Ive a molly and guppy that Im afraid will give birth again within the coming weeks and last time around some of the fry got sucked up the filter and survived inside there. I now have 6 molly fry and 1 guppy fry. Presently have them in the hatchery but getting a tank divider early next week in the post! So with the onset of more fry,I want nature to take its course this time around, and having seen that the filter was the only place the fish survived last time around as I dont have an overly planted tank. So with the dilema of a population boom in aqua city (my front room!), I have decided to ensure the filter wont say any more fry by placing a net across the filter. Its a net bag that came with some garlic that I bought and I got two elastic bands and hey presto its on it now and I hope no more fry get up there from now on! Tights were probably another option however I didnt want the filter overrunning to get water through.

Thats a good idea. Just make sure it dosent clog with debris and restrict the flow to the filter.

Hi there and welcome.

The fry would be alright in the hatchery for a few weeks if not a month or so.
I used to use a small(very small) pump from an indoor water feature and had it pumping tank water through the hatchery which ensured that it didn't get stagnant in there.

I used to clean the hatchery with a length of tubing and syphon out the crap and leftover food at the bottom. Alternatively to clean the hatchery you can lift it up so that the water level drops to about a half inch and the waste goes out through the slots in the hatchery and then push it back down again thus refilling the hatchery. This way you are flushing out the crap into the main tank to be taken care of by the internal filter.

Feeding crushed flake.... crushing in your fingers is good enough you can get it powdery this way and is small enough even for new borns.

I have only had my tank 2 or 3 years now so I am no expert but can share my experience here. And these are only my opinions/methods that have worked for me.

Keep the questions comming and good luck.

Niall.