This Is About Mollies And Fry

[MollyFresh]

I have a couple questions. I have about 2 month old balloon belly mollies and they are the size of about 2 -2 1/2 grains of rice in length. Is that normal? I feed them a varied diet and they are in a 10 gallon tank. Their are 40 all together but only about 10 of them are the ones i'm talking about. The other 30 are new batches. which brings me to my next question. Is 40 fry good together in a 10 gallon?? It is cycled and I feed them maybe 2 big meals a day because thats the easiest arrangement for me. My Third question is, If the fry have been together since birth, do they have a close relationship? If I put them in water that isn't good for breeding, would they still breed because of their relationship?? I ask this because I had put males and females in my 35 gallon tank and they didnt breed.


EDIT: Oh and another question, I have bad water for breeding balloon mollies. I know that for a fact because they arn't breeding. Should I use pH and Hardness changers to make the water right for breeding? Is there some other type of water I can use that is always right for breeding instead of having to change tapwater?

 

[fish48]

I have a couple questions. I have about 2 month old balloon belly mollies and they are the size of about 2 -2 1/2 grains of rice in length. Is that normal? I feed them a varied diet and they are in a 10 gallon tank. Their are 40 all together but only about 10 of them are the ones i'm talking about. The other 30 are new batches. which brings me to my next question. Is 40 fry good together in a 10 gallon?? It is cycled and I feed them maybe 2 big meals a day because thats the easiest arrangement for me. My Third question is, If the fry have been together since birth, do they have a close relationship? If I put them in water that isn't good for breeding, would they still breed because of their relationship?? I ask this because I had put males and females in my 35 gallon tank and they didnt breed.


EDIT: Oh and another question, I have bad water for breeding balloon mollies. I know that for a fact because they arn't breeding. Should I use pH and Hardness changers to make the water right for breeding? Is there some other type of water I can use that is always right for breeding instead of having to change tapwater?

40 fry in a 10 gallon is way to many that size tank is only good for about 15 fry if you are gonna grow them to adults.

feding 2 times a day is ok its best to feed 3 or 4 times aday.


they will still breed it dont make any difference of their relationshipit.

 

[5teady_2012]

40 fry will be fine in there as they wont produce much waste, when they start getting to near adult size though, you may want to think about rehoming them.

 

[omega59]

alot of people don't know, your local shop may take them for credit, mine does i got $7.00 of credit last time i wen't and i got 2 gourami's and 2 platies

 

[MollyFresh]

Thanks for all your help, I have now moved my fry into my 35 gallon which is alot better of an environment for them. I counted them as I took them out, There is about 70 fish, not 40. It was hard to count them before so I guessed. I will feed them 4 times a day with a whole bunch of different foods. I took my water to get tested and the only problem is the pH is a little high. The hardness of the water was Very Soft -Soft. I have a book that says they like Medium-Medium-hard water and a ph of 7-7.4 How do I change the water so that it stays the way I want it and does not change, constant. I don't know if I should use pH down by API. Is there any "tricks" i can use to make the water harder?? If anyone wants to give me a hand, I need another tank for them when they grow up. 70 balloon mollies won't fit in my 10 gallon and 35 gallon. That leaves like 30 fish I need to put somewhere. Anyone have a spare tank that I could have??

 

[lilfishie]

i thik bog wood lowers pH, much safer way than anything chemical if you ask me

 

[snakequeen]

I have 3 spare tanks at the mo, ill take some from you if you will post

 

[OldMan47]

The high pH will not hurt the mollies at all. Raising the hardness is another whole deal. Like Lilfishie said bog wood will reduce pH but it will also tend to make your water softer. I would be headed in the other direction for mollies. They do not do well in very soft water. One way to raise hardness is to use crushed coral or similar carbonates in the tank or the filter. The trouble is that carbonates come in forms that will also raise the pH.
What is your hardness? Have you measured it or are you guessing because other people are reporting soft water? If the water is soft because you have a softener in the house, get water for the fish from an outside hose connection. Those are always left not connected to a softener because the salt from a water softener will kill your outdoor plants. It becomes a way to get back to normal tap water for everything else that can't take the soft water.

 

[MollyFresh]

Okay thank you so Much, everyone. My water is Very Soft,I took it to my LFS and they showed me the results. The pH is Alkaline. Most Livebearers like Medium to Medium-hard water and a pH of Neutral to slightly alkaline. The only reason I care so much about these two things is because I want my fish to be happy with their environment. I want them to breed. I read that coral sand is good for stabilizing the pH, can you explain this to me? Will the pH go to Neutral, is that what they mean by stabilize?? If so will it make the water softer?? I am looking for medium-hard water. I have 2 tanks, one is a 10 gallon, the other a 35. The 35 was filled with HOSE water, the 10 gallon tap water. I took both waters to be tested and they both tested the same. I'll do It again now and post the results.

 

[OldMan47]

Coral will help stabilize the water by adding hardness and making the pH go up somewhat. It can get the pH as high as about 8.0 and make the water much harder. In a livebearers only tank that would not be a problem for the fish but if you have any tetras, barbs or cories it could be an unwanted thing at best. African rift lake fish are another type of fish that would appreciate hard alkaline water.

 

[twilight_angel]

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