Molly Fry Maybe Not Ready

[basboi85]

I'll have to do something and just double checked that 5ft tank it 5x2x2 for £35!!!!! Comes with a 300w heater but has a external filte but at extra cost grrrr lol

 

[basboi85]

well i got annoyed trying to find the fry today and completely removed all the rocks and plants so no chance of hiding and its not in there so not happy so i put some rocks back in and moved most of my plants so heres as it stands

2 of the big molly's ive got

and now as it stands 20 mins ago

her tail isnt in pieces its actually in 1 piece

ill put some more up when my kids #28### off to bed lol

 

[FishBlast]

Awesome tank (though I don't like the red gravel lol).
Those mollies look cute, I like the yellow one with black tail the most.

Why do you have gravel in the cage though? Would make it harder to clean in there.

 

[basboi85]

Awesome tank (though I don't like the red gravel lol).
Those mollies look cute, I like the yellow one with black tail the most.

Why do you have gravel in the cage though? Would make it harder to clean in there.

i put in there to try and make it feel as normal to the fry as possible for when they are eventually let out the trap and i change it daily and run the trap under my external return pipe to kick out the dirt ect so its fresh daily and the red gravel already come with the tank when i got it off my mate, i want to have all black gravel with a few handfuls of white to break the black up

 

[FishBlast]

Awesome tank (though I don't like the red gravel lol).
Those mollies look cute, I like the yellow one with black tail the most.

Why do you have gravel in the cage though? Would make it harder to clean in there.

i put in there to try and make it feel as normal to the fry as possible for when they are eventually let out the trap and i change it daily and run the trap under my external return pipe to kick out the dirt ect so its fresh daily and the red gravel already come with the tank when i got it off my mate, i want to have all black gravel with a few handfuls of white to break the black up

Sand would be easier to clean up though (and cleaner overall).
My fish usually do the cleaning themselves... But when I change water I net stuff out (or when I can catch any dung on it, because one of my swordtails eats almost anything...)

 

[basboi85]

Awesome tank (though I don't like the red gravel lol).
Those mollies look cute, I like the yellow one with black tail the most.

Why do you have gravel in the cage though? Would make it harder to clean in there.

i put in there to try and make it feel as normal to the fry as possible for when they are eventually let out the trap and i change it daily and run the trap under my external return pipe to kick out the dirt ect so its fresh daily and the red gravel already come with the tank when i got it off my mate, i want to have all black gravel with a few handfuls of white to break the black up

Sand would be easier to clean up though (and cleaner overall).
My fish usually do the cleaning themselves... But when I change water I net stuff out (or when I can catch any dung on it, because one of my swordtails eats almost anything...)

Most of my Molly's clean up behind themselves from what I see but they are messy buggers but still have to clear up after them. Like kids I suppose lol and I'm in two minds to have sand or the black gravel but I'll prob put sand in my next tank

 

[FishBlast]

Most of my Molly's clean up behind themselves from what I see but they are messy buggers but still have to clear up after them. Like kids I suppose lol and I'm in two minds to have sand or the black gravel but I'll prob put sand in my next tank

What about black sand? X)) I wish I could have found that. But then again, white sand shows my hoplo and most of my fish better since they are dark fish.

 

[basboi85]

Most of my Molly's clean up behind themselves from what I see but they are messy buggers but still have to clear up after them. Like kids I suppose lol and I'm in two minds to have sand or the black gravel but I'll prob put sand in my next tank

What about black sand? X)) I wish I could have found that. But then again, white sand shows my hoplo and most of my fish better since they are dark fish.

Now black sand sounds cool but my issue is the same as yours as I have dark fish aswell. So I'll have to stick to lighter coloured sand lol

 

[FishBlast]

Most of my Molly's clean up behind themselves from what I see but they are messy buggers but still have to clear up after them. Like kids I suppose lol and I'm in two minds to have sand or the black gravel but I'll prob put sand in my next tank

What about black sand? X)) I wish I could have found that. But then again, white sand shows my hoplo and most of my fish better since they are dark fish.

Now black sand sounds cool but my issue is the same as yours as I have dark fish aswell. So I'll have to stick to lighter coloured sand lol

You could have a light background instead, which would make the fish still pop out.

