Molly Fry

[Mollymomma]

Hi everyone Hope you're all doing great.
My molly has given me some new fry to take care of Very first time I have dealt with fry, so I'm really excited. The question is "How fast do mollies grow?" They are doing great so far(she crosses her finger's & toes lol) eatting well, swimming their little tushies off, and already seem quite a bit larger than day one.
Any and all advice welcome..
Oh I should tell ya they have a 10 gal. , heated, treated tank all to themselves..Am I doing okay?

 

[William]

Now you've got the fry leave them in their own aquarium, feed them little and often - 3 times a day for maximum growth- with finely crushed flake food (as fine as you can crush it, use your fingers and rub them together really grinding it up very finely because any large bits will remain uneaten and will rot polluting your tank). When your baby fish have grown to about one inch which will take between two and four months you can release them back into the aquarium with their parents or this is also the size when fish stores will be willing to buy livebearer fry off you.

Growth will vary on quality of food eg use baby brine shrimp for added growth, and also of tank temperature, 79 degrees fahrenheit is about the maximum recommended and at this temperature the fry will grow faster than at a lower temperature. Not recommended if you have other fish in the tank though and step up the temperature increase slowly.

 

[Mollymomma]

The fry are by themselves in the 10 gal., toasty warm tank.

I am using the crushed flakes ground into a fine powder and liquid fry food made foe livebearer's ( think it's Wardley's brand) They are doing really well so far.

The only problem I have run into is 1 of the fry got sucked into the intake tube from the filter ...never even dawned on me that they would fit through such tiny holes ( quilt, quilt)

What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Does anyone have a sure fired rescue for my tiny babies? Please all advice welcome

 

[William]

The fry are by themselves in the 10 gal., toasty warm tank.

I am using the crushed flakes ground into a fine powder and liquid fry food made foe livebearer's ( think it's Wardley's brand) They are doing really well so far.

The only problem I have run into is 1 of the fry got sucked into the intake tube from the filter ...never even dawned on me that they would fit through such tiny holes ( quilt, quilt)

What can I do to prevent this from happening again? Does anyone have a sure fired rescue for my tiny babies? Please all advice welcome

Yes I have the plan

Get an old pair of tights cut off one of the legs and using an elastic band pull it over all the filter intakes that way the fry can't get sucked in Good luck with it!

The liquifry foods really good for them... keep it up!

 

[Mollymomma]

Thanks again William
I went to the petstore this morning and got a fry net, gathered the remaining fry into that but I really don't like the looks of the net thing in the tank. talk about ugly lol I will go with your suggestion since the intake is behind some plant's you won't see the nylon on the tube..
Thanks again
I'd be lost without everyone here!
Oh by the way I have decided since I love having the fish I am now going to wait, save my money and get at least a 55 gal. LOL guy at the pet stores just nodded his head when I talked to him this morning. He said he wishes that's what he had done instead of now having unsed tanks in his basement.. I did offer to take a few off his hands LOL but he said no because he never knows when a new tank idea will come to him LOL

 

[William]

Yes its always true that you should go for the biggest you can afford and fit in

The fry net does look a little bit ugly which is why a small 10-20gallon is perfect for fry raising, most people don't have the space for this so in the meantime a fry net will do

 

[Bradley]

Hey Molymomma!

I am a small brreder of guppies and mollies. If you cant stand the fry net and want it gone, then i've got an idea. I found the same problem in my 18 and 28 gallon tank..My sollution is get an air stone. One of those bubble wall stones should help with taking away it's ugly looks.
This would solve your pump problem. Of course, this is only temporary. After a week or two, you can switch back to the pump if you want. This will mean more frequent tank cleanings, ever month or so(since you have no adult fish to really pollute the bottom). After the fry are about 1 inch long, you can turn the pump on with no worries . If you want(and i am finding this very easy), when the fry are 1", put the adult mollies in with the fry(1 pair at a time). This way, the adults are use to having fry around but they are too big to eat so if/when she gives birth again, the fry are already in the tank so there is no stress with moving them. Finally, with being with the older fry, the adults wont pay any attention to the new fry!

Good Luck Momma!

 

[Mollymomma]

Thanks Bradley great ideas
right now we only have the parents & 6 fry to worry about at the moment but the momma looks like she'll be giving us more fry soon...
Quick question though.. I had the fry in the breeder net at the time there were 8 now we have 6 no sign's of the missing ones Could some of the bigger fry have ate the sibling's?

 

[Bradley]

I highly doubt it. Of course, everything is possible. Incase you didnt know, fry nets are not fish proof. Adults can still catch un-wary fry off guard. All they do is eat them through the mesh.(i found this out the hard way )). They could have also jumped out of the mess at night. This is fairly easy considering how high above the water the top of the net is. To avoid this problem and make life easier(for the fish and you), try mixing in the fry when they are 1" long so that soon, the adults wont bother fry and the net is not needed.(i believe i explained this in my earlier reply). But hey, i'm not their momma( ), it is all up to you.


Good Luck!

 

[Mollymomma]

the net ain't fish proof! Holy Horse hockey! I did not know that, tanks for the heads up on that. okay once they are 1inch in they go slowly with the parents, hopefully that will save the next batch of fry. I'm putting more fry friendly foliage in too, so they will have more hiding places.. I'll let ya know how we're doing.

 

[Bradley]

Ya, at night the fish may get hyper and jump out of the water(only an inch or so) and may enter(or leave) the net. Besides, nothing stops the adults from sucking on the fry from the other side, right? After replying yesterday, i actually tryed to experiment with my recently aquired baloon platies and there HUGE fry.(i mean big, they are half an inch and only 1 week old as of tommorow) Anyway, good luck!

 

[Bradley]

Hey again mollymomma!

How are the fry doing now?
Hope they last during the move.
Anyway, good luck and have fun!
(if your internet wont be up for 3weeks or so, i can catch up with you and the number of posts)

See ya and good luck!

 

[mathman]

Fry are a bonus we live fish lovers enjoy.


The stocking on the intake is what I used to do when I raised Mollies several yrs back. (Boy did I forget a lot. ) Since you have the fry in a seperate tank you wont need to worry about anything else but like Bradly suggested move them in with the BIGUNS as soon as they get to the inch size maybe a bit smaller. I used to move them in after 2 months reguardless of size.
I had a 10 Gal and a 20 Gal tank and within six months had to start giving them to friends as feeders until I found stores willing to purchase them. My tanks got so over populated that I had no choice. ( Still breaks my heart ) So my best suggestion is take a sample of your water, go to every store you can get to, and ask if you can start suppling them with fish. Some places will pay you about a third of what they sell them for and some will take them for free but it is better than having those beauties turn up as feeders or killing off your tank .
The most important thing to remember is to always Have fun with them!

 

[Bradley]

Ahh, the famous Fish-Fry disease...runs in stages...
Batch#1-Cute, small and cool
Batch#2-Cool, even more!
Batch#3-Plenty
Batch#4-Too many
Batch#5-Time to give donations
Batch#6-Free Food


We all hate it but eventually we will all reach the point where we have too many fry!