Penn-Plax NB2 Net Breeder Deluxe | Easily Separate Fry for Safety | Simple to Install and Adjust

I have 30 platy fry that were divided by size in 3 different plastic breeders w/ 3-4 side slits. They would dirty overnight and I would have to rotate and clean them daily without moving or losing any fry. The fry were cramped for space and weren't growing or thriving.... so I came to Amazon.This net is just what I was looking for.. read some bad reviews about not being able to assemble... If you follow the instructions step-by-step you shouldn't have any problem snapping 4 walls and a bottom together. Assembly took less than 10 minutes. OVERNIGHT my fry grew and are visibly happier. I would guess the net breeder gives about 1 liter of H20 for the fry to swim and grow. The mesh allows for constant water movement, while still providing protection. I have 3 sizes of fry in mine and none of them get swept out. One of these net breeders easily fits 30 fry until they are ready for big tank. Great buy!1st pic- the suction and sliding mechanism that allows the tank to slide up and down with water levels2nd pic- inside the fry tank just after feeding (so it's a little dirtier than I'd like), but again, it doesn't negatively affect fry behavior like I was seeing w plastic designs.

I was reluctant to buy this because if you look at the older reviews, they say the holes are too big in the net. However, I looked at the date on those reviews, and the newer ones, and the netting on the newer ones looked different-finer netting. It is. No egg, of even the smallest size should fall out. I bought this for Pygmy Cory eggs, and they're not going to fall through the net. The net is comparable to brine shrimp netting. There were some small holes where it snaps together, but I put a bead of clear silicone over them.(make sure it's aquarium safe silicone though)Now for the ASSEMBLY- at first, I had some trouble snapping it together, but figured out if you squeeze the tab part of the frame, to the slot part of the frame, specifically at that part of the frame, you will hear it click in. You have to hold both pieces with index/thumb and squeeze them together-at the frame part. (hope that made sense) I was trying to just push the top and bottom together as a whole, but you have to do it specifically where the tabs enter the slots. Don't know about the suction cup yet, looks lightweight, but will probably be ok. Will know later today...but all in all, for the price, I am happy with it.

So the pins are a bit sketchy, but dabbing some super glue on prior to pressing it in and allowing 24hrs to cure has been effective. I double up the usage for a nursery when I get a couple of interesting fry that I don't want nature to do with them as it will. The other use I've put it to is refilling the tank (I use buckets because I can't use a python or other filling methods). I've been using it for months, taking on 20-30gal of 5gal buckets a week. The super fine netting does a great job of not disturbing the tank mates for refills.As a nursery, I do keep it in the corner front of the tank. Simply put, it can pivot due to a single suction cup. It does level freely, but a tip over would mean your fry are exposed.The assembly process is simple. the box is nice and square. Netting mesh is super fine (it'll hold air bubbles beneath it so similar to a shrimp net). I don't use the supplied plants as a surplus of water lettuce is tossed on top for the little guys to play/hide in.Overall - it sounds like some of the prior issues have been remedied. The pins still need glue/aquarium silicone to hold it in place. Doing so has allowed over 60 5 gal buckets to dump through it without ever losing a single one. I'd say that's a pass for testing its durability, eh?

Update:I loved this box at first, but unfortunately today it let me down. I am not entirely sure how it happened, most likely one of my larger fish got on top of it and push one side of the box down, or perhaps it was a snail pushing it slowly. We will never know, but like a drawer that is pulled out at an angle and gets stuck, this got stuck with one side down below water level. My fry escaped and despite catching the problem quickly and scooping up several of them before they were eaten, 3 became snacks for my bigger fish. RIP little guys. I am moving my rating to two stars because it did not keep my fry safe. It is still a well made box for all the other reasons I mentioned in my first review, but they need to figure out a safe way to keep the box at the surface.Original review:I was looking for a box that would keep my tiny fry seperated from their cannibalistic parents and this box is exactly what I needed. The mesh is very fine and the smallest of fry will not fit through, seriously, even their poop is too small to fall through this mesh. I was worried about the suction cup letting go and dropping the box into the water, but this box floats, so even if the suction cup does let go the box will just float with the top rim just above the surface of the water, keeping the fry safely contained. It was relatively easy to put together, but my child came in with a giant bug while I was building it so I was distracted and put the top on upside down and backwards...(Don't judge, it was a praying mantis so we were all pretty fascinated by it.) It was really hard to get the top back off to correct the mistake so pay very close attention to how the pieces are supposed to be put together to avoid the same issues. I would definitely buy this again and recommend it for anyone that needs to keep their fry safe.

I had high expectations for this product because of the reviews. When it finally arrived, I assembled the frame. The trouble came when I tried to set up the sliding bit. First of all, the diameter within the clear tubes were vastly different between the two. Therefore, when I tried to insert the caps, one was too loose and one was too tight. Rendering both useless. Then, the piece the plants are supposed to be attached to wouldn't slide on. So, I couldn't use that part either. I ended up just using the bit with the suction cup by attaching it to the hoops on the outside of the frame with string. It's usable but I'm now realizing that the suction cup isn't very secure. It somehow managed to slide down in the middle of the night making way for the adults to jump into the pen.I had to run some aluminum wire through black airline tubing and push that through the holes in the top to prevent the pen from moving.

Cheaply made, really not great quality outside of the netting. It DOES work but it also doesn't. Will it hold fry? Absolutely. Does it hold them well? Yes. Does it attach to the tank? Nope. Does it constantly sink and detach and cause your fry to get loose/eaten? YEP.Do not recommend this to anyone. I like the idea of the netting/mesh but that's about it. Accessories and such do not work or fit nicely, holding devices doesn't work, and has caused me to lose our first molly fry batch :(

My only advice is to be careful when putting together. Make sure the top tabs are on the same side as the support tubes are on the same side as the bottom tabs before snapping together. In my haste I made this mistake not fun. Definitely increasing my cichlid fry survival rate in m'buna tank.

I really like the solid feel of the net, and the fact the mesh is secured to the panels. Believe the other reviews when they say where the design fails is at the suction device. No matter how hard you press the suction cup in to the glass, you can see through the glass that there is a large air bubble trapped in it. Normally, the net's buoyancy helps it to stay in place, but if you disturb the water surface just a tiny little bit, the suction cup will come loose even if you don't touch the breeding net. And because it floats with the top edge just millimeters out of the water, as soon as it comes loose, the fry at the top will escape. I lost a lot of fry this way and it's extremely frustrating each time it happens. With so much thought put into making a better breeding net, couldn't they invest in a better suction cup, or at least design it with more than one? And since there is only one suction cup, and the net doesn't slide up and down the vertical rails smoothly, it is hard for the net to stay level, again losing fry.

Ce produit est de très bonne qualité. Il est assez robuste, on voit bien à travers, il se fixe bien à l'aquarium et il laisse bien passer l'oxygène nécessaire aux poissons se trouvant à l'intérieur. Je trouve qu'il est de bonne qualité par rapport à son prix.Son seul petit défaut, c'est que je le trouve trop grand pour mon aquarium de 10 gallons. En effet, il prend beaucoup de place et les poissons qui ne sont pas à l'intérieur ont donc beaucoup moins d'espace pour nager.