 

[basboi85]

Well I just let the 3 fry out and they got chased but they are fine for some reason ??? Might be down to the 2 big pinches of flakes I put in the tank before I let them out so I'll check on them at lunch time hopefully they'll still be in there

 

[FishBlast]

Well I just let the 3 fry out and they got chased but they are fine for some reason ??? Might be down to the 2 big pinches of flakes I put in the tank before I let them out so I'll check on them at lunch time hopefully they'll still be in there

Pinky got chased by the female swords too in the beginning, but when they saw that they can't eat her, they just gave up. At some point her mother started to attack the other female whenever it tried to nip Pinky. Lol.

Why they're not picking on a bite-sized fry that survived on the latest batch is kind of questionable though. It's half of Pinky's size and the hoplo can't be there where that fry wanders. Still, the older fish just pass it by.

And another cute scene was when I gave them boiled egg yolk yesterday. Pinky took a huge bit in her mouth and started running with it. Her father saw it and didn't even bother to take it away, he just let Pinky eat it. Then Eris the lyretail just swooped in and took it. LOL!

 

[basboi85]

Well I just let the 3 fry out and they got chased but they are fine for some reason ??? Might be down to the 2 big pinches of flakes I put in the tank before I let them out so I'll check on them at lunch time hopefully they'll still be in there

Pinky got chased by the female swords too in the beginning, but when they saw that they can't eat her, they just gave up. At some point her mother started to attack the other female whenever it tried to nip Pinky. Lol.

Why they're not picking on a bite-sized fry that survived on the latest batch is kind of questionable though. It's half of Pinky's size and the hoplo can't be there where that fry wanders. Still, the older fish just pass it by.

And another cute scene was when I gave them boiled egg yolk yesterday. Pinky took a huge bit in her mouth and started running with it. Her father saw it and didn't even bother to take it away, he just let Pinky eat it. Then Eris the lyretail just swooped in and took it. LOL!

Boiled egg ?? And just had a look and can only find 1 !!
I'm praying the other 2 are hiding and I'm sure I'm going to be having more fry in next 2 weeks as 2 of my original females have got a nice little belly on them so I'm going to have to sort the breeder tank out as I want to make sure these survive and give these two mums best chance as I don't want a repeat of my last female

And that's cool that your fish leave the youngsters alone wish mine would do the same

 

[FishBlast]

Boiled egg ?? And just had a look and can only find 1 !!
I'm praying the other 2 are hiding and I'm sure I'm going to be having more fry in next 2 weeks as 2 of my original females have got a nice little belly on them so I'm going to have to sort the breeder tank out as I want to make sure these survive and give these two mums best chance as I don't want a repeat of my last female

And that's cool that your fish leave the youngsters alone wish mine would do the same

Boiled egg yolk yes. It is used to feed baby fish, usually those that are too small to eat normal food. But these little critters are big enough to shred it to pieces with their mouths X)
It's not just the little ones that enjoy it though. My catfish and adult swordies are just as happy with munching on it.
I only feed it once every 2-3 days though and in small quantities because it would add too much waste when they tear it apart.

When I put Pinky in my tank, I kept an eye on her almost constantly. Even at night when all lights (except the night light in my room) were out. I'm used to seeing in the dark so it was easy to see what was going on. Pinky was sleeping between her parents, near the filter. The hoplo was moving her out of the way at the surface one night, but he wasn't trying to eat her. He usually pushes other fish with his barbels so that he can pass through.

My lyretail is a fry eater though, she ate two fry and got rammed by the hoplo for it. Looks like she ate all but one that is kind of big now. Still could fit in her mouth if she ever grabs it. It's a dark-red fry with what seems to be a black dorsal fin. I didn't name him yet, all my fry usually receive their names when they start showing personality and when they're over 1 month old.

I just noticed Sushi is as big as Ninja, even though they're born 1 month apart. I think the cage has stagnated their growth a bit... hope they can grow to 1.5 cm so I can move them with Pinky and free up space, unless Eris gives birth by then. I so want hi-fin or lyretail babies!

 

[basboi85]

Found 1 more so that's back to 2 cant see the 3rd but I've just created some more places to hide and they've instantly hidden there which I'm happy about as the larger fish cant fit there and I would stare at the tank all day if the wife and 2 kids would let me lol

 

[FishBlast]

Found 1 more so that's back to 2 cant see the 3rd but I've just created some more places to hide and they've instantly hidden there which I'm happy about as the larger fish cant fit there and I would stare at the tank all day if the wife and 2 kids would let me lol

Glad you found that one. Hope the 3rd's somewhere around there too.
I don't usually stare all day, but that was an exception (since I've got almost nothing better to do).
Then there's the fact that the tank is right behind me so I can always turn to see it or sit in bed and see it.