Why?

[missigfunk]

my molly had some babies this morning, but when i got home from work...most of them were dead!

the few survivors i have look like they are on their way out too.

she had easily 50 babies...how many usually survive? like is it common for most of them to die?

im going to take a sample of my water to get tested properly, but last time it was tested it came back 100% clean.

any advice would be great!

 

[rocknurworld2006]

my molly had some babies this morning, but when i got home from work...most of them were dead!

the few survivors i have look like they are on their way out too.

she had easily 50 babies...how many usually survive? like is it common for most of them to die?

im going to take a sample of my water to get tested properly, but last time it was tested it came back 100% clean.

any advice would be great!

she would of eat them if you didnt seperate them.

 

[missigfunk]

i did seperate them

i took the mum out this morning when i saw the babies

they have just been dying on their own

i only have 2 stronger babies...

is it common for only a few to survive?

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i did seperate them

i took the mum out this morning when i saw the babies

they have just been dying on their own

i only have 2 stronger babies...

is it common for only a few to survive?

did you test your water?

 

[RadaR]

is it common for only a few to survive?

Not really.
I agree that you should test your water. Any ammonia or nitrite will most certainly kill very small fish very quickly.

 

[missigfunk]

i dnt have the stuff to test it myself

thats why im going to take a sample of the water to the aquarium tomorrow.

if the 2 stronger babies stay alive, i will be happy.

ive kept babies before. i had them for about 2 months, but a new fish brought white spot and wiped them all out.

any other lot of babies ive had since then just keep dying

 

[Colin_T]

No it is not normal to lose most of the new born fry. You might lose 1 or 2 of them but most should survive.

are you handling the pregnant female before she gives birth? If so you could be damaging the fry inside her and she is giving birth to premature or damaged babies.
If you have to move pregnant females then scoop them up in a buckket or jug of water and move them that way. Try not to catch them in nets and lift them out of the water.

If the water quality is not good or the temperature wrong the female will be stressed and the young could be dieing from that.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i dnt have the stuff to test it myself

thats why im going to take a sample of the water to the aquarium tomorrow.

if the 2 stronger babies stay alive, i will be happy.

ive kept babies before. i had them for about 2 months, but a new fish brought white spot and wiped them all out.

any other lot of babies ive had since then just keep dying

you must my a master test kit to test for ph ammonia n02 n03
this is one of the most important things to have in fish keeping!!!!

as you should really be tsting ur water weekly, and i doubt you are .

this could probably be your problem with the fish dying , do a water change the now making sure to add dechlorinater.

 

[missigfunk]

usually i catch her in the net, but i dnt take her out of the water.

this time i only chased her into the breeding net. i didnt actually catch her.

maybe its my water? like i said, im going to get it checked out, but last time they died (along with some other fish) the water was fine.

if the 2 stronger ones i seperated are still alive tomorrow, i will feel better about them.

the others seem to be having like little fits?

 

[Colin_T]

it could be you chasing her around that is stressing her out and causing her to give brith prematurely.

 

[OohFeeshy]

And using a breeding net. They're not great for livebearers, especially larger ones like mollies.

 

[missigfunk]

And using a breeding net. They're not great for livebearers, especially larger ones like mollies.

really? i didnt know that.

but if u dnt keep them in a net, the other fish will eat them!


sorry if im offending anyone with my stupid ways of dealing with my fish...im not a guru....yet!

ive had fish all my life, but ive never had them breed until about 4 or 5 months ago. im still learning


oh and i thought i might add....my breeding net isnt one of those plastic floating ones, its one of the mesh typ ones that you stick over the side of ur tank....does it make a difference?

 

[Colin_T]

I used to have lots of floating plants in the tank and just scoop the fry out after they were born in the tank. The fry got transferred into the breeding net and the female was left in the tank. The floating plants provided plenty of hiding places for the young. I use a measuring cup to scoop them up with some water and carefully pour them into the breeding net.
Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) is a good floating plant for livebearers.