Babies, Babies And More Babies!

[PA_fishlover]

We went away for vacation for a week. Before we left, I knew that my female molly was pregnant since she had her last fry Sept 30 and it had been 4+ weeks since then. We came home on Thursday night to find 14 littlee fry in the breeder net! We had a friend of mine looking after the fish while we were away and told her that she might have the babies while we were gone, but she didn't have to worry about trying to save them since I put a lot of stuff in the tank for them to use as cover. However, she took her 2 daughters along when she came over to check on them, and once the girls saw the babies, they insisted she catch them and put them in the net. So now I have 14 little ones swimming in my breeder net. They will stay in there for another week or 2 unti they grow bigger and then I will release them into the main tank after I move the mother upstairs to the bigger tank. After that, I have to figure out what to do with the fry that make it to adulthood.

 

[guppykid2006]

so whats ur question?

 

[Silverlady]

He is just telling you his good news!

 

[dwarfgourami]

He is just telling you his good news!

Or bad, depending on his viewpoint

 

[guppykid2006]

oic lol

 

[Silverlady]

He is just telling you his good news!

Or bad, depending on his viewpoint

Lol

 

[PA_fishlover]

so whats ur question?

Just sharing good news! I'm excited about them since the very first batch of fry we had (20 of them) didn't make it due to us not knowing anything and not having the tank cycled before we got the fish.

The second batch of fry left us with only one surviving out of the 2 fry we found. Here's a picture of that fry who is 6 weeks old:

Here is a picture of the newest additions:

They are just too cute!

 

[x-fish]

wow i like it!

 

[PA_fishlover]

Wow! It's almost 4 weeks since the little guys were born, and all 14 are still alive and growing. Momma is looking like she is going to have another batch in about a week or so, so I need to get these guys out into the tank soon. The biggest one is almost 3/4 inch long. Momma has a pretty big mouth, so I know that she could still try to eat the smaller ones (some almost 1/2 inch). Do you think it would be OK to let the larger ones out of the breeder net? Or am I risking them being eaten?

 

[Charlie06]

We tried one of our baby guppy fry in our main tank as they are about one inch. The adults chased it into the folliage so we took it straight out back with his mates.
I have read everywhere that when the babies are no less than 1 inch or can not fit into adults mouths then they should be fine. Our problem was not fitting into their mouths, it was the chasing and nipping............all the adults together, horrible to watch. If you can wait as long as possible to give them a better chance of survival. If it's possible, get another tank, smaller one for the young babies. We have just bought another tank for any new fry as the older fry could start having a nibble at the tiny babies. Maybe someone could lend you one. If you have plenty of places for your babies to hide then they may be ok.
let us know how you get on.

 

[PA_fishlover]

Well, we released 4 of the larger fry last night. So far they are doing fine. The only other fish in the tank are the mother molly and an older fry, and 4 peppered cories. The mother looked at them a few times, but no nipping or chasing. They have lots of places to hide - plants, rocks, breeder grass. In fact, they were hiding so well this morning, that it took as a while to find them all. But all 4 are accounted for and doing well. Later this week I might release the rest of them.