A little help with FRY

[xxxcellarator]

Hi guys, i've just bought a molly or a platy (not sure which one it is) mother from a fish store and came home with it and it gave birth to 48 fry. The fry our now in a 10 gallon tank. The water seems to get just a little bit cloudy but not too much. I dont have a filter in there. The temperature is perfectly at 80F all the time, but i keep loosing fish, 1 per day. Its been 4 days, so ive lost 4. Can anyone suggest to me why this is happening. Could it be because of no filtration?

 

[DeFeKt]

ammonia?

 

[xxxcellarator]

well, i dont know anything about that becasue i dont have a test kit or anything, but i know i did a water change everyday, with water that i kept for 24hours in a bucket so the Chlorine can evaporate

 

[Apocalypse_Gold]

4 of 48 in 4 days isn't actually that bad. With large broods, fatality rates can be higher. In the wild only one or two fish would make it to adulthood. If the water in your main tank is clean you can use that for the water changes to provide more stable water conditions.
A small filter should be fairly inexpensive. I like using a hob and placing an Aquaclear filter sponge over the intake to keep the little guys out. A good test kit will help you to take better care of your fish. Many LFS offer free or low cost water testing also.
What color is your new fish? Platies generally have more reds, oranges and yellows while mollies favor black, grey and white.

 

[RoK]

Are they getting small and frequent feedings?
Only 4 out of 48 really seems pretty good though.

 

[xxxcellarator]

Heres a new update:

Ive managed to attach a sponge (dish washing sponge - brand new one) with a rubber band at the exit of the filter, so the water now slides down the sponge slowly into the water, therefore preventing a large flow through the tank. So i have a filter running now.
And as far as the fish, none have died anymore, and they seem to be growing really fast. Its about the 5th day and they are starting to get their colour.
They are orange.
Also another thing, ive been feeding them 3 meals a day recently, but previously i used to give them about 4 - 5 times (but much smaller quantities) a day.

Does keeping a regular diet matter? Thanks for all the help!

 

[RoK]

Most likely platies.
What do you mean by a regular diet? As in almost the same amounts and frequencies of feeding? If that's what you mean, then it doesn't really, except for maybe newborns. As they get older they can get less often, slightly bigger feedings.

 

[xxxcellarator]

Yeah, thats exactly what i mean. Because i notice that after they eat, they have very large bellies. And after about 2 hours they get back to normal. But since im not always arround to feed them every two hours i can at least feed them every 3, 4, 2, 5 .... hours. Wouldnt that help them eat more per day without getting them to be OVERFED?

 

[xxxcellarator]

Heres a new update on whats been going on. There have been no new casualties after those first 4. Quite ironic considering that they stopped dying instantly after i posted this thread. Now its been about 1 month and a week. They are quite big and by recounting them i found that i have 45 fish in there. They are still in a 10 gallon.

Can someone tell me when its appropraite to add back the gravel and decorations? and when should i move them to my big 40 gallon?
And also when would it be safe to catch them with a Net? can they be cought from the moment they were born or could it hurt them if cuaght too early? Thank you!