Black Molly Fry - what to do?

[milknhoney]

I've got about 30 black molly fry in my 10-gal tank. We didn't separate them or anything because it just isn't practical for us to try to keep 30 more fish, so we're just letting nature take its course. There's three adult fish in the tank - besides the mom, there's two male platys. Four days have gone by and the fry population is not dropping. So as disturbing as the thought is that they will be eaten by their tank mates, even more disturbing is the thought that they won't!! I don't know what on earth to do with them if they survive. My daughter (it's her tank) would NEVER forgive me if I just flushed them, and I don't really like the idea of doing that either. My husband suggested dumping them in one of our local lakes. What should we do?

Second problem is, they were born on water change day... before I changed the water. Never mind how contradictory this concern is since we're rooting for their demise anyway, but... I'm afraid to use the siphon and vacuum up all those little guys. We've been fighting brown algae/diatoms for quite a while, so letting it go isn't helping... not to mention the additional bioload the new fish are adding to the tank. How do I get it clean?

 

[DreaminginBlue]

With regards to the fry- you can give them away to friends and family, post an ad on Craigslist and see if someone in your area wants them, or see if your local pet store will take them off your hands. Sometimes stores (small ones or big box ones) will "adopt" them for free or occasionally give you store credit.
In NO circumstances should you dump them in a local lake. First of all, the lake is a carefully balanced ecosystem, and introducing non-native fish that could be carrying pathogens could really hurt the inhabitants of the lake. Even though your fish might not be sick, they could still be carriers of a disease that could decimate native populations. In addition, since mollies are tropical fish, unless you live somewhere tropical, odds are they'll die in the lake. It'll be too cold and not suited for them. Releasing non-native populations into the wild is always a lose-lose outcome; in some scenarios it's the reason why native species are dwindling. It's easy to consider doing so without thinking of the consequences (you're certainly not the first, even I wondered about dumping pest snails in a creek by my house when I first started out), but it's never a good idea.
For a water change, you can get a pair of nylon stocking type thingies (pantyhose??) and rinse them out well. Then pull them over the siphon. This way you can change the water and the fry can't get sucked up, but the gunk and old water can.
Hope this helps

 

[kashif314]

Please don't flush them. They have life and they feel pain just like we do. You can give them for free to a pet store or someone you know nearby.

 

[Sharmon]

You can also try Freecycle.org. You advertise free stuff there. We actually got our dog there.

 

[nirbhao]

Perfect post, @DreaminginBlue.

 

[DreaminginBlue]

Thanks, @nirbhao. I've learned a lot from you and other wonderful members of this forum.

 

[MBeachFish]

I have the same issue - just keep adding tanks so not really solving it! I have fry from a Dalmatian Molly and a yellow Balloon Molly along with some Platy fry. Oldest is about 4 months - youngest a few weeks. Anyone in the Los Angeles area want some? If not I'll check out our LFS to see if they'll take them.