New To This Whole Thing.

[XxShazzxX]

About 3 weeks ago I purchased 3 dalmation mollies 1 male and 2 female, this morning I went to go and buy some more fish when I came home with 5 back Lyretail mollies, a black marbel angel fish and a silver shark. Placing the bags in the water so the new fish get use to the temp I noticed the tiniest tad pole like 'thing' swimming around and realised one of my dalmation mollies had given birth. I found three fry and before I could seperate them 2 had disappeared . I didn't expect this so it was quite a surprise I only have the one fry and don't actually know which female has had them or if theres anymore she'll be having. Although the fry have been separated from the other fish I don't really know what to do with it, is crushed flakes and boiled egg yolk good for the fry and any more advice would be much appreciated.

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi Shazz, to the forum
 
Just crushed flakes is a perfectly good diet for livebearer fry. Egg yolk was used in the old days, before we had prepared fry foods and, while it is a good food, it will foul your water very quickly, so is best avoided. The most important thing for fry is keeping the water clean, so change the water at least twice a day.
 
I hope you don't mind some extra advice...your tank is probably not cycled, and you have added a lot of new fish at once, so you should be checking your water for ammonia and nitrite every day, and changing the water (making sure the new water is warmed and dechlorinated) if you see any sign of either of those.
 
The silver shark is very unlikely to be suitable for your tank, as it can grow to nearly a foot long, and should really be kept in a shoal of at least six. I would return that one to the shop if you can.
 
Angels need a tank that is at least 18" tall, and would prefer soft water, whereas your mollies would like it very hard; if your water is soft, they might not do too well.
 
How big is your tank?

 

[XxShazzxX]

Thanks for the advice, the tank is a coffee table in my living room and it's 230 litres as I'm not so clued up on all the details I asked a member of staff at the aquarium which fish were compatible and he said that all the fish I have right now are compatible with each other, so seeing you say that makes me think oh gosh.

 

[the_lock_man]

First lesson of fishkeeping - always do your own research, people who work in fish shops aren't neccessarily experts.

 

[XxShazzxX]

Yeah I kind of guess that, but realistically being new to it all I thought staff at the aquariums would know what they're talking about and when you do your own research there's so many different things and ways of doing specific tasks it's abit like where on earth do I start and how.

 

[the_lock_man]

Yeah I kind of guess that, but realistically being new to it all I thought staff at the aquariums would know what they're talking about and when you do your own research there's so many different things and ways of doing specific tasks it's abit like where on earth do I start and how.

 
Absolutely, probably everyone assumes that they know it all, myself included. However, 2nd rule of fishkeeping is that this forum is the best place to get the best info!!!

 

[XxShazzxX]

Thanks alot