New Baby Mollies

[death]

hi my molly had babies theres bout 30-40 of them there currently in a breeding trap is it ok to leave them in there till there bigger? or should i get a cheapo tank from argos for the time being ?and how long would the new tank take to cycle i have bought liquid fry from the pet store any info and advice is much appriciated as im a newbie at this thankyou joe?

 

[rimmer 05]

i guess they can live in tht trap for like a month, but if you like a cheepo tank you can get one

 

[big mick]

You'd be aswell just to leave them where they are, as long as they cant get out, once theyget bigger you can put them in a seperate growing tank if you want to.

As for cycling the new tank you can use some of the 0f filter material (not all of in!) or gravel/ ornaments etc from the existing tank to speed up the cycling. It wiould be worth getting a test kit and pretty much the same as you did for the tank you have.

What size is it and what other fish do you have?

 

[death]

You'd be aswell just to leave them where they are, as long as they cant get out, once theyget bigger you can put them in a seperate growing tank if you want to.

As for cycling the new tank you can use some of the 0f filter material (not all of in!) or gravel/ ornaments etc from the existing tank to speed up the cycling. It wiould be worth getting a test kit and pretty much the same as you did for the tank you have.

What size is it and what other fish do you have?

its only a 20 uk gallon and i am ove stocked as it is i have 4 mollies a plec and 3 siamese fighters

 

[big mick]

I can only assume you dont have more than one male fighter?

I would get shot of your plec if I was you aswell, if its a common plec it will get to about 24", maybe more.

Id invest in a bigger tank then use to 20g for keeping the fry in.

 

[death]

I can only assume you dont have more than one male fighter?

I would get shot of your plec if I was you aswell, if its a common plec it will get to about 24", maybe more.

Id invest in a bigger tank then use to 20g for keeping the fry in.

ok thanks just 1 more question can i still do the water changes at the moment?

 

[death]

and also apart from the water changes question how many survive roughly as i have near 50 of the fry :?

 

[death]

any advise will do thanks

 

[Bryan1957]

The number of fry that survive will depend partly on your feeding schedule, tank maintenance and quality of the fishs' genetics. I had 35 molly fry about one month ago, there are 32 now. They were moved from a 5 gallon tank to a 10 gallon tank yesterday. They are between 1 & 1.5 cm long. I'll move some of them in another month or so to another tank so there is more room to grow and swim. Fry food is messy in a tank so you will need to keep up on water changes and vacuuming.
I agree with big mick, you should consider getting a larger tank for the plec if it is a common plec since it will outgrow the tank and is a messy fish. You could get a new larger tank cycled and move the adult fish to a larger tank then release the fry into the tank they are in.
Are you sure you have 3 siamese fighters, 3 males would destroy each other. Female fighters aren't as territorial and agressive.
Bryan

 

[death]

ok thanks for the info i have only 1 male siamese fighter and also its a red spotted plec but i will get a new tank i think cheers ...........................just one last thing the liquid fry says to only feed for 2 or 3 days after that brine shrimp................will frozen brine shrimp do ??? cheers

 

[Bryan1957]

Frozen brine shrimp should be fine. I always hatch my own, it is cheaper and I have the time. You should feed something else since the brine shrimp will constipation if they don't get some roughage to keep things clear.
You can crush flakes to a fine power like size and feed that also. I use a mortar and pestal (the thingy used to crush fresh herbs). I can crush enough to feed my fry then store it in and empty food tub until ready. Feed very small portions. A large pinch of flakes looks very small when crushed.
Good luck,
Bryan

 

[death]

Frozen brine shrimp should be fine. I always hatch my own, it is cheaper and I have the time. You should feed something else since the brine shrimp will constipation if they don't get some roughage to keep things clear.
You can crush flakes to a fine power like size and feed that also. I use a mortar and pestal (the thingy used to crush fresh herbs). I can crush enough to feed my fry then store it in and empty food tub until ready. Feed very small portions. A large pinch of flakes looks very small when crushed.
Good luck,
Bryan

ok thanks bryan for that info cheers
B)

 

[millym]

hi,
it would be a good idea to get a small tank for your fry now & start to cycle it so it will be ready for them to move to in a couple of weeks - thats what we did for our swordie fry. theres some good articles on doing a fishless cycle in this forum (do a search or look at the pinned topics) we used pure ammonia & a sponge from our big tank filter to help it along.
meanwhile you can also feed your fry cucumber & lettuce - dunk them in boiling water for a few mins,(or zap in water in microwave) cool & then put a piece in your breeder net - fry love it, they will also nibble on bits of catfish tablet & as said crush up normal fish flake ( needs to be like powder for little mouths)

 

[death]

hi,
it would be a good idea to get a small tank for your fry now & start to cycle it so it will be ready for them to move to in a couple of weeks - thats what we did for our swordie fry. theres some good articles on doing a fishless cycle in this forum (do a search or look at the pinned topics) we used pure ammonia & a sponge from our big tank filter to help it along.
meanwhile you can also feed your fry cucumber & lettuce - dunk them in boiling water for a few mins,(or zap in water in microwave) cool & then put a piece in your breeder net - fry love it, they will also nibble on bits of catfish tablet & as said crush up normal fish flake ( needs to be like powder for little mouths)

ok thanks for that advice im defiantely going for another tank and ill try the cucumber too cheers

 

[love_fish]

Yea, feeding them vegetables such as peas, are said to be great for them.