107 Ballon Mollie Fry + 50l Tank = Panic Stations!

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Well, I bought a balloon mollie last saturday, who was pregnant.. she dropped her fry yesterday, some in the tank, which I think I caught most of, and then managed to get her to make her own way into the trap... I've just put a net my tank to seperate some of them so they're not so cramped and thought I'd count as I was transfering them.... 107 fry!!!!! I'm assuming some of them may die for various reason, I found 4 dead ones on the bottom a yesterday afternoon, not long after she had finished.. but no more have died today.

I've asked the ONLY LFS if they would take them, they said they will, but not till they're an inch long as they have nowhere to grow them!! So now I know why they were so insistant on giving me the heavily pregnant fish!!

It's not that I have a problem caring for them while they grow... its just that I obviously dont have anywhere near enough tank space for them.... I'm guessing I'd need a tank nearly as big as my living room to be able to grow ober 100 inches of fish!?

If I was to get a 2nd tank, I wouldn't be able to afford anything bigger than the one I've got really, which would be better than nothing but would it need to be cycled before I put them in and would I have time to cycle it before they start to get bigger ? I dont have any mature filter media to put in a new tank, as my first tank is a new one itself.

Brain waves anyone!?

 

[nosoup4you]

As they grow, you will probably find that some of the weaker ones will die off and since they are Balloon Mollies you will probably also find that there are many with spinal or tail deformities that may need to be culled. One of mine had roughly 80 fry in her last drop, and now, 7 weeks later, I have roughly 40-50 remaining.

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Ah right, I'll more than likely still be left with far too many for my tank tho, right? Af ew people have said that my tank is overstocked as it is!

 

[nosoup4you]

I'll more than likely still be left with far too many for my tank tho, right?

Most likely, but the grow-out tank that you get doesn't have to be the size of your living room. Bear in mind that the mother will most likely have another batch before these ones are saleable. I suggest if you feel like you are getting overwhelmed with fry that you just let mama birth in the tank next time and let nature take its course.

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Hmm.. I think that may be the only way forward for now!

 

[lilfishie]

one of mine had 101 before, and if i remember correctly only one or two got to adult hood although i was very new to the hobby then,
i wish you look with them

 

[heavenly_d3vi1]

Tanks lil fishie! I wouldn't be surprised if I only get left with a very small number too, I've only had my tank abuot 2-3 weeks and its still cycling coz I listened to the LFS and bellieved I could buy bacteria in a bottle and everything would be fine! Guess i guess with high nitrite/nitrate levels, their chances of survival are pretty slim!

 

[omega59]

i have never been sucessfull with keeping balloon mollies, they keep dying on me, however regular mollies strive well

congrats on the fry

 

[OldMan47]

Congrats on the fry. They are always lots of fun at first. You should not lose any molly fry after the first day or two so at that time you may be able to see if your problem still looks insurmountable. If you are still in a cycle, you just upped the bioload a lot so keep an eye on your chemistry. It is about to get a lot worse in a big hurry. The fry can be fed on powdered flake food so feeding should not become a problem.
To get rid of some of your surplus, you might be able to post right here on the forum in the trading area. I am sure there are people who would love to get 10 or 15 molly fry for nothing so that might help you get the numbers down within reason.