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I recommend a nursery tank, 2-3 gallons is fine. Don’t worry about cycling it. By the time the babies are generating a measurable amount of waste, the tank will have cycled naturally. Don’t use anything that’s been in the main tank to avoid getting hydra. Any time you feed a lot of live BBS, you will get a hydra explosion. In your main tank, the fish will eat them, but in a fry tank they can sting and kill babies. If you use a spawning mop it will be easier to collect the eggs. I put clean, dechlorinated water and a clean sponge filter in a 3 gallon tank. If you get one of those cheap USB powered tiny air pumps, it won't create too much suction. Put an Indian almond leaf in a cereal bowl and cover it with boiling water. When the water has cooled, put the leaf and liquid into the tank. Indian almond leaves will add tannins to the water, which will ward off fungus. Meth blue works, but it is bad for babies, so you have to change the water when the eggs hatch. The leaf will build up biofilm for snacking and give the fry a place to feel safe. I don’t tear it into fragments because I need to move it when suctioning the bottom of the tank. I try to stick the eggs to the glass so I can monitor the progress and sometimes I can see the tadpole pop out of the egg, but just get them into the tank and they will be fine. After the eggs hatch, I start feeding live BBS right away. For the first couple of days I put a tiny pinch of Hikari fry powder in with it. I use a pipette to squirt the food into the leaf litter. It’s true that the hatchling will live off its yolk sac, but that’s not ideal. They need to learn to hunt and eat before they are desperate for food. I use the dish-style BBS hatchery. I put mine in a very warm spot and they hatch in about 12 hours. I rinse them out of the collection cup using water from the fry tank and then squirt them into the nursery. When I can see that it's time for more, I put as many live ones as possible in a plastic tub of clean saline and restart the dish so I have a constant supply. I work from home, so I feed 3-4 times a day. About an hour after feeding, I use long tweezers to move the leaf to one side of the tank so the tiny fry will go there to hide. I suction the bottom of the tank that it uncovered, move the leaf back and suction the rest. I try to remove as much crud as I can, and then I change about 3 cups of water. Rule #1, scared babies don’t eat. So give them litter to hide in and squirt the food down into the litter. Rule #2, balance the need for clean water and frequent feeding. Rule #3, don’t take loss personally. Mother Nature anticipates low survival rates, so the fish have evolved to prioritize huge numbers of eggs over genetic perfection.
That's how I do it. Here's what I've learned over the years. Don't use any water from the big tank. It might contain hydra. Fresh dechlorinated tap water is fine. If you get one of those cheap USB powered tiny air pumps, it won't create too much suction. Put an Indian almond leaf in a cereal bowl and cover it with boiling water. When the water has cooled, put the leaf and liquid into the tank. Indian almond leaves will add tannins to the water, which will ward off fungus. Meth blue works, but it is bad for babies, so you have to change the water when the eggs hatch. The leaf will build up biofilm for snacking and give the fry a place to feel safe. I don’t tear it into fragments because I need to move it when suctioning the bottom of the tank. I try to stick the eggs to the glass so I can monitor the progress and sometimes I can see the tadpole pop out of the egg, but just get them into the tank and they will be fine. After the eggs hatch, I start feeding live BBS right away. It’s true that the hatchling will live off its yolk sac, but that’s not ideal. They need to learn to hunt and eat before they are desperate for food. I use the dish-style BBS hatchery. I put mine in a very warm spot and they hatch in about 12 hours. I rinse them out of the collection cup using water from the fry tank and then squirt them into the nursery. When I can see that it's time for more, I put as many live ones as possible in a plastic tub of clean saline and restart the dish so I have a constant supply. I work from home, so I feed 3-4 times a day. About an hour after feeding, I use long tweezers to move the leaf to one side of the tank so the tiny fry will go there to hide. I suction the bottom of the tank that is exposed, move the leaf back and suction the rest. I try to remove as much crud as I can, and then I change about 3 cups of water. Rule #1, scared babies don’t eat. So give them a leaf to hide under to hide in and squirt the food down under it. Rule #2, balance the need for clean water and frequent feeding. Rule #3, don’t take loss personally. Mother Nature anticipates low survival rates, so the fish have evolved to prioritize huge numbers of eggs over genetic perfection.
I wrote about this a while ago, so I hunted it down for you: Get a fry tank ready: Put clean, dechlorinated water and a clean sponge filter in a small (2-3) gallon tank. If you get one of those cheap USB powered tiny air pumps, it won't create too much suction. Put an Indian almond leaf in a cereal bowl and cover it with boiling water. When the water has cooled, put the leaf and liquid into the tank. Indian almond leaves will add tannins to the water, which will ward off fungus. Meth blue works, but it is bad for babies, so you have to change the water when the eggs hatch. The leaf will build up biofilm for snacking and give the fry a place to feel safe. I don’t tear it into fragments because I need to move it when suctioning the bottom of the tank. Don’t worry about cycling the fry tank. By the time the babies are generating a measurable amount of waste, the tank will have cycled naturally. Besides, you’re going to be doing frequent water changes. Don’t use anything that’s been in the main tank to avoid getting hydra. Any time you feed a lot of live BBS, you will get a hydra explosion. In your main tank, the fish will eat them, but in a fry tank they can sting and kill babies. If you use a spawning mop it will be easier to collect the eggs. Make one out of black acrylic yarn attached to a magnet. Stick it in an area of high flow. Take it out every day and examine under strong light. Be careful-- there might be a fish in the mop and you won't notice. You can pick out the eggs with your fingers. Put them right in the fry tank. I try to stick the eggs to the glass so I can monitor the progress and sometimes I can see the tadpole pop out of the egg, but just get them into the tank and they will be fine. After the eggs hatch, I start feeding live BBS right away. It’s true that the hatchling will live off its yolk sac, but that’s not ideal. They need to learn to hunt and eat before they are desperate for food. . Use a pipette to squirt the BBS under the leaf. The fry prioritize safety over eating, so getting the BBS under the leaf will dramatically increase survival. I use the dish-style BBS hatchery because it is so simple and separates the five BBS from unhatched eggs and shell fragments. I put mine in a very warm spot and the eggs hatch in about 12 hours. I rinse them out of the collection cup using water from the fry tank and then squirt them under the leaf. When I can see that it's time for more BBS, I put as many live ones as possible in a plastic tub of clean saline and restart the dish so I have a constant supply. Newly hatched BBS are the most nutritious because they still have the yolk sac. Raising fry is a constant battle between clean water and frequent feeding. You have to overfeed, and that means there will be decaying food. I try to repeat the process 3-4 times a day. Squirt live BBS under the leaf. Wait about an hour. Using tongs, pick the leaf up and move it to the far corner of the tank, trying to avoid taking the crud with you. Wait for the fry to scurry under it. Use a pipette or baster to suck out the crud. Check under the sponge filter, too. Crud will accumulate there. Now change about 2-3 cups of water. Don’t take losses personally. Mother Nature anticipates low survival rates, so the fish have evolved to prioritize huge numbers of eggs over genetic perfection.