Would this work?

[fishhead0103666]

As some of you may know I’m doing a 20 gallon tank that will be a quarantine/guppy breeding tank and I was thinking of ways to improve the survival rate for the fry. Since the tank is also going to be a quarantine tank I don’t want to have anything that’s permanent like live plants, I want something that can help the fry survive but also be taken out to be cleaned fairly easy.

Imagine a few layers of marbles, a layer of fake plants, then more marbles and fake plants with the very top layer being fake plants.
My thought process is that the marbles and fake plants will create spaces that the fry can access while adults can't. The fake plants will also help make sure that the fry get food because the leaves will trap small bits of flakes and such.


Does that sound like it could work for what I’m hoping to acheive and are there any flaws that anybody notices?

 

[Kittiee Katt]

I know you said you didn't want live plants but what about a "big" floating clump of moss, java or the like? You can just pick it up and move it to another tank (or a bucket, as long as the bucket gets light) whenever you need to. Worst you'll get is a few "strands" attaching themselves to the décor or filter intake here and there.

I used moss with almost all of the fry tanks I've had (which admittedly isn't many). They can hide in the moss, safe from parents or larger siblings. And the microorganisms that grow on the moss supply a constant grazing source.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I’m just thinking out loud here but if java moss was used would it be better to have it growing down in the marbles as long as it got light? I’m going to use clear marbles so light getting to it wouldn’t be an issue.
If it grew down there then it would also provide a place to hide and a source of food.

 

[Mitchell The Monster]

Could try those DIY spawning mops.

 

[Go_redfish]

Hornwart is a good floater too. I use it for the koi and GF breeding season.

 

[Artt]

I had a decent amount of success with the java moss and spawning mops with my goldfish.

Could try those DIY spawning mops.

I second this

Spawning mops are really cheap to make and can be cleaned easily enough if you really wanted something that isn't live. They can be left floating or you can sink them. I've used them both ways.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I should have worded it differently, I don’t want something that must have substrate since it will be a quarantine tank partly and moving the plant back and forth between tanks wouldn’t be good for it. Floating plants could work well...
I shall look into spawning mops.

 

[Artt]

I found that a chopped up pool noodle worked better to keep them floating than the often suggested ping pong ball, and it wasn't always trying to slip out and need mucking around with.

 

[MrsE88]

Why would moving a floating plant be bad? I have hornwart floating in my turtle tank and I remove it weekly when I vacuum the tank. It’s grown better then it ever did in any of my fish tanks. Lol

 

[fishhead0103666]

I found that a chopped up pool noodle worked better to keep them floating than the often suggested ping pong ball, and it wasn't always trying to slip out and need mucking around with.

View attachment 1353214

Very creative, I'll be sure to use this idea and pass it forward to other people in the future.

Why would moving a floating plant be bad? I have hornwart floating in my turtle tank and I remove it weekly when I vacuum the tank. It’s grown better then it ever did in any of my fish tanks. Lol

Plants that require substrate such as swords, not floating plants.