Molly Fry too Small For Her Age!

[Sasha]

Can the size of a tank affect the amount of time that fry grow? Mandy, my balloon molly, is 4 months old and is still only half an inch! I think that's too small for her age, but I don't know what's stunting her growth. Mandy is currently in a 2.5 gallon tank complete with a filter and heater and other fry. I feed her 2-3 times daily, with crushed flakes and bloodworms and First Bites. I don't want to release her into my main tank because I'm afraid she'll become a snack to my large black molly.

Mandy is special to me becasue she's the only "daughter" of my beloved balloon molly, Mindy who sadly died. I want her to survive, but also want her to be healthy and grow. Any sugestion or advice?

 

[jenn22]

yeah mine are like that too its so wierd they are in a 20g tank and have been for awhile but they are still so small

 

[ruffmeister]

largeer fish other than guppies can take nearly a year to reach full size, you might however have found that the runt of the birth was the only one to survice ad thus is that size because of that reason

 

[-Chewy-]

Like I told you in the aquarium picture section, what you do in the first month will make all the difference. So if you would tell us what you did during the first month, we can help you alot. Pls tell us where you put mandy during the first month?

-Chewy-

 

[Sasha]

Let me think. . . the balloon molly fry were in a breeder net the first couple of months becuase I didn't have the fry tank set up and the deilivery was completly unexpected. One by one, the fry died until only Mandy was remaining. I think I feed the fry about 2-3 times a day because when I moved (in the middle of Octomber and Mandy was born in late November) I learned that fry need several feedings every day. In early January, I set up the 2.5 gallon fry, which was empty since it used to contain goldfish. That's about all that I can think of about Mandy's first few months.

) I really never raised fry before since they kept on dying, but now I hardly loose one. Mandy is the first fry that survived this long.

 

[juliethegr8t]

I would imagine it's due to the water. Larger fry put out certain chemicals that stunt the growth of smaller fry in a small space. Since there are quite a few other fry in there, that would be my guess. Water changes can make a huge difference in fry growth rate, so I'd suggest you add one or two more water changes to your weekly.

 

[-Chewy-]

Well according to your info, sasha, you should not put your frys in the breeder net for more than 3 weeks, it will stunt their growth. And also, you should try increasing the number of feedings per day to about 5 feedings.

-Chewy-

 

[Sasha]

Breeding nets stunt the frys growths? I never knew that! I'm in big trouble then. Both of my tanks have breeder nets (1 black molly and 19 guppy fry) but I think the fry tank would be too overcrowded if they all go in their. What should do?

I increased the fry feedings to 4 times a day, but is it fine for the older fry, like the ones that are 3 months old? I'll try to do a couple water changes weeky and see if that sparks their growth. I really appreciated the information you all gave me!

 

[-Chewy-]

Hi sasha,

Basically you shouldn't put different guppy batches in the same tank because the younger ones will not get the amount of food they need as the older ones will get it first. If you want to put them together, they should at least be more than a month old.

Sorry but i don't really have a solution as you are lack of tanks now. You could use 3 gallons plastic tanks with no heater is you live in a tropical climate like florida or texas. But if you don't, then you have a heater problem to worry about.

-Chewy-

 

[Auratus]

balloon molly right? They grow slower then regular mollies so you should have put what kind of molly because I think everyone here is thinking regular mollies.

I have some for month olds and they area about 1 1/2 inches... I had them in a breeder for a month or so.

 

[Sasha]

Thanks for the information! Mandy is a balloon molly, but I aslo have one black molly fry that's growing so rapidly that she's almost as large as Mandy! All the guppy fry are from the same batch in both breeder nets, but a few of them are tiny (possibly the runts) and I'm feeding the younger ones 4 times daily.

I live in New Hampshire and there are winters here, but it's warming up with spring on its way. I have a small haeter specailly designed for small tanks up to 5 gallons, so that's not a problem. I'm worried about the air, if I get a small plastic tank for the fry. I have an air pump, but i don't think that would be enough.

I have a few guppys that are about half an inch (maybe some are a little longer) and Mandy, so I was deciding if I should introduce them into my main tank or leave tham in the fry tank for a little longer. My only concern is the filter suction, which might suck them up and I want to avoid that. What is the recommended size for fry to be introdced into the main tank? I don't know if I should move the younger fry into my 2.5 gallon tank after they are about a month old or keep them in the breeder net.

 

[-Chewy-]

Hi Sasha,

I think that the air pump should produce enough oxygen of the babies. As for the filter, what you can do is buy a sponge attachment to put on the filter intake. Putting frys in the main tank is ok so long there are no threats of being eaten, however those that you are putting in to the main tank are about a month old which are still growing and need lots of food and clean water. In the main tank might not be the best place to get lots of food and changing water for such a large tank can make u . After all, when you feed your frys 4 times a day, the other fishes in your main tank will eat 4 times a day too, which is overfeeding them - not advisable. Their sizes might also be hindered as soon as you put them into the main tank because of competition during feeding, so you should reconsider again.

-Chewy-

 

[gobyfreak]

Hi I have just logged on and since I have guppy fry in a breeding trap (7 of them) I was just wondering how do you know when you should release them into the tank? In the past I have waited for them to grow to 3/4 inch and then released them but after some time they disappeared, so I can only assume that they were eaten
Or is age a better guideline for release?

 

[Sasha]

I'd better leave the fry in the smaller tank until they reach about an inch or so. I just want they to be healthy and happy, and it won't hurt to leave them in the fry tank for a couple more months. I'm going to search around for a small plastic tank, because I have an air pump and heater available. Is there anything else I should do to try to spark their growth rate?

I know this doesn't have anything to do about the subject that I'm talking about, but does anyone know how to care for Tetar fry? My pair of Pristella Tetra recently spawned and I have 2 tiny fry, but I don't know how to raise them. )

 

[-Chewy-]

As for gobyfreak, I would put my guppy frys into the main tank when they are about 3 months old.
As for Sasha, you can feed your frys egg yolk to spark their growth. As for your tetra fry, you should raise it the same way you raise your guppies - lots of food and freshwater!

-Chewy-