Fry attached to filter sponge

[norto]

Just hoping someone can help the fry in my breeding tank are attached to the filter sponge(I was not quick enough to wrap it in filter wool) the parents moved them to the sponge as soon as they had hatched.It is 2 days since they have hatched and they don't even look like moving from the sponge. Should I remove the sponge and hope they attach to the parents or leave them alone? Any help would be great.
Regards,
Norto.

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi Norto,

It's quite a tough decision to make, I have found on a couple of occasions recently you're dammned if you do and dammned if you dont. If they are still wrigglers I would definitely leave them where they are because if you try and move them (as I did) many will more than likely fall to the bottom of the tank and if the parents miss them they will die. I thought all mine were free swimming but they weren't, heaps of them and I lost at least 50 wrigglers.

If they are free swimming but underneath the sponge filter thinking the dark coloured base is a good feed you can get a turkey baster and suck them up and gently squirt them back over the parents or into a corner of the tank. Once you have most of them take the filter out. If you just lift the filter out without moving the fry first you may well find you have a bigger problem, fry all over the tank, parents freaking out and no fry left after an hour, they may well eat them.
MAC

[norto]

Thanks MAC,
Appreciate the response MAC, seems I should not have worried as when I went down to the shed after i had written that post she had moved them back to the cone I think they realise I have only been keeping Discus for 6 weeks.As of 24 hrs later I have plenty of fry free swimming and i have taken the filter out.One Question when should i put it back in? I tried wrapping it in filter wool but that was a disaster, I also thought of putting some white stocking over the top but don't have any.Any more suggestions would be great. :)

[mistakes r crucial]

Hi Norto,

Glad its gone OK for you.

If you're changing small amounts of water daily personally I wouldn't put it back in until they are about 4-5 days old. I haven't had to put mine back in because they are on a system and I run sponge filters purely as a bit of a bacteria back up so I don't really know what would happen. My guess would be at 4-5 days and being fed brine shrimp they should be fine. Keep us posted.
MAC

[norto]

Thanks MAC,
So they will take Brine Shrimp now only being 2 days free swimming?
Norto.

[mistakes r crucial]

I think 2 days is a bit early but I've fed some of mine at 3 days if they've done well and grown. 4 or 5 days is the norm.
MAC