Fry Identification Help!

[Lorrie]

Hi all,

Well, I have Tetras, Guppies and Sailfin Mollies in my tank at the moment. The tank has only been set up for a couple of months, with new plants added a few weeks ago.

A guppy (I assume) had a couple of fry a few days ago - which I found swimming amongst the plants, so I caught them and put them in a breeding net to keep them safe for a while. Tonight, I've found about 10 more fry - but these are different. Instead of hiding by swimming amongst the plants, these are hiding on the bottom of the tank, around the bog-wood, on the sand, and at the bases of the plants.

The new fry are now in the net, but they aren't swimming like the Guppies - they're sat at the bottom of the net. My guess is that they're not Guppy fry - but what are they? I can't see them being from the Tetras - I doubt any eggs would survive long enough... Would Molly fry stay at the bottom of the tank like that, or would they swim amongst the weed like Guppy fry? I'm just wondering if I have had some eggs come in on the bog-wood that have hatched, as I thought Molly fry would swim amongst the weeds like Guppies - any suggestions?!

 

[lilfishie]

Staying near the bottom is usually when new born, you should be able to tell the difference between Guppy & Molly fry pretty easy and the Mollies will be double the size and quite broad, where as Guppies are long and thin.

Hope this helps

 

[Lorrie]

Thanks for that!

I will keep an eye on them and see if their behaviour changes. Just going off to see if I can find any more and save them before they're eaten! From what you're saying my guess is that I must have been catching them quite soon after being born. They're all around the same size as the guppy fry that are 3 or 4 days old, so my money is on Guppy fry. Just have to be patient and see what I've got!

 

[soybean]

I noticed in my tank guppy fry went straight to the top, whereas platy fry headed for the bottom and hid among the rocks and moss. So you could have guppy and molly fry, especially if you see any slight differences. As you say, you'll have to be patient, you'll find out eventually! Very unlikely to be tetra.