I just have a question hopefully someone can answer. I am running a freshwater tank with three platys and one molly. i had a few more platys but got rid of them because i have a lot of fry and needed the extra room for them to grow. i put a tank divider in because of the overwhelming number of fry i have, the breeding net wasnt enough room for them. anyways when i had the other platys they left a lot of debris that i never started siphoning until recently (which is totally my fault and should have done since the beginning, but i AM now and am getting into the routine of doing so at least once a week) i've only been able to siphon the side of the tank with the full grown platys. the other side of the tank with the fry i have yet to siphon (because i am afraid), however it needs it BADLY.

so my question is.... HOW DO I SIPHON THE SIDE OF THE TANK WITH THE FRY IN IT, WITHOUT LOSING MY FRY? and how often should i siphon? it needs it so badly.

here is a picture of my tank... the left side is the side with the three platys and the molly and the right is the side with about 50 or so fry. sorry it's not a very clear image.

Siphoning a tank is really not nessesary (if you mean siphoning as in gravel cleaning) You can get away with doing it once a month. Water changes are more important. It's ok to suck up a few fry...just after you're done you can use a flashlight and a baby brine shrimp net/small net to capture fry. That is...if you are emptying the water into a bucket.

In your case...I'd capture the fry and place them in a bare bottom 10 gallon. It's sooo much easier to clean.

Do you have a filter runnning?

Thanks for the advice and ideas!

i did mean gravel cleaning when i said siphoning. i am using a filter however i dont think it's able to filter the other side of the tank that the fry are on to filter their water.... it's located on the side with the adult fish. Should i alternate sides?

Also i wouldnt normally want to use the siphon however there is so much build up on the bottom of the fry's side that it looks like a sheet of fuzzy mold across the bottom and all over the ornaments in the tank. it just looks pretty bad. i also have a LOTTTTTT of fry so trying to catch them all again might be difficult. i could try tho.

Would setting up a seperate tank be difficult and expensive? would i have to get another filter, heater, etc? How long should i wait after setting up another tank before transferring them?

Perhaps i will try siphoning after removing as many fry as i can in a breeder net or something or seperate temporary tank/ container. and then check the bucket after siphoning for fry. As well as doing water changes. How often should i do those?

Thanks again!

well, another fish tank 10 gallons would only run up to about.. 75 if its barebottom and no ornaments, which is a good idea for fry, and you could buy some java moss, which is veeerrrry common in stores, and stick it in the tank with the adults, it'll protect the fry and you wouldn't have to take them out, and if you add like, 4 gallons of water from the originial tank to the new 10, u wont have to wait as it'll be okay, be sure to detoxify it, but that only takes a half hour to finish. you need to just change water once a week, about 20%, and siphon like every month or 3 weeks or so,