possible neon tetra babies?

[wildroseofky]

I checked my tank a few minutes ago and startled a small fish swimming in the water lettuce. I have three neon tetras and three mollies in this tank. I did add some new plants a week ago. I have raised mollie fry and these do not look like mollies. They are swimming in the top of the tank in the water lettuce. They are dark in color but kinda have some lighter, shiny patches along the middle of their body. The rear fins on top and bottom are longer than mollies. They look like miniature neon tetras without the color. They stay at the top of the tank and dart into clumps of moss and plants when disturbed. They are schooling also. I have emailed the person I bought the plants from to see what fish he has in with the plants I bought. I did get snails which turned out to be ramshorns. I wanted some of those so I did not mind. I didn't dip the plants when I got them. I just three them into my holding tank that has mystery snails only for a week. Then I planted what I wanted in my main tank and planted the rest in my 10g snail only tank. The photos are not the best but I hope someone can identify them.

 

[bettaowner]

They are Molly fry

 

[Kiskadden]

Yay for babies?

 

[wildroseofky]

My mollies are still pregnant. I checked both females and they still have square bellies. One just started showing a couple of weeks ago. The other just got to breeding age and this is her first pregnancy. I have had the original male and female since they were fry. They came from my original females and were the only ones you survived. The male just developed his gondopen (spelling?) a month ago. I have kept careful track of them. I just got the new female one month ago. So I do not believe they are mollies. That and the long fins next to the tail. They almost form a cross. All the mollie fry I have had never schooled, stayed near the bottom, and hid all the time until they got to about a half inch in size. They were also clear for the first several weeks. These fry have longer, thinner bodies. I could be wrong but they just do not look like molly fry. I have seen guppy fry. Lots of them. These do not resemble those either. I am waiting for a reply from the person I got the plants from to see what he had in his tank. Either way they are cool. I counted 20. I was already feeding the baby shrimp Hikari fry food but ran out. I just crushed up some flakes into powder for now and I am going to pick up some more fry food. I think that is why I have had so many ghost shrimp larvae survive to become tiny shrimp. That and my moss "tree".

I take my tank apart once a week and vacuum it. I remove the rock formations, tree, and sea shells and vacuum, then do a massive water change. I just did that two days ago and never saw any fry. I also took all my plants up that day and did a massive replanting and rearranging. I added more sand and stirred up what was in the tank so I would think I would have seen them then. I also removed half of the water lettuce to add to my frog pond. Never saw any at all. I will update when they get bigger and can be identified better. Luckily my local pet place will take the extra for cash or credit.

 

[Wiggles24]

Honestly they look like Molly fry to me too. If there is floating plants its baby fish instinct to stay within them. I know all my baby mollies did!

 

[Scottyhorse]

They look like Molly fry to me, also.

 

[wildroseofky]

I believe everyone is right and I was wrong. My creamsicle molly looks somewhat flatter in the stomach today. I got all excited for nothing Oh well. They still do not look like the pure molly fry I have had in the past. This fish was a new acquisition from Petland. I am wondering if she didn't get with a guppy. The fry have guppie like tails and seem longer with bigger hind fins than the molly fry I am used too. I got a magnifying glass and got a better look at them. They have a mottled coloring with a dark strip down the center side of their bodies. They appear to be black looking at them with the naked eye. All of my other molly fry where clear to whitish and changed color at around 2-3 months. There seem to be less of them today, about half as many. I haven't seen any of the fish bothering them. My male molly is busy chasing the creamsicle molly and trying to mate with her. I have another 10 gallon tank coming from a family member. I think I will move him to that one so I do not end up with a ton of fry. My local pet store owner said she would take them and for me to let her know what I wanted for them. She is trading me 5 neon tetras for a bunch of mystery snail culls to use as food. Wonder how much I should ask for the fry?