newbie I've Found Baby Fish In My Tank!

shoshannah · Jun 11, 2014

Hi all,
I got given a tank three weeks ago, the original owners were moving and could no longer house the tank and the fish. We're not sure how large the tank is but we found one similar in Pets at Home and the price was £300 but i can't remember the gallons! Anyway the tank came with 1 male guppy who was an adult, 2 glass fish, 2 plecos (we think). About three days after we had the tank we went and got 2 more male guppies ( babies) and 3 female (babies) 2 balloon mollies (babies one male one female). One of the females died from what we think was stressed so we replaced her and after about 2 weeks the replaced one died. The original guppy we had also died a few days ago after being with us for 3 weeks but we think he was just old. Anyway to the point we went to clean the tank for the first time yesterday and just as my mum was about to use the pump, i saw a very tiny fish about the size of a flea. We made sure we were pumping away from it and it survived. Although when we put the new water in the tank, it was murky at first and then i couldn't find the baby. In the evening i found a baby, it looked slightly different though if that's possible. Anyway this morning it was still there, we put in some big flakes for the others and then i crushed some for the baby. My main worries are : will it survive with the catfish (mainly) and also the risk of others eating it, the filter and also if it will get enough food. I also thought that fish usually have more than one offspring. I also cant get it out because it is so small it would fall through the net holes. Do the think there is any chance it will survive? And also what breed it would be. I read that all fish should be separated from babies because they will eat them.

fm1978 · Jun 11, 2014

Hi Shoshannah, welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you've been given a very nice gift there, congrats on your new fish!

Firstly, the size; we'd need a wee bit more detail about the volume (width x height x depth), but don't worry about that just now. If you say it looks a bit like one from Pets at Home for £300, chances are you're alright just now and there's no over stocking going on.

Secondly, and a very very important part of fish keeping is being aware of what is going on inside your tank in terms of the chemicals in the water. There's a very good introduction to how to cycle your tank in the following link which you might need to read a few times to get the hang of what is going on. At first it's a little complicated but it's honestly not as difficult as it sounds.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

That whole thing may not totally apply to you as your tank may have been previously cycled by the owners before you but it's still important to be aware of the principles behind having a healthy tank.

Did you also get a water testing kit with the setup? If not, you should try to get a kit. There's a good chance that you're little guys may have died because of stress but it could also be due to poor water quality, just so you know.

The baby fish you see is most likely a guppy and possibly even a molly. These types of fish give birth to live babies (live bearers) rather than laying eggs. With all of the fish in your tank it's not guaranteed that the little fella will survive. Until he/she is too big to fit in the mouths of your other fish s/he is always a food source. And yes, these types of fish usually give birth to many many offspring, however, the chances of them being eaten is very high unless you allow the mother to give birth to them in a hatchery or fry net (net's are a bit better, I think).

Have a read at the cycling forum post and how to keep your tank nice and clean and try to learn about the nitrogen cycle and then come back with any more questions you might have!

Good luck!

shoshannah · Jun 11, 2014

fm1978 said:

Hi Shoshannah, welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you've been given a very nice gift there, congrats on your new fish!

Firstly, the size; we'd need a wee bit more detail about the volume (width x height x depth), but don't worry about that just now. If you say it looks a bit like one from Pets at Home for £300, chances are you're alright just now and there's no over stocking going on.

Secondly, and a very very important part of fish keeping is being aware of what is going on inside your tank in terms of the chemicals in the water. There's a very good introduction to how to cycle your tank in the following link which you might need to read a few times to get the hang of what is going on. At first it's a little complicated but it's honestly not as difficult as it sounds.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/

That whole thing may not totally apply to you as your tank may have been previously cycled by the owners before you but it's still important to be aware of the principles behind having a healthy tank.

Did you also get a water testing kit with the setup? If not, you should try to get a kit. There's a good chance that you're little guys may have died because of stress but it could also be due to poor water quality, just so you know.

The baby fish you see is most likely a guppy and possibly even a molly. These types of fish give birth to live babies (live bearers) rather than laying eggs. With all of the fish in your tank it's not guaranteed that the little fella will survive. Until he/she is too big to fit in the mouths of your other fish s/he is always a food source. And yes, these types of fish usually give birth to many many offspring, however, the chances of them being eaten is very high unless you allow the mother to give birth to them in a hatchery or fry net (net's are a bit better, I think).

Have a read at the cycling forum post and how to keep your tank nice and clean and try to learn about the nitrogen cycle and then come back with any more questions you might have!

Good luck!

Thank you very much for the reply! I shall take measurements later. The man in pets at home tested our water and everything was excellent he said. He also said there is room for a few more guppies,
Click to expand...

bluesword23516 · Jun 11, 2014

What colors were your mollies?
If the baby has no coloring and is a brown, it is a guppy.

