Good News

[reaydickinson]

Last night my wife and I totally by chance witnesses the birth of three baby Dalmatian Mollies. As a newcomer to tropical fish this experience has got me very excited. ( A Miracle OF LIFE ).

Due to the unexpectedness of the new arrivals I unfortunately do not have any thing prepared for the young.

Is it true that if I leave them in the tank, through natural selection, the strongest will survive?

What is the average number of fry for a Dalmatian Mollie because I saw three getting born?

What should I feed them, The rest of the aquarium is been feed Tropical fish Flakes?

Sorry I tried to add apicture of my tank and a close up of one of the fry's but my lack of computer knowledge prevented me from doing this!!!

Thank you.

 

[NoYpI]

No, I Guess the strongest dont really survive, because in my experience the strongest would swim to the top of the tank and get eaten.

I feed mine powdered fish flakes, Crush your tropical fish flakes to powder.

 

[fishlette]

generally is it thought from what ive read and heard that the strongest WILL survive however you need to make a place for them to hide out in. lots of plants provide good hiding spots and other ornaments that can allow the little-uns to hide out in while they grow.

make it easier for them to eat...sprinkle flakes on the top for the adults then grind up some flakes really fine for the bubs. to ensure they get food above the adults hold the food in your hand and realise it in the water at the bottom of the tank. this allows them to get food without having to go up to the top where they may get eaten. do it at the same time as you feed the adults and this should help a bit.

im no expert and im new-ish to livebearers myself but this seems to work for other breeders i know and we use the methid if realising flakes at the bottom of the tank at my work (fish store)

hope this helps

there are a lot of good articles on the net ou can read too

 

[theotheragentm]

Strongest may or may not survive. Even the strongest are easily eaten if there isn't cover. Fry can eat crushed flakes, but they can also feed on the wisps of algae that are all over the tank. If you're really concerned, you can feed sinking shrimp pellets. They're a bit messy and break apart, which may help feed the fry at the bottom. There is no true average as it depends on the size of your Molly, but it can get quite high into the high double digits.

Congratulations on your new fry. Good luck.

 

[kribensis12]

My very pregnant dalmation mollie had about 45 babies and only about 25 surivived into adult hood thanks to a breeding trap and a 20 gallon tank.