Platy Fry Basic Care

Question
Hello Ron, My Red-Wag Platy gave birth to 40 or so fry just two days ago in my 10gal maternity tank. I have since moved the Mom back to her community tank and have secured the intake valve of the filter,(to keep the fry from being sucked up.) The fry are now alone in the tank. The entire bottom of the tank is filled with both fake and real plants, mostly java ferns. I also have half of the top of the tank covered with plants as well. I also have a medium sized bubble wand on one end of the tank and can adjust its strength. I would like to know what I generally need to do to keep the fry healthy and happy. What should I feed them and how often? Do they need special food? Is there anything in my tank that will hurt them? I have a 5-15 gal filter in a ten gal tank, is this adequate?
Will the bubbles harm them? What can I do to make sure they grow quickly? Do I need to turn there light off at night? How long should I wait and how large should they be before they can be moved to the community tank? Also, they are in a slightly brackish water tank,(just plain aquarium salt is added at tsp. per gal or less.) Will the salt help/hurt the fry? The Mom seems to thrive with a bit of salt! I also wanted to ask as to how often I should change their water and how much water to change (example: 10% or 20%,etc.?) Also, do you have any ideas as to how to change the water without harming the fry or sucking them up the hose! My hose is rather large and seems to be that much bigger in a 10gal tank! I hope you are able to help me with my efforts to keep my fry in a safe environment.
The fry are only two days old and I want to make sure they have every chance to grow and be healthy in their surroundings!   Thanks, Anecia P.

Answer
Hi Anecia,
  Bubbles should not be a problem.  The biggest hurdle is getting them to eat. Try frozen baby brine shrimp.   

   The amount of light should not affect them.

  As for when to move them, that depends on what is in the other tank. If they are small enough to fit in someone's mouth, they will get eaten.

 I am not a fan of salt and never add any.

  I strongly recommend changing 25% of the water once a week, every week. The easiest solution to not sucking them up is to get a smaller hose just for use on the baby tank.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>