baby fish... he won't grow!!!

[ad_smith]

i've had a baby black mollie for just over 4 weeks (not me personally ) now and he doesnt seem to be growing much.

hes about 1cm long (maybe even about 9mm). i thought i wasn't feeding him enough so i have been feeding 4 times a day for about 4 days now.

hes in a breeding trap that has about a 800ml capacity. could this be slowing his grow speed?

my tank temp is 28 - 29 degrees C

thanks

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[digital_run]

Give him time....if hes alive then he will grow

 

[millym]

we have a leopard danio that is teeny tiny about half the size of the others & we've had her for 8 months now & doesnt look like she'll grow any......i think shes cute!!!

 

[David]

Is the molly in a tank with adult mollies? This is not good, they need a seperate growout tank to get to full size. Adult mollies and other livebearers secrete a hormone that stunts the growth of juveniles in an enclosed place like a tank; in the wild this would be diluted by the large amount of water they were in. It took me 3 generations of various midget guppy, platy and molly fry to finally figure out I was doing something wrong by housing them with the adults.

 

[willywonka099]

nope have to disagree i have seen bebeies live out to be as big/bigger than parents in the main tank ................. just release him into a well planted tank or a small tank on his own ........ some fish just dont grow like they said abotut here danio wich is AN EGG LAYER my father had fry that had there own tank never got that big eather BETTA wich dont need much space and are EGG LAYERS also so its not a live bearer hormone but im not sure what it is

 

[David]

nope have to disagree i have seen bebeies live out to be as big/bigger than parents in the main tank ................. just release him into a well planted tank or a small tank on his own ........ some fish just dont grow like they said abotut here danio wich is AN EGG LAYER my father had fry that had there own tank never got that big eather BETTA wich dont need much space and are EGG LAYERS also so its not a live bearer hormone but im not sure what it is

Please try to articulate a bit or at least check yoru spelling before posting. I didn't understand a word you just wrote.

 

[willywonka099]

nope have to disagree i have seen bebeies live out to be as big/bigger than parents in the main tank ................. just release him into a well planted tank or a small tank on his own ........ some fish just dont grow like they said abotut here danio wich is AN EGG LAYER my father had fry that had there own tank never got that big eather BETTA wich dont need much space and are EGG LAYERS also so its not a live bearer hormone but im not sure what it is


Please try to articulate a bit or at least check yoru spelling before posting. I didn't understand a word you just wrote.

I think you got the jist of it. I have seen live bearers reach full length spending their whole lives in a tank with their parents. You said it was do to a hormone but the other person said her Danio was small and Danios are NOT live bearers. My dad bred Bettas and the fry were in their own tank with plenty of space (bettas dont need much) and yet none reached a normal size ..... Bettas are NOT live bearers, so I do not know what it was but i don't think it is what David suggested..
and David with all do respect it doesn't matter if you understand what I am saying I was giving the creator of the post my advice just as you had ... thank you best of luck with your baby

 

[yhbae]

At the end, hormones or not, most fries do alot better in higher quality of water - that means alot of water changes with minimum delta between the tank water and the new water you are adding.

I find that the first few weeks of their lives are very important for them (just like human!). If you don't provide a good water condition during these times, often the growth get stunted, and never grows as fast from that point on. If you take care of them by not over populating, you can get platy fries to 1 inch within 4 months (done it). I have some "fries" that are 7 months and still didn't hit 1 inch yet...

So you can add some fries into the main tank and they can do well if it is not overstocked already.

Water condition is the most important factor, then food, I believe.

 

[Paul_MTS]

i'm not sure about the parents relaseing that hormone but other fry certainly do.

When i had 30 fry in a 10 gallon, fry from my pond, I had to change the water quiet often to make sure they grew well.

the tank included 13 goldfish and 22 rudd fry. Your fry could just be a late bloomer like some of us are/were!!

 

[willywonka099]

I would have too agree with the last two responses and directing my reply towrds David instead of you but it infuriated me that since he might (and probably is) wrong he had to critisize my bad typing in that one post ..... best of luck too the little guy !!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Is the molly in a tank with adult mollies? This is not good, they need a seperate growout tank to get to full size. Adult mollies and other livebearers secrete a hormone that stunts the growth of juveniles in an enclosed place like a tank; in the wild this would be diluted by the large amount of water they were in. It took me 3 generations of various midget guppy, platy and molly fry to finally figure out I was doing something wrong by housing them with the adults.

NEAT!
i was wondering why my platy adults never reach over 1-1.5"
i always see them in the stores like 2-2.5 inches!
mine are teensy tiny

 

[Wyld-Fyre]

Speaking from my experience with my fries.

I agree with what's been said so far, but there is also an important factor that's been missed. Space. Fry will grow best if they also have the space in which to do so.

If there isn't, you'll possibly 1) restrict the growth rate, 2) have increased aggression amongst the fry, 3) have stress-related deaths, 4) have competition for food and 5) have stunted fishes.

If you want your fry/ies to grow well, buy them a seperate tank, away from the parents if you so wish. However, I do know a someone who has always kept fry in the main tank and still watch them do well. This was because there was enough room to do so, coupled with the quality of food, environment, and proper tank maintenance.

Good luck with yours.

 

[Boggle]

Hi,

I think 26-27C is the recommended temp for molly fry

 

[Elisabeth83]

I have 5 swordtail fry and just like your fry they also arn't growing much. They were born 6 weeks ago. I also hae 3 guppy fry which seem to be growing a lot faster and they are in the same tank.

I've raised only 1 swordtail fry before and she is already a inch long. She's about 3 months old. She grew heaps faster than these other guys.

I also thought I wasn't feeding them enough but I feed them like 3-4 times a day. Flakes and bloodworm so ...I really can't figure it out. I guess it doesn't matter too much.

 

[The-Wolf]

Please try to articulate a bit or at least check yoru spelling before posting. I didn't understand a word you just wrote.

Yoru? what the is that?
please check YOUR spelling before insulting others.
Did it never occur to you that
1) many people on this forum are dyslexic
2) many people did not complete their education, for one reason or another.
3) english may not be the postees first language
geeze David look at yourself before judging others.

Elizabeth I have 70 or so danio fry all hatched at the same time and all kept in the same enviroment. most are around 1cm but 10 or so are 1.5cm, I belive this is a natural process much the same as when birds lay three eggs or dogs/cats have a litter; you will always have some offspring that will be smaller than the others.