So Overnight I Became A Father?

[BethK]

you never listened to me anyway j but if you're willing to risk babies without waiting 24hrs, up to you.

 

[Curiosity101]

no offense but i've done 3 diff tank changes,all with mature media, stats were all fine, the tank i didn't transfer used water to, was my 125ltr and added fish without letting it settle...........guess where i'm going with this.

Well considering I've done many tank change overs and know of alot of people that also have done them with no issues (ie. only around 1-2% have problems) then I would look at other reasons as to why you have had problems. Perhaps the filter media was exposed to air so started to dry causing die back. Perhaps you took too long doing it. Perhaps you didn't dechlor the water sufficiently. Perhaps you added alot of fish the day before and things hadn't settled yet from you adding them. Or maybe you over fed.

why do you think breeders etc leave their breeding tanks a few days running, before adding fish?

1. This is a very general sweeping statement, either that or you know every breeder that exists?
2. Many people who have been keeping fish for a long time and who are resistant to learning/improving their way of keeping fish will not accept scientific fact. These are likely to be the ones you're referring to.
3. Maybe they have been mis informed and no one has thought to correct them.

By my count I have 13 unidentified fry and when I get the aquarium I'll create another thread where you can follow the progress of fry in an "unmatured" fresh water set up if you want.

Sounds like a plan

Any luck on getting pictures of the fry? They might be id'able even at this young age. I'm not live bearer expert myself (I would suggest posting pics in the livebearer section if you do). But I can probabaly distinguish guppies and at least rule it out to being molly or platy fry.

 

[LondonguyJ]

Fry

I couldn't get a clear pic because they wouldn't stay still. There are bets being placed as I type as to who the wayward parent is

 

[Curiosity101]

Hmm, I certainly don't think they're guppies. My bet is molly or platy... and to me they look more like molly fry.

 

[LondonguyJ]

So none of the fish shops near me or near my family in east london do the arcadia 35L so I've put in an order from charterhouse. I've also bought a new biorb thermometer, new nitrite and ammonia kits, new pump, airline, stone and also some new gravel.

I still think it's platy fry but the balloon does seem to have lost some weight also. Perhaps it's a mixed nursery

 

[Curiosity101]

Well I can assure you that the fish that the picture is focused on is definitely a molly fry. Not platy. But you could have a mixed nursery

 

[LondonguyJ]

I was hoping they'd be platies as they are lighter on the bio load. I have 16 so far

Found a few more last night because my Diamonds are like a wolf pack, they hunt and circle the fry at night. The moonlights kick in at 8:59 (daylights out a 9:00) and at this time the remaining fry in the tank come out to forage I guess. I'm curious as to how long they were in there before I discovered them and also how many there were.

I have no idea what to do with them once they reach rehoming age or indeed where to rehome them? My lfs doesn't take fry he prefers the chemically enhanced stockists. And the other lfs has such bad water conditions I couldn't possibly send them there.

Decisions decisions...

 

[Curiosity101]

Well you could always sell them via the forum, or aquarist-classifieds or if you have any local fish clubs. I'd also have another check for local fish shops that might take them.

 

[OldMan47]

As Curiosity has said, you have molly fry in the picture. The fry in the picture are probably less than a week old.

 

[BethK]

what sex are the platties?

Just a thought, could guppies, platys, mollys cross breed? or is it just mollies and guppies can cross breed and not platys?

 

[OldMan47]

Mollies and guppies can theoretically cross but I have never seen it happen. Platies are often crossed with swordtails but not with the others listed. I am certain that the fish in the picture are either a rare and seldom seen fish or are mollies. I do not pretend that I can recognize any old fish fry, but molly fry are among my favorites so I definitely know their shape and color patterns. They are distinctly different from both platy and guppy fry. These are some of my molly fry at less than a day old for comparison. You be the judge.

Please ignore the female, she lived with her fry until she dropped again 6 weeks later and I have used this picture in the common livebearer section as a part of demonstrating the stages of a molly's development from one drop to the next.

 

[BethK]

why can i not see your pic, oldman

The molly was pregnant before being homed with J (?), I take it they have a gestation period of 21-28 days, too?

 

[LondonguyJ]

Cheers oldman

I figured the balloon mollies would have a different shaped fry because of the adults shape but the fry do in the picture you posted do look exactly like mine. I mentioned before that I didn't want to open my ehiem for fear of a spike but have slowly come round to the idea.

However, last night I put the fry from the nursery net into another fish bag to measure the ammonia in 24hours which I have just done. There was less than one liter in the bag and there wasn't any ammonia present?

Which left me wondering if I can allow the filter to cycle as the fry grow? Just a thought really...

Oh and the fry are back in the nursery net. Aquarium and other related equipment should be arriving tomorrow.

 

[Curiosity101]

I don't see any reason not to try them in the nursery. You have a test kit, so just keep an eye on things if you put them in. Keep the tank decor free (cept for a clump of floating plants/moss) and the filter n heater.

That way if you do have to move them back then it'll be as fast and stress free as possible.

But yeah I really don't see why you wouldn't try seeding from your main filter and then raising them in the nursery straight away.

 

[LondonguyJ]

Cheers Curiosity

I've come round to seeding the filter but after my rudimentary experiment with the fry/ammonia I think I might be able to go without it, at least for a while.