What guppies do you have that survived, if you have a good balance I wouldn't buy more. I raise guppies myself and recently found two super little ones!
Also, the smaller the females the smaller the fry. When the female are about 2 inches (close to full size) their fry will be much larger and can fit in nets. Most guppies wont eat the babies, mollies will eat their young though. Mollies also are probably not a good match for your tank because they survive much better in brackish (half salt half fresh water) tanks.

Can you post a photo of your glass fish or give us the scientific name? Some fish are more aggressive than others and will eat any young fry.

shoshannah · Jun 12, 2014

bluesword23516 said:

What colors were your mollies?
If the baby has no coloring and is a brown, it is a guppy.

What guppies do you have that survived, if you have a good balance I wouldn't buy more. I raise guppies myself and recently found two super little ones!
Also, the smaller the females the smaller the fry. When the female are about 2 inches (close to full size) their fry will be much larger and can fit in nets. Most guppies wont eat the babies, mollies will eat their young though. Mollies also are probably not a good match for your tank because they survive much better in brackish (half salt half fresh water) tanks.

Can you post a photo of your glass fish or give us the scientific name? Some fish are more aggressive than others and will eat any young fry.
Click to expand...

female molly is white and male is orange with black spots, the baby is plain white. I have two male baby guppies and two female baby guppies (store bought). I also found another last night so i we have two tiny babies. Female guppies are actually pretty big and have grown faster than the males but i dont think they are full size yet. the glass fish are catfish i think, we're not sure they came with the tank and the previous owner got it from freecycle so she wasnt sure either. I'll get on my phone now and post pics Thanks for the reply!

bluesword23516 · Jun 12, 2014

Ok, I don't have the glass catfish kind so I can't give too much on it, and if the babies are white they are probably mollies. Female guppies get larger than the males by a lot. A little bit in length but a lot fatter and thicker.

shoshannah · Jun 13, 2014

still cant figure out why my phone isn't taking me to the web page. Which sucks because I've actually made a fry trap from a video on youtube. At first it was temporary in case any of the fish are pregnant and then i was going to order and marina 2 in 1 hatchery. Anyway made a diy one and managed to get one of the fry in it, so it has a much higher chance of surviving. As for the other fry, i haven't been able to find it

bluesword23516 · Jun 13, 2014

Does the fry trap have holes or is it just a floating Tupperware container?

shoshannah · Jun 15, 2014

it has very tiny holes all the way around which i made with a hot needle

bluesword23516 · Jun 15, 2014

Ok, that might work. Just keep the water clean (changes and clean out any extra food)

shoshannah · Jun 22, 2014

well it's survived and is growing pretty fast, i'm trying to email photos from my phone to my laptop to post them now. It may be paranoia but i think my ballon molly, glass catfish and guppy are pregnant!

shoshannah · Jun 22, 2014

okay so here are the fish that i think are pregnant: white balloon molly, orange guppy and the bottom catfish in the picture. What do you all think because im not very experienced and would like to know whether to put them into a hatchery soon or not? Thank you for any help in advance. http/s30.photobucket.com/user/shoshannahl/media/photo1_zps6991308e.jpg.html?filters[user]=140624927&filters[recent]=1&sort=1&o=0 it wont let me upload them as pictures on here so this is the link to the page where i posted the pictures. Sorry this post is quite messy!

maybe this is a better link http/s30.photobucket.com/user/shoshannahl/library/possibly%20pregnant%20fish?sort=3&page=1

fluttermoth · Jun 22, 2014

The glass catfish are egg layers. You would need to set up a separate tank, with both males and females, if you wanted to try breeding them, but they haven't been bred in captivity.

As for the livebearers. Don't put them in breeding boxes/hatcheries, just leave them to it. If you have enough plants and hiding places, you will have plenty of fry surviving.

Incidentally, you should take your plants out of the ceramic rings and plant them direct into the substrate, or they won't be able to grow properly.

shoshannah · Jun 22, 2014

fluttermoth said:

The glass catfish are egg layers. You would need to set up a separate tank, with both males and females, if you wanted to try breeding them, but they haven't been bred in captivity.

As for the livebearers. Don't put them in breeding boxes/hatcheries, just leave them to it. If you have enough plants and hiding places, you will have plenty of fry surviving.

Incidentally, you should take your plants out of the ceramic rings and plant them direct into the substrate, or they won't be able to grow properly.
Click to expand...

okay thank you, i'll try the plants now. with the guppy and balloon molly, do you thin they look pregnant? If so how far along are they, i know i cant change anything but it would just put my mind at rest. Also i have what we think are plecos (we got them from a lady who got them from freecycle) so are you sure the fry would survive in the tank? Thank you.

fluttermoth · Jun 22, 2014

It's hard to tell with balloon mollies, but the guppy isn't that far along; I'd say she has at least another week, maybe two, depending on how old she is.

Plecs won't eat fry, unless one swims under it and they hoover it up by accident!

I really think you ought to measure your tank, and post some pics of the plecs so we can identify the species for you; some plecs grow well over a foot long, some nearer two

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baby fish show up in my tank

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