Molly Fry

[L_Plates]

About 4 weeks ago i posted saying i think my Molly is pregnant but nothing happend.

Then last night whilst watching Game of Thrones i noticed a small black fish scooting past the glass but it shot away into the plants. So i looked for my black molly and there she was giving birth !

I got the breeding cage out and placed her in it straight away. Eventually after an hour she had finished and now have 11 small fry. I have removed the Mum from the cage. All fry seem ok, one had died overnight but the rest are swimming about and having a nibble at the crushed up flake.

Unfortunately i did see the mum eat 2 fry after i realised she was giving birth so i dont know how many more was swallowed up whilst i was unaware of what was going on.

So far as i mentioned i have crushed up flake into very fine grains and added then to the breeding cage. They have eaten some so thats good.

How many times a day should fry be fed ?

So anyways, this is the first time i have had fry and any tips on feeding / care would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers LP

 

[Crazycat lady]

I had a guppy give birth to 30 fry a few months ago. Unfortunately due to my inexperience I lost all but 4 of them.

I have recently been told that livebearer fry need a very high quality diet and was reccomended "liquifry 2". Relatively inexpensive and are very small eggs in liquid form. Was told to put a drop in the breeding tank 4-8 times a day exclusively for first few days. Then to supplement with baby brine shrimp/daphnia and finely ground up fish flakes/baby fish food. Removing any excess food that isn't eaten.

Also water quality is a biggie! Remove all waste as mush as possible (being careful not to suck up the babies (that was a funny story)). I know mollies love an ickle bit of aquarium salt too. I just found 10 baby gups in my tank (at 4 in the morning)and spent all nt scooping them into a plastic breeding tank. The're currently so small they can swim through my mesh one (also reccomended as filtration is better).

I only have a 60 litre tank and was considering getting a small 5litre one with a sponge filter in for any babies as 4 of my gups are pregnant.

Fingers crossed for your mollies and my gups. Let me know how you get on as I'd love the advice too x

 

[L_Plates]

Thanks for the info CL, i will update the thread as they grow

LP

 

[Marto666]

I think my Molly is pregnant but im unsure, she seems fatter than the other males but is this normal?

Any other way of telling? Should I put her in a holding tank now?

 

[L_Plates]

What drew my attention to her from the start was the big belly, but also i noticed her anus was white and very round. It stood out to me as this was a black molly.

As for adding her to a holding tank its a gamble as she might be weeks off giving birth yet. I personally would wait until it happens and then move her in.

LP

 

[Marto666]

Thanks LP

Her belly drew my attention too but she is actually white already. I will hold off moving her for now but will keep a close eye on her.

Cheers

 

[Crazycat lady]

I know mollies can get very stressed when put in a breeding trap x

 

[Crazycat lady]

Thanks for the info CL, i will update the thread as they grow

LP

How are yours doing? I just found another one hiding on top of my filter

 

[L_Plates]

All 11 still with us Eating the crushed up flake so its looking good.

Not found any hiding in the tank yet.

LP

 

[Crazycat lady]

All 11 still with us Eating the crushed up flake so its looking good.

Not found any hiding in the tank yet.

LP

I lost one It didn't look healthy from the start mind, didn't eat and had a funny bent tail! congrats at having all yours still! whak kind of mollies are they?
x

 

[hanny93]

Dont know if youre still using it but id stay away from liquifry and use newly hatched brine shrimp instead (BBS), much more nutritious etc to the babies

 

[Inchworm]

Congratulations on all the fry!

I'll move your thread over to the Livebearers section now.

 

[L_Plates]

All 11 still with us Eating the crushed up flake so its looking good.

Not found any hiding in the tank yet.

LP

I lost one It didn't look healthy from the start mind, didn't eat and had a funny bent tail! congrats at having all yours still! whak kind of mollies are they?
x

Black Mollies, http/www.fishlinkworldwide.com/fish/products_pictures/black_molly.jpg

Sorry about the loss of one of your fry.

LP

 

[joefish72]

Dont know if youre still using it but id stay away from liquifry and use newly hatched brine shrimp instead (BBS), much more nutritious etc to the babies

I agree that liquifry is a waste of money. I use crushed up spirulina flakes. You simply crush them into a fine powder and feed it to the fry 2 times a day for the first 2 weeks. After that once a day is fine but they grow quicker if you keep them at 2 feeding per day. Good luck with your fry.

 

[L_Plates]

cheers buddy.