the good, the bad and the ugly

[merk175]

The good news is my pair of blue turqs decided to spawn on Tuesday afternoon. The bad is they decided to spawn in the community tank and not the breeder tank they were in for the past 3 months! I pulled all of the other fish out and now have a fine 60 gallon breeder tank. :( This afternoon the eggs hatched. :) This pair has spawned before but unfortunately they're not the best of parents. :angry: Last time they basically ignored the fry once they went free swimming, fry never stayed attached and one of the pair ate the little ones over a period of a couple weeks. :p Who knows what's in store this time.

Now for the ugly. One of my kids noticed some little white specs darting around the tank.... my eyes aren't the best anymore but once she pointed them out I was able to see them. I've read about these little white buggers and if I recall correctly, they're not anything to worry about....hopefully not with the fry either. The other thing she noticed was some worms crawling on the bottom of the tank. Again, after she pointed them out I could see them. They're small, perhaps 1/8 of an inch long (a few maybe 3/16" long). Not alot of them but enough. White in color and definitely some type of worm. Don't think there's anything good about them.....so here's my questions:

1. tiny white darting specs: are they a concern for the fry and or parents?
2. worms: any idea what they are?
3. Can I get rid of them while I have the young fry?
4. If yes to #3, what do I use?

That's all for now..... looking forward to your thoughts/ideas. Oh yea, almost forgot....tank conditions:

60 gallon
BB, no plants. just 2 sponge filters
parents and fry only...no other fish
85 degrees, PH 6.0
of course no ammonia and negligilble nitrates etc.....

[Jennie]

http://www.aquariumfish.net/information/having_trouble_p2.htm

[scottthomas]

Most likely planaria. More frequent cleanings of filters, glass, etc. and uneaten food will eventualy get rid of them. At least to the point where you dont ever see them!

[merk175]

update. It is now day 6 since the fish spawned. Eggs hatched last Friday and the fry (most of them) are now free swimming. things look reasonably well. I dropped the water level 10 gallons so now it's a 50 gallon breeding tank ..... A bit tough for the parents to find all the fry. About half or more are now attached but many still remain in a clump at the spawning site. Should I try to shake them free of the spawining site or just leave them alone? I thought about using a turkey baster to squirt water on the clump and try to break them up. Suggestions????

Now for the more important info.... It looks like they're getting ready to spawn again! I caught the female cleaning the glass at a new site...close to the first one and now they're both shuttering again! Is this typical? Also, what will happen to the fry if they spawn again? Will they forget about the fry or will they ignore the eggs? What should I do if they do spawn?