new to aquarium scene...

[Monte20]

Hello. I got a 20 gallon tank from a friend of mine. i did the whole noobie thing and killed a lot of fish before I decided to stop being lazy and research. i got to tell ya, im totally hooked now. i love it. right now im raising mollies. took me a while to figure out how to keep them healthy, as every molly seemed to get sick or fungy in some way. well about 400 dollars later i figured out aquarium salt from reading all over. i added 1 tblespoon per 5 gallons. now they are thriving. and tonight i had my first babies! i think i saved all but 5. the male ate a couple and the danios got one or two. now i have 22 frys in a sep tank. now i have to learn how to raise the frys. anyone have pointers? first thing im doing is getting a bigger tank tomorrow. about 50-65 gallons and let it cyle for a while. my goal to to have black mollies and orange swordtails together and see what kind of mixtures i can get. got im so pumped that my fish are happy and healthy enought to start having babies. awesome.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Unfortunatly you cannot crossbreed swordtails and mollys, they come from different familys and its imposible to make hybrids out of them. Also although the salt may be good for your mollys it is not good for your danios, it would also be helpful if you tell us what other fish you have as many are intolerant of salt.
Also most fish deaths come down to water quality issues- test your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates(you can get the test kits from your local fish store) and post us the stats ASAP. Do you know how to cycle a tank?

 

[Annastasia]

now i have 22 frys in a sep tank. now i have to learn how to raise the frys. anyone have pointers?

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This tank is cycled, I hope? Otherwise, your fry don't stand much of a chance, as they usually can't survive the cycling process.

If it is...

* Make sure the filter is covered, either by a breeder net or pantyhose or something so the fry don't get sucked in. If you have a sponge filter, don't worry about this.

* Feed them at least 3 times a day, preferably around 6. When they are young, Hikari Fry Food or Tetramin Fry Food is good, as is Baby Brine Shrimp. If you want, because Mollies have big fry, you can skip right to very finely crushed flakes. However, you should add in a little high protein foods..Live/Frozen/Freeze-dried Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Tubifex Worms, Krill..etc. Things like that are good. However, make the pieces really small, and don't feed more then maybe..3 times a week. As too much can cause bloating and constipation. It also makes your water quality bad.

* Speaking of water quality, you need good water quality. Some people do daily water changes on their fry tanks. Others do every other day. I'd advise to do at least 2 a week. You can make a little syphon out of airline tubing, or use a turkey baster if you are worried about sucking up fry. If you just want to use a regular syphon, a trick you can use is to shine a flashlight near the tank. Most fry will either go towards it, or away from it. Then you can syphon where they aren't. And when you are done syphoning, check the bucket to make sure you don't have any fry. Whatever you use, before you dump it, check for fry.

* Once they are grown more, seperate the sexes. This is very important, because it will prevent inbreeding. Too much inbreeding leads to weaker fish, and can also cause deformities. So, as soon as you possibly can, seperate the sexes. Be aware, some males are late developing. They look like females for a long time, and then pow. If they are with the females, they can impregnate the whole tank. Depending on the colors of your Mollies, you might be able to see a gravid spot.

Best of luck with the fry!

 

[Monte20]

oh yes. the tank is cycled. i test my water often. nitrites and nitrates are good. ammonia is good. only thing is my water is a bit on the hard side. the aquarium salt helped with that. i didnt know about the danios not liking the salt. i looked that up before i added it and didnt find anything. but they seem to be fine with it. their behavior didnt change at all. and when i said sep tank, its just my way of saying a breeder. it floats around in the tank. thank you for the info about the cross breeding the swordtails. see, im already learning. i have this awesome orange sailfish mollie with black spots. hes really orange, like the general lee from Dukes of Hazzard. the female is white with orange spots. shes not a sailfish though. thanks for the info.

 

[Annastasia]

Oh...a breeder. Don't keep them in there too long, because it will quickly become overstocked. And Molly fry are pretty big, as Livebearer fry go. How often are you feeding them?

And what were your last water readings? Like, the exact readings.

 

[Monte20]

Oh...a breeder. Don't keep them in there too long, because it will quickly become overstocked. And Molly fry are pretty big, as Livebearer fry go. How often are you feeding them?

And what were your last water readings? Like, the exact readings.

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ive been feeding the frys 3 times a day. small amounts. im not sure what the exact readings are for the water. the test kit i use has a color chart. i forgot to mention the one problem i have yet to fix. the cloudiness. ive had the tank for about 3 months. i do about 20 percent water changes every 2 weeks. its not a murky cloud. more like a fog or mist. ive tried the water clearer treatment, and it doesnt do anything. my tank isnt overpopulated. its where it should be except for the clarity. i use a top fin filtration system that uses the bio bags. cheers.

 

[Monte20]

 

[Annastasia]

It could be a baterial bloom. Is it a kinda milky whitish? Though you should probably step up your water changes, to at least once a week with fry in there. They need good water quality to do well. And maybe you could take your water to your LFS, and have them test it as exact params are good to know. Even a little ammonia can be deadly to fry, for example. So next time you get a test kit, you may want to get one where you can get close to exact measurements.

By the way, you have some gorgeous Mollies there. I especially love the female in the first picture. The white with the orange marbling...too cute!

 

[Monte20]

bacterial bloom was my guess also. because the water is healthy. i tested it again earlier. and its just right. ive also stopped using tap water for changes. i used distilled water last time. that time it took longer for the cloudiness to come back. should i keep goind with the distilled water?

 

[Monte20]

some better quality shots: the spots you see on his sail are actually bright silver. he has some on his tailfin too. love this guy...

 

[SkiFletch]

WOW, that is a gorgeoud fish .

As far as using distilled water goes, it probably isn't a bad idea to use distilled, but I'm not an expert. What I do know, is that any water that I use regardless of origin or even if I treat it with conditioner sits for at LEAST 24 hours before I add it to my fish to make absoloutely sure dangerous amines are dissolved. Then again, I'm somewhat picky about what I give my fish, only the best/safest...