Molly and guppy fry

[Mariah]

Hi,
Im having this problem. My molly or guppy will give birth and I end up catching lets say about 6 fry. They seem healthy. I will put them in there breeders trap and then within 1 to 2 months they all die.
Why would this be happening? I really want to raise fry.
Thanks

 

[lilfishie]

They could be getting to big for the breeder trap and bullying each other to death (this is just a guess)

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

No they won't be getting to big for the trap/net at a month old and in their numbers and fry won't bully each other until they start sexually maturing although they may start to out-compete each other for food although i do not think this is the case here as this usually happens after 2months and is very rarely ever life threatening to other fry if they are being fed enough, often enough.
First things which come to mind are;
a. What are you water stats, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites?
b. What are you feeding the fry and how often and how often do you clean out the trap/net they are in?
c. Did the mother fish suffer a difficult/stressful or long birth? If she was in a tank with other fish while giving birth, was she harrassed by them at all?
d. Are you using salt or meds in the tank or have done recently in the last month?
e. is the trap directly under the tanks lights with no form of shade while they are on?

 

[Mariah]

No they won't be getting to big for the trap/net at a month old and in their numbers and fry won't bully each other until they start sexually maturing although they may start to out-compete each other for food although i do not think this is the case here as this usually happens after 2months and is very rarely ever life threatening to other fry if they are being fed enough, often enough.
First things which come to mind are;
a. What are you water stats, ammonia, nitrates and nitrites?
b. What are you feeding the fry and how often and how often do you clean out the trap/net they are in?
c. Did the mother fish suffer a difficult/stressful or long birth? If she was in a tank with other fish while giving birth, was she harrassed by them at all?
d. Are you using salt or meds in the tank or have done recently in the last month?
e. is the trap directly under the tanks lights with no form of shade while they are on?

tokis - These are my stats -

nitrate - 30 ppm
nitrite - 0
t.h - hard
t.a - low
ph - neutral
ammonia - 0

The fry are getting fed twice a day normal flakes that are crushed up very small.

I dont think the mother was stressed during the birth but she did die after having the fry. All the mothers have died after the birth.

There is salt in the tank and the temp is about 83 F.

There is a form of shade for the fry.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Unless you are medicating the fish for anything, stop using the salt as this is a big enviromental thing for fry to handle and will be stressing them out and will be contributing to their deaths, also feeding them proper fry foods like hikari "first bites" or TetraMinfry will help ensure they get all the nutrition and energy they need to grow strong and is much easier to digest for them.
The mother fish you say you have had all died after giving birth, but how long did you have them before they gave birth?

 

[Mariah]

The first/second set of fry I had the mother for about 2 weeks and about a week after she died. The other fry that keep dying are from the very first molly I put in my tank back in Feb - Shes still alive but again the fry keep dying.

I am doing weekly water changes and the frys breeders trap is cleaned once a week. So I dont think theres to much salt left in the tank but I wont add anymore.

I will also get some actual fry food and see if that helps. I only have 2 fry left now. I found the other 3 dead last night....

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I was also wondering wether your fry are getting enough oxygen- moving the filter so that the current flows directly onto the trap(not too strong though) for at least a couple of hrs a day will help make it easier for them to get oxygen to breath.
Also the other thing i was wondering is wether the father fish to the offspring(if you have one) is posibly related to to the mother fish of the dying fry? If either of them has unstable or inbred genes in them, although this isn't common for mollys, this will also explain why the fry are so weak and if the issues persists it may be worth exchanging one of them to try and help bring stronger genes into the bloodline and so result in stronger fry.
There are many reasons why fry can die and i am just trying to help you get the right answers from my own experinces in the past and current knolege

 

[Mariah]

Well it is a possiblitly that my 2 dalmation mollys are realted as they were in the same tank but my female is whiter and the male has more black on him so Im thinking there probably not related... but maybe.
Thoese 2 fish are actually my strongest 2 fish I have in there. Thet were the first two fish I put in my tank and i have lost alot of fish and there still alive.
The mom and dad of my other fry have long since died.
I think the fry I have right now are getting enough oxygen as the filter is right beside there breeders net.

 

[Mariah]

Well I went out and got some liquifry #3 baby plus fry growth food. I didnt see any #1 or #2 liquifry food there. Can I just start them out on this?

 

[Mariah]

Anyone? I dont want to open the container if im going to have to return the food and I want to feed my remaining fry.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Never seen liquifry no.3 before, 1 and 2 are designed for livebearers and egg layers, what does 3 state on the packet?

 

[Mariah]

It says after feeding #1 or #2 than to feed #3. So im assuming after acouple of weeks of when there born I switch to #3. Since my fry are acouple of weeks old I think I can feed them this. When I have a new batch of fry I will get the #2.