They Look Pregnant - Now What?!

[fluffycabbage]

This is the first time Ive kept fish, they were inherited. Im pretty sure a few of them are pregnant, going by the pics ive seen on this forum. Heres one of them:

and another 2!

I dont really plan on breeding them - tbh i wouldnt know what to do with them? But i guess I'd have to get rid of them somehow to stop overcrowding, so do i sell them to a pet shop or what? Sorry, have no idea about this at all!

 

[helterskelter]

Well their drfo pregnant.

If you dont want the babies their are quite often people looking on here for free fish.
Shop's dont tend to buy fry, once then 2cm or so they may well do, but generally they prefer to swap for food or something.

Many fry are eaten by other fish so what other fish are you keeping?

 

[fluffycabbage]

Thanks for the reply Ive got approx 10 platys, 6 bronze corys, 2 black mollys, 1 golden loach, 7 zebra snails.

Ive got no problem giving them away, just dont know how to go about it all. Im assuming that if i just left the preg ones to have their fry they'd just be eaten in the tank? Hmmm, not sure i like the idea of that really

 

[helterskelter]

if well feed your fish should leave most of them alone.

Adding java moss to a tank increases the survival of fry 10 fold.
Or investing in a rearing tank, something like a 18x12x12 are fine, with a simple air powered sponge filter.
Then you just catch the fry as and when you see them and transfer them to the rearing tank.

 

[fluffycabbage]

if well feed your fish should leave most of them alone.

Adding java moss to a tank increases the survival of fry 10 fold.
Or investing in a rearing tank, something like a 18x12x12 are fine, with a simple air powered sponge filter.
Then you just catch the fry as and when you see them and transfer them to the rearing tank.

thanks - whats java moss? and where do i get it from? is a rearing tank expensive? and can you give me a link to the said filter? many thanks

oh do i need to cover over the inlet parts of the filter with a sponge? if so what sort of sponge do i need? (mind you, i think the mollys might be more of a problem that the inlet )

One of the females has now got a white spot near the anal fin, does that mean she's gonna drop soon?

 

[helterskelter]

if well feed your fish should leave most of them alone.

Adding java moss to a tank increases the survival of fry 10 fold.
Or investing in a rearing tank, something like a 18x12x12 are fine, with a simple air powered sponge filter.
Then you just catch the fry as and when you see them and transfer them to the rearing tank.

thanks - whats java moss? and where do i get it from? is a rearing tank expensive? and can you give me a link to the said filter? many thanks

oh do i need to cover over the inlet parts of the filter with a sponge? if so what sort of sponge do i need? (mind you, i think the mollys might be more of a problem that the inlet )

One of the females has now got a white spot near the anal fin, does that mean she's gonna drop soon?

Java moss is an aquatic plant the grows quickly and quite thick. Fry love to hide in it and it provides then with microscopic organisms to eat that live on it.
A rearing tank in the UK is under £10, no idea if your in the US or elsewhere.

Here is a simple but good sponge filter.

If you use a simple filter like the above then you dont need to do anything to protect the fry

As for the white spot, this will be nothing to do with a gravid spot. A gravid spot is a dark spot almost black in colour.
What size is the spot and dose it look inflamed at all or cotten wool like?
As this could be a problem affecting the fish.

 

[fluffycabbage]

if well feed your fish should leave most of them alone.

Adding java moss to a tank increases the survival of fry 10 fold.
Or investing in a rearing tank, something like a 18x12x12 are fine, with a simple air powered sponge filter.
Then you just catch the fry as and when you see them and transfer them to the rearing tank.

thanks - whats java moss? and where do i get it from? is a rearing tank expensive? and can you give me a link to the said filter? many thanks

oh do i need to cover over the inlet parts of the filter with a sponge? if so what sort of sponge do i need? (mind you, i think the mollys might be more of a problem that the inlet )

One of the females has now got a white spot near the anal fin, does that mean she's gonna drop soon?

Java moss is an aquatic plant the grows quickly and quite thick. Fry love to hide in it and it provides then with microscopic organisms to eat that live on it.
A rearing tank in the UK is under £10, no idea if your in the US or elsewhere.

Here is a simple but good sponge filter.

If you use a simple filter like the above then you dont need to do anything to protect the fry

As for the white spot, this will be nothing to do with a gravid spot. A gravid spot is a dark spot almost black in colour.
What size is the spot and dose it look inflamed at all or cotten wool like?
As this could be a problem affecting the fish.

Ok thanks (im in the UK btw) - will go to the LFS and see if they have any java moss then, thanks. the filter, how do i run it? coz it doesnt seem to have an electrical supply? sorry if im being reaaallllly thick lol, just need to get it all right! oh i assume the rearing tank is run separately from the main tank, not put inside the tank?

ive just looked at the pregnant fish and she still has the spot, it looks more like a tiny swelling than a spot, right between the two fins where her poo comes out lol. Theres another female with something similar, its a bit swollen but isnt white, but she doesnt look pregnant

 

[OldMan47]

That kind of sponge filter uses an air pump to move the water using the bubbles. If you look at the picture, there is a semi-clear plastic tube. The bubbles rising in that tube take water with them and thus move the water from the two sponges up the tube and out the top.

 

[fluffycabbage]

That kind of sponge filter uses an air pump to move the water using the bubbles. If you look at the picture, there is a semi-clear plastic tube. The bubbles rising in that tube take water with them and thus move the water from the two sponges up the tube and out the top.

ah right i see yes, thanks.