Sick Molly

[Nats-fishies]

Hello I'm rather new to the fish hobby but I have 2 Dalmatian mollies along with a few other community fish. They were all living happy in the 33 gallon tank when they all got Ick. I have been treating everyone in the tank for that when the while molly now has Popeye. I moved her to a separate hospital tank yesterday to treat for both Ick and Popeye but this am noticed she has given birth to many offspring. Im not sure what to do now. Should I get yet another tank and move her again so that I'm not treating the fry for Ick and Popeye? I don't want to hurt the babies. Please help! I feel horrible and I don't want any of my fish to die or be sick.

Also what should I feed these fry? Again new to the fish hobby but willing to do whatever to keep all my fish alive and healthy.

 

[fit101]

I'm not real familiar with mollies. I hope someone can help you.

 

[FishCr8zy]

Holy cow that is giant dilemma. You want to definitely move the Molly to another tank to treat her. You would have to move her anyway because she will eat her own fry. Feed them crushed flakes ( MUST BE GROUND TO DUST ) or baby brine shrimp. What is the temp in the tanks with ick?

 

[Nats-fishies]

So after work I went out and got another smaller tank to put momma molly in until she can go back to the large tank. Right now she seems to be leaving all the fry alone and hasn't tried eating them. I'm giving the new tank a little time to cycle but she will be moved very soon. Then I can continue the Ick and Popeye treatments. I hope she makes a full recovery. Papa molly is still in the big tank and seems to be missing her.

I also got some brine shrimp and smashed some flakes up into a fine powder for the little guys. They seem to be doing okay. So how long does it take for the fry to become adults? How fast do they grow? I'm probably going to start up a 10 gallon tank for when they get a little bigger.


The large tank has a heater and is a good temp for the fish. I just checked temp again and its at 76-78 so I'm not sure why they all got sick.

 

[FishCr8zy]

You gotta raise the temp if your treating ick. The temp has to be at least 80. That helps the ick go away faster. The fry grow fast/slow depending on how much they are fed, how the water conditions are, and how nutritious their meals are. My baby koi went from a few mm to at least a cm in less than a month.

 

[Pearly]

Holy cow that is giant dilemma. You want to definitely move the Molly to another tank to treat her. You would have to move her anyway because she will eat her own fry. Feed them crushed flakes ( MUST BE GROUND TO DUST ) or baby brine shrimp. What is the temp in the tanks with ick?

Never had any fry myself but friend of mine has guppies who breed all the time. She just gets the flaked fish food in palm of her hand and rubs it in between both hands crushing the flakes into dust. I'm sure there is better way to do it and I've seen great threads on this forum that address feeding fry specifically. But meanwhile you can use this as emergency measure. And yes, definitely separate the sick mom fish from babies. Scary, yet exciting! New babies!!! Good luck!

 

[Nats-fishies]

So we have done some water changes and meds everyday for the Ick and the large tank seems to be doing well. Momma molly is in smaller tank and getting the same water changing and meds and she does look better everyday. Cant wait to move her back with papa molly. The fry are in their own tank and doing good too. A friend just offered to give me a 50 gallon tank so once all the fry get bigger they will have some room to grow.

 

[FishCr8zy]

So we have done some water changes and meds everyday for the Ick and the large tank seems to be doing well. Momma molly is in smaller tank and getting the same water changing and meds and she does look better everyday. Cant wait to move her back with papa molly. The fry are in their own tank and doing good too. A friend just offered to give me a 50 gallon tank so once all the fry get bigger they will have some room to grow.

Wow! Is it just the 50 gal or does it come with other things? That is really nice of your friend. A free 50 gal!

 

[Nats-fishies]

It's just the tank which I would need to get some stuff for but hey it's free. Besides getting new fish stuff is fun. I can pick out what I want.

 

[FishCr8zy]

It's just the tank which I would need to get some stuff for but hey it's free. Besides getting new fish stuff is fun. I can pick out what I want.

Even if its just the tank, that is great! Yeah, you can pick anything you want for it. . Are you gonna make a DIY stand or buy a stand?

 

[Nats-fishies]

I have something that the tank can sit on which will look nice. Here are a few pics of the fry guys.

 

[FishCr8zy]

I have something that the tank can sit on which will look nice. Here are a few pics of the fry guys.

Wow! Very nice fry!! Nice color too. About how big are they?

 

[Nats-fishies]

Wow! Very nice fry!! Nice color too. About how big are they?

They are still very small. About 1/2 the size of a finger nail. They are doing well tho. I know some people on this forum are breeders but I am not. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with them all. I don't want to give them to a pet store really cause their tank conditions are not the best. Also this is my first ever birth of fry so maybe I'm being picky about where they should go. Honestly thinking that I am going to keep them all! ?

 

[FishCr8zy]

They are still very small. About 1/2 the size of a finger nail. They are doing well tho. I know some people on this forum are breeders but I am not. I'm still trying to figure out what to do with them all. I don't want to give them to a pet store really cause their tank conditions are not the best. Also this is my first ever birth of fry so maybe I'm being picky about where they should go. Honestly thinking that I am going to keep them all! dde03

That will be awesome if you keep all of them and all survive to adulthood! . What tank are you puting them in?

 

[Nats-fishies]

We moved the babies into a 5 gallon tank. The aerator that I was going to use in the new tank isn't working now. How necessary is this for fry or should I be running out to get one ASAP?

 

[FishCr8zy]

We moved the babies into a 5 gallon tank. The aerator that I was going to use in the new tank isn't working now. How necessary is this for fry or should I be running out to get one ASAP?

Was the aerator for a sponge filter? Are you using a sponge filter in the fry tank? If there is no other way the water is getting air into it, you should prob get an air pump or else the fry have a chance of suffocating.

 

[Nats-fishies]

We were just using a stone aerator since they are so little they would get sucked up into any filter I have. I went out early this am and got them a new aerator. They are all still doing well. Momma Molly's Popeye is just about cleared up! So happy about that and she can go back into the big tank soon.

 

[FishCr8zy]

We were just using a stone aerator since they are so little they would get sucked up into any filter I have. I went out early this am and got them a new aerator. They are all still doing well. Momma Molly's Popeye is just about cleared up! So happy about that and she can go back into the big tank soon.

Congrats on the Molly's recover! A sponge filter will not suck them up. I have 1/10 inch fry swimming around a tank with a sponge filter. A sponge filter also uses an aerator machine so you can switch that filter for the air stone. Sponge filters usually cost less than $5 on eBay with free shipping.

 

[Nats-fishies]

I will have to looks for that on eBay. So we moved momma molly back into the big tank today. Her Popeye seems to be all cleared up! So how often do fish mate? Is she gonna be prego again in a short time? Also measured that tank my friend gave me and its prob more like 65-70 gallons than 50. At least the fish will be happy in it when we get it up and going.

 

[FishCr8zy]

I will have to looks for that on eBay. So we moved momma molly back into the big tank today. Her Popeye seems to be all cleared up! So how often do fish mate? Is she gonna be prego again in a short time? Also measured that tank my friend gave me and its prob more like 65-70 gallons than 50. At least the fish will be happy in it when we get it up and going.

What's the dimensions of the tank? Livebearers can mate once or twice every 1-2 months. It really depends on if the male and female feel like mating or not. Some breed faster and others slower.