Holy Fish Fry, Batman!

[attibones]

I found over thirty of these ickle tykes in my 55. I've put them in my cycled ten gallon for now. Can anyone tell me what these are? The full stocking in my tank is in my sig. Whatever they are, I would like to know what to feed them, how frequently, and what temperatures they need. My sister wants some of them for her 55 gallon when they are older. The rest I will swap at my LFS for store credit.

Please help me! It's been a very exciting weekend full of new babies and I have finals starting tomorrow!

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

They look like molly fry because they've already got some color.  I believe molly fry come out with colors.  If anything, the shape of the fry in a few weeks will determine what they are as barb fry and livebearer fry grow very differently.
 
I would recommend Hikari First Bites.  My guppy fry love them.  Supplement with baby brine shrimp.  I'm not sure about veggie food for fry because there seems to be none where I live.
 
Congrats, and keep us posted!

 

[attibones]

I have no idea how long they have been in there. I didn't notice them at last week's water change. I only just noticed them today. I didn't think any of my female mollies were pregnant. The Dalmatian molly has always been a fatty. She just looks like she's pregnant all the time, but really it's just because she eats all the food. The cremecicle was the more likely candidate but my sister watches that one like crazy (it actually belongs to her). The balloon molly is the male but he is a third the size of the females, so we weren't sure if he was successful in his attempts at getting them up the spout. We were hoping they would be from the barbs or the rams, but I know they aren't from the rams. Either way, my LFS will probably take them when they are older.

I don't have any of that Hikari stuff on hand, but I have beef heart, brine shrimp, algae wafers, zucchini, and high grade cichlid pellets and flakes. We gave them some brine shrimp which they loved. How frequently should we be feeding?

 

[DreamertK]

I'd say mollies too. Congratz!

 

[Lunar Jetman]

If you have livebearers in your tank then I think there's a strong possibility that these fry are something to do with them! Most of the time you struggle to stop them breeding so my money would also be on the Mollies.

 

[DrRob]

Aye, they look more like mollies than any of the rest of your stock, too long and thin for the rams certainly, plus you'd probably have noticed the hole digging and egg protecting.

 

[attibones]

Excellent. My remaining questions then:

How frequently should I be feeding?

How old do they have to be before they can move out of the fry tank?

The fry tank has a HOB filter with a piece of mesh over the intake as well as a bubble stone. Do thy require anything else?

I've never had fry before, as I've only ever kept females.

 

[Supraman]

Wow congrats

 

[NeonBlueLeon]

I feed my guppies four small meals a day.  Some people may suggest more than that (I've heard up to eight).  Emphasis on small.  You don't want leftover food in their tank/storage vessel.  They require plenty of food to grow, but their stomachs are small.  Therefore, many small meals a day is good.
 
One general rule for when to release fry is this:  when they get bigger than the mouth of the biggest fish, it is safe to release them into the tank.  However, they will be chased around.  I wouldn't release them until they are clearly no longer a "food source."
 
HOB and your bubbler may be producing too much current for very young fry.  As they mature, they will become stronger swimmers.  Sure, they can dart around quickly, but at their size now, they can only spend so much energy before completely burning out.
 
Also note, make sure they have good light exposure to promote healthy spine growth.  And make sure they have some dark time as well.  Those fry need their rest!

 

[attibones]

Thanks for the assistance, everyone! The fry are already growing! They will be ready for new homes in no time.