I'm pregnant

[fishtankfish]

I just found a baby in my ten gallon tank of three mollies and a cory. I want more than anything for him to survive. What should i do to keep him alive. I have a small goldfish bowl, or should i go buy a net for him? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[LittlePuff]

Get a net breeder,and some fry food.Is it a molly or cory?

Kim

 

[fishtankfish]

i dont know. are corys live bearers?

 

[Menagerie]

No, they lay eggs.
BTW--odd thread title; shouldn't it be "I had fry"??

 

[fishtankfish]

haha
it was to get attention so someone would answer

 

[newaridiar]

congratulations on the baby. for the time being you definitely need to separate it. Crushed up (powder fine) flake food should be ok, buying fry food isn't neccesary (since there is only one right now), but it's not a bad idea either since mollies tend to give birth every few months(3-5) and your fish will probably have more babies survive as she gets accustomed to being a mother

 

[fishtankfish]

newaridiar,
thanks for the advice. where are you from b/c i'm in WV right now? the babies (i found a second one) are now separated. the funny thing is that i don't have any males in my tank and havent for several weeks. how long do the moms carry? and how long should the babies be separated? thanks.

 

[fishtankfish]

newaridiar,
thanks for the advice. where are you from b/c i'm in WV right now? the babies (i found a second one) are now separated. the funny thing is that i don't have any males in my tank and havent for several weeks. how long do the moms carry? and how long should the babies be separated? thanks.

 

[newaridiar]

Female mollies (and most other if not all live-bearers) can store sperm for months, so even though one of your fish has already given birth, all three might still.

I would keep the babies separated until they are big enough not to fit in any of the other fish's mouths.
As for special requirements, either a net breeder or a separate tank would work. I'm not the biggest fan of net breeders, but keeping a whole separate tank can be a big hassle since you still need to keep the temperature, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate in check if you don't want to slow the babies growth.

I live in Morgantown when I'm in WV, but I'm in New York for the summer, and won't be heading back to WV for a few more weeks.

P.S.--I wouldn't be suprised to find a few more babies over the next week, I noticed that my babies had a tendency to hide in the substrate while they could fit between the pieces of gravel.

 

[fishtankfish]

is there any way to tell which one is the mom?

(i'm up to three now)

 

[frshwaterfinatc]

Female mollies (and other fish) have a fanned out anal fin (the last fin on their underside near the tail), and males have straight, thin, kind of pointy ones.

 

[fishtankfish]

i know that.

i have three females. i was wondering if there was a way to tell which one was mom.

 

[newaridiar]

I don't really think so. Not unless the other two are more "tub-shaped" or have darker gravid spots, then you would be able to tell which are still pregnant (assuming the other two have been pregnant to start with)

Someone else may know something that I don't though

 

[smallfry]

Congratulations, Fishtank fish...if you want to save all the fry you can, you should set up a small separate tank/bowl for the fry. They don't tend to grow as healthy/fast in a breeding net....in fact...I've found that my fry grow the healthiest/fastest when kept in the original tank...but there's more chances of them getting eaten! :? (I don't worry about that since I have males/females there are ALWAYS fry and a few manage to grow up right in the tank without getting munched). If you use a separate tank/bowl, you should put an air bubbler in there and a small heater - and a plastic plant (it functions like a "blanket" does for human babies). Feed them at least 3 times a day (very small quantities). Good luck!
* Don't worry about lighting...natural day light is sufficient (assuming you keep the tank/bowl in a room a window or two).

 

[newaridiar]

Oh yeah, I'd suggest some cheap floating plants, my babies usually like to hang out in the duckweed roots hanging down in my tank, plus one of the LFS near me gives it for free