the thing with live bearers, they breed faster than mice and will never stop.
> 
> Getting a fish to control the population isn't a very good idea. They might eat them all, they might only eat some, they might not eat any. You just don't know, and then what do you do with it if it doesn't do what you planned for it?
> 
> If you don't have a second tank that you could 'feed' with the babies than giving them to a LFS is the only other option short of killing them. Be warned though that the LFS may or may not take them, there is never a shortage of live bearers since they are so prolific.




I have a spare 8g bowfront thats empty tight now that can hold said fish if it didnt work out and it fit, but regardless, I can see where youre coming from.

I may just get a betta and or some scarlet badis or something for the bowfront and feed the fry to them, that way I can control it. 

I have a LFS that will take them regardless, I'm friends with the owner.
Whether or not I get store credit is another matter :lol:


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

jentralala said:


> Maybe set up a Betta tank and feed him the babies? Only other thing I can think of.


Yes, thats my back up plan.
I have a divided betta tank already but one of my bettas is blind and I dont know if the other will eat them, hes a teddy bear.

The blind one is master shrimp hunter though so it would be interesting to see if he could get the fry too.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

ugh livebears, not my cup of joe =X


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

MoneyMitch said:


> ugh livebears, not my cup of joe =X


generally not mine either, but endlers have a bit of charm to them that I like.
They look really nice against my plants too


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

I can tell you from experience that if you want the shrimp to still be alive, I would avoid a honey gourami. They are beautiful and will eat the babies, but they will likely go after your shrimps (yes the adults), too. If the population is established enough then it won't be a problem for him to pick off a few adults now and then, but if it's just beginning I'd wait a while. I had three honey gourami in my 29 with RCS... they are not the reason my shrimps have a dedicated tank all to themselves. :roll:


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

thekoimaiden said:


> I can tell you from experience that if you want the shrimp to still be alive, I would avoid a honey gourami. They are beautiful and will eat the babies, but they will likely go after your shrimps (yes the adults), too. If the population is established enough then it won't be a problem for him to pick off a few adults now and then, but if it's just beginning I'd wait a while. I had three honey gourami in my 29 with RCS... they are not the reason my shrimps have a dedicated tank all to themselves. :roll:


Duly noted, It seems all the anabantaids I want/have are all master shrimp killers! :lol:


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## thekoimaiden (Oct 19, 2011)

Just totally realized I made a horrible typo. I meant "now the reason"... Just burned my right pointer finger horribly and having trouble typing... 

But ya... I feed my shrimp culls to my bettas... so far none have survived. Anabantids are like shrimp-killing machines. I think your best bet is going to be removing the babies manually...


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

I think feeding the fry to bettas would be a good idea. I don't know much about the scarlet badis but they are adorable and if they would eat the fry that might be an appealing option.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

thekoimaiden said:


> Just totally realized I made a horrible typo. I meant "now the reason"... Just burned my right pointer finger horribly and having trouble typing...
> 
> But ya... I feed my shrimp culls to my bettas... so far none have survived. Anabantids are like shrimp-killing machines. I think your best bet is going to be removing the babies manually...


Haha, I actually skipped right over it, I got the gist of what you were saying though.

Probably, since I'll be keeping my fry control fish in another tank, that leaves me with more possibilities on what I can have so that works out for the best too. I must say I've had my eyes on some sparkling gourami lately :lol:







DragonFyre14 said:


> I think feeding the fry to bettas would be a good idea. I don't know much about the scarlet badis but they are adorable and if they would eat the fry that might be an appealing option.


Scarlet Badis are nice, I had a male and a couple females awhile back, they were a bit too shy in my tank and super tiny so I dont know if they would actually be able to eat the fry unless it was just born.


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

Yeah that is what I was thinking. 2cm is fairly small. I'm sure the tank is too small but what about like an African leaf fish or african butterfly fish?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

DragonFyre14 said:


> Yeah that is what I was thinking. 2cm is fairly small. I'm sure the tank is too small but what about like an African leaf fish or african butterfly fish?
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Both of those will get too big for my tank, its an 8g bowfront.

I'll probably just get a betta and hope I manage to get an semi-aggressive one.


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

Thats kind of what I figured. Worth a try though. If you get one who flares at you or zips around the container, I've found those are often more aggressive. It's usually just luck of the draw.


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## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

DragonFyre14 said:


> Thats kind of what I figured. Worth a try though. If you get one who flares at you or zips around the container, I've found those are often more aggressive. It's usually just luck of the draw.



Thats generally how I find out too

Granted I've usually tried to find the nice ones before! :lol:


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## DragonFyre14 (Aug 20, 2012)

Haha. My Raphael was one of those bettas. I picked up his cup and he just zoomed around it like a rocket. Took him home, and he's really sweet but I'm sure he would go crazy if I were to put another betta near him.


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