How to save molly fry's, without weed

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w0lf

New Fish
#1
Jan 20, 2011
3
0
0
#1
Hello everyone,

we recently got a new tropical fish tank with filters a heater, light the works. We got some fish for it wanting to breed it like my father used to, so we got a few males and a few females of both guppies and molly's. It was a success, we have confirmed our molly's are pregnant and are very sure that the guppies are also, But we have a small problem. We are worried that the other fish are going to eat them all, as we have already found only one single baby, but it still looks pregnant, we got it sealed off in its own small little container filled with water and we are wondering if any experienced breeders know a way to keep them safe from the other fish.

alright thanks,
a begginner breeder
w0lf
 

jamiejay09

jamiejay09

Large Fish
#2
Dec 14, 2009
421
0
0
England
#2
I successfully bred mollies for a few years and only recently stopped, i used to use a 5g aquarium to place my newborn fry in to grow the a healthy size before they could be returned to the adult tank. If you want something a little more low key - you can purchase a small floating contraption from most fish stores to place the fry in but they can only stay in there for a small about of time as their growth could be stunted if theyre kept in the cramped conditions for too long. so release them when they are big enough to not fit in the adults mouth. Goodluck!
 

paperdog9

paperdog9

Large Fish
#3
Dec 11, 2009
633
0
0
Your Imagination
#3
I agree, and sealing the molly in the container will probably stress her out, which may in turn cause her to abort, so you probably want to let her go or move her to another tank of about 5 gallons like jamiejay said.
 

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w0lf

New Fish
#4
Jan 20, 2011
3
0
0
#4
I am going to try that, cheers jamiejay09



paperdog9 said:
I agree, and sealing the molly in the container will probably stress her out, which may in turn cause her to abort, so you probably want to let her go or move her to another tank of about 5 gallons like jamiejay said.
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No i have the fry's in a smaller container that is on the inside of the tank so the others don't attack them.
 

Newman

Newman

Elite Fish
#6
Sep 22, 2009
4,668
0
0
Northern NJ
#6
yes basically separate them from the adults via breeder net or the like. dont put the female into the breeder net as she will likely just hurt herself goin up and down trying to escape. mollies are too big for breeder nets and they feel insanely cramped in them. only babies fit there.
To make baby collection for the breeder net easier, you should put some floating plant like anacharis, hornwort, or plastic/silk plants and let the float in the corner of the tank, fry will aggregate there and you can easily fish them out in one place with one or two swoops of the net.
 

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w0lf

New Fish
#7
Jan 20, 2011
3
0
0
#7
Newman said:
yes basically separate them from the adults via breeder net or the like. dont put the female into the breeder net as she will likely just hurt herself goin up and down trying to escape. mollies are too big for breeder nets and they feel insanely cramped in them. only babies fit there.
To make baby collection for the breeder net easier, you should put some floating plant like anacharis, hornwort, or plastic/silk plants and let the float in the corner of the tank, fry will aggregate there and you can easily fish them out in one place with one or two swoops of the net.
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alright going to try that, so far everything has worked out well but this might help us from having keep watching it every few minutes, cheers
 

nanu156

nanu156

Large Fish
#8
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#8
you can go to a craft store and get some netting then quarantine a part of your tank off, I affixed it to a dowel at the top (laid it across the tank) and used rocks glued to the bottom with aquarium silicone to weight it down the buried the bottom in the gravel. this is nice because you can start with a small area and grow it out as needed.

Really clean water helps babies grow so I would increase the frequency of water changes. and only vacuum on the adult side of the tank.
 

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webgeek

Small Fish
#9
Feb 9, 2011
37
0
0
#9
I got 11 babies yesterday and all of them have managed to hide amongst the rocks and the artificial plants. Not sure if the mother has laid more babies before being eaten but am happy at least the 11 survived. Earlier in another acq. i got 30+ but only 10 could survive.

I moved these new 11 babies out to a small water bucket so they can survive for the next few days.
 

nanu156

nanu156

Large Fish
#10
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#10
you pulled them from the tank and put them in a bucket? Thats a bad plan, use a breeder net, or make a baby area with the idea I posted above, or let them risk it in the tank. They will die in the bucket
 

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webgeek

Small Fish
#11
Feb 9, 2011
37
0
0
#11
nanu156 said:
Thats a bad plan, use a breeder net, or make a baby area with the idea I posted above, or let them risk it in the tank. They will die in the bucket
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Ideally this should be the case but i couldnt get a breeder net nor can i make a separate area within the same tank. I moved the babies to a separate bucket with the same water as the main tank and also moved some rock and artificial plants to the bucket. So far all of them survived. Doing a 20% water cycle daily so that the temperature is warmth and feeding them with crushed and powdered flakes daily. 4 days now and all are okay so far.

I do not think separating the babies out from the main tank is a bad idea coz i feel this way they can grow better and faster and can survive from the mouth of other fishes of the main tank. Of course i do agree, having a breeder tank is the best solution.
 

nanu156

nanu156

Large Fish
#12
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#12
yeah, but with out a filter, heater, air pump etc they are all going to end up dead....

Yes another complete set up is ideal, a breeder net or a "pen" would be my second choice to the complete set up.

While I understand why you are separating them, know that poor water quality will cause deformities and death. The bucket with out a filter will provide poor at best water quality
 

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sphenta

Large Fish
#13
Feb 5, 2008
128
0
0
Michigan
#13
I have this round glass bowl with a smaller top on it. I use it for when I feed my fish worms. I put it in tank sideways so fish can go in it and worms float to the top. That way the worms are not all over tank. My mollies just had babies 2 days ago. They are in floating plants in corner of tank. Reading your ideas gave me an idea. I am going to put babies in this bowl and cover it with a peice of net from one of my big fish nets. And keep it in the tank. Just wanted to share this with you. It's just another idea that might work.
 

nanu156

nanu156

Large Fish
#15
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#15
yeah the trouble is that the fish need the flow of water to grow and stay healthy, you would be better off putting them in the large net and floating the net in the water, where the babies get constantly fresh water.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#17
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#17
nanu156 said:
yeah the trouble is that the fish need the flow of water to grow and stay healthy, you would be better off putting them in the large net and floating the net in the water, where the babies get constantly fresh water.
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What if the bowl is placed so the netted opening is near the filter outtake flow??? Not enough that it sends a huge current into the bowl, where it would would be too forceful, but enough that the water circulates. I'm kinda intrigued by this approach . . . .
 

nanu156

nanu156

Large Fish
#18
Mar 8, 2010
745
0
0
Detroit, Mi
#18
Well my thought is that if the bowl is overflowing (because the filter is putting water in) the fish will just trickle right out with the water.

If she has a LARGE net it can be used just like a breeder box, just set it across the top of the tank and walah. I have done this more then once to separate out a bully or a beaten down fish.

Honestly it's molly fry, not to sound cold but as long as she has males and females in the tank there will be more, seems like she is sort of set on doing it the hard way so I guess she will just have to learn :(
 

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sphenta

Large Fish
#20
Feb 5, 2008
128
0
0
Michigan
#20
I have a large net over the top of the bowl. The fry can come out of bowl. It's like a net dome over the bowl.The net is being held down by a rubber band at the lip of the bowl. If it wasn't for my daughter, I would of just left them in the tank. The mollys are at it again. I take the bowl out to feed them and clean bowl of unwanted food and put back in tank.
 

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