Two fry...WWYD

[gale]

The last time my molly had fry (that I noticed) she had two but both died. One was right after I netted it into a breeding box so I'm not sure that I hurt it or it just died.

Now she has 2 more (she was fat last night, thin this morning, so she apparently had them during the night and all but 2 got eaten). They are currently hiding in the fake hornwort that is suctioned to the side of the tank (upper edge).

Would you put them in the breeding box? Get them their own tank? (I can get a 1 gallon at w/m for around $10 and put a sponge filter in it) or just leave them on their own and see if they make it? The thing is, I'm scared to death to try to net them in case I hurt them.

eta: they are in my 20 gallon tank so there are a lot of fish in there. The last ones were in my 10 gallon (I moved them) with far less fish yet the 2nd one still disappeared-assumed to be eaten. The 10 gallon had the same fake hornwort as a hidey hole.

 

[Annastasia]

Hmm, that's strange what happened before. I don't think it was you though.

Well, you can keep them in a Breeder net, or a tank. If you do get them their own tank, they will be in fishy heaven! I wouldn't be scared to net them...just make sure you have a soft net. And make sure you don't hit the net on anything, like the tank rim or anything.

I'm guessing you already know what to feed them, and everything?

 

[MAM]

Well, if you want them to survive, you have a few options. If you have a lot of plants in that tank, you could try just letting them fend for themselves. But a better option would be to give them their own tank. Bare bottom, with a sponge filter would work well, you'll be able to keep it cleaner that way. Those breeding boxes really are NOT ideal, even for two little fry.

 

[gale]

Well the first time I had some trouble getting it out of the net. It just wouldn't come out.

As far as feeding, I have some HBH fry food but I'm afraid to put any in there for fear that the bigger fish will smell it and discover the fry. I can feed the fry when I feed the others, but I only feed every other day and I don't think that's often enough for fry.

I think that tomorrow I will just go to walmart and hopefully they'll have those 1 gallon tanks still (it was a few weeks ago the last time I looked in that section).

 

[gale]

Just thought of this-heat. The reason I never put the last fry into a tank on their own is because I can't heat it. If I buy the 1 gallon though, I *think* it has a light so that would heat it. I can't afford to buy another $25 heater right now along with the tank. I looked around to see if I have a big container to make a makeshift tank and that's when I thought about the heat.

 

[Annastasia]

Yeah, I think giving them their own tank would be by far the best.

If you don't get the tank, I'd reccomend a breeding net. They are designed for fry, and so that other fish can't get to them.

Hikari First Bites are good for fry. Then, after a few weeks you can move on to very finely crushed flakes, and sometimes I use finely crushed Freeze-dried bloodworms.

And you are right, every other day isn't enough for fry. They should be fed 3-6 times a day when they are young.

Good luck with the fry!

EDIT: Oh, I just read your last post...a Breeding net may be the way to go then. You can still give the fry their special food, and everything. Plus you can keep it in the main tank, where I am guessing it's heated?

 

[gale]

All I have now is a hanging plastic box. I siliconed the bottom so that they can't get stuck between the two floors (which is why I had to let the last lone fry out). I will put them in there until I get the tank tomorrow. I can even get a candy box with a light, if I can find one locally, and just do daily or every other day water changes.

 

[Annastasia]

Oh, okay, so you have a breeder box right now. That should work until tomorrow, but I wouldn't keep them in there any longer then that.

One of my small tanks doesn't have a heater either, but the light keeps it very warm. Frequent water changes will be good for the fry though.

 

[gale]

Well I got them in there. I about had a heart attack doing it but managed to net them and release them with minimal problems. They're soo cute-I can see light spots on one of them, I think.

damn. I swore I wouldn't get attached to fry and now I've gone and done just that already.

 

[Annastasia]

Aww, glad to hear it worked out! Good job!

Don't worry...It's pretty hard to not get attached to fry. They are just so cute!

 

[gale]

Well Larry, Curly and Moe are all settled into their new home (my hubby found a third fry today ). I bought them a 2.5 gallon minibow. The 1 gallon tank was so tiny the sponge filter would have taken up half the tank. At least with the 2.5 I can use it as a quarantine tank later as long as I only buy a couple of fish at a time. The babies look pretty happy (about as happy as a fish can look) and at least some are eating and pooping. The nice thing about this tank is it has a small whisper filter that has a control on it so I set it to the lowest amount of suction. Plus the babies can't fit in the small holes. I didn't put any gravel in the tank. I was going to put half of the media from my big tank filter in there but I wasn't sure if just 3 tiny fry would be enough to keep the bacteria going so I'll wait a couple of days to do that. In the meantime I might put a sock of gravel in there. I also thought about putting a couple of trumpet snails and an olive nerite in there to keep the extra food cleaned up but wasn't sure if they would actually do that (clean it up).

Anyway thanks for all your help.

 

[Annastasia]

Wow, that sounds like a great set-up for them! I'm sure they are very very happy.

Love the names!