All my water parameters are within acceptable range for these fish:
2 figure-8 puffers (both ~2")
1 violet/dragon goby
3 bumble bee gobies
3 lyretail mollies (dalmation, white and black)
Recently, about 2 weeks ago, I've noticed that the black molly had given birth to 6 babies. So far, they're thriving (I will have to set up, yet, another tank for the molly population in the 55-gallon is becoming rather much).
While doing a water change this morning, I usually do a fish count after using the siphon tool. 2 puffers, check. 1 dragon, check. 3 bumble bees, check. 3 mollies, check. 6 baby mollies, check. 3.......wait......3 more?!
Yes, I found 3 more fish in my tank. However, I'm having an extremely hard time deciphering who they belong to. I've posted the best images I could take since they're so small and really, really good hiders.
I've come down to some conclusions to whether this is an unintentional puffer breeding:
- the babies have only one dorsal fin (bumble bees have two, mollies have a long dorsal fin, and in comparing the baby mollies to the new babies, their dorsal fins are not shaped at all the same)
- the babies are green/brown in markings (mollies are black, white and dalmation)
- the eyes are very, very similar to the puffers (very big, yellow ring around the pupil)
- the skin looks more like scales than scaleless skin?
- an appearance of MAYBE a white belly
Hopefully someone else can help me out in figuring out who these babies belong to. I feel it's the puffers, but I've read that puffers are extremely hard to breed in captivity, and besides, I have NO idea the sex of the two. What would the chances be? I suppose only time will tell!
2 figure-8 puffers (both ~2")
1 violet/dragon goby
3 bumble bee gobies
3 lyretail mollies (dalmation, white and black)
Recently, about 2 weeks ago, I've noticed that the black molly had given birth to 6 babies. So far, they're thriving (I will have to set up, yet, another tank for the molly population in the 55-gallon is becoming rather much).
While doing a water change this morning, I usually do a fish count after using the siphon tool. 2 puffers, check. 1 dragon, check. 3 bumble bees, check. 3 mollies, check. 6 baby mollies, check. 3.......wait......3 more?!
Yes, I found 3 more fish in my tank. However, I'm having an extremely hard time deciphering who they belong to. I've posted the best images I could take since they're so small and really, really good hiders.
I've come down to some conclusions to whether this is an unintentional puffer breeding:
- the babies have only one dorsal fin (bumble bees have two, mollies have a long dorsal fin, and in comparing the baby mollies to the new babies, their dorsal fins are not shaped at all the same)
- the babies are green/brown in markings (mollies are black, white and dalmation)
- the eyes are very, very similar to the puffers (very big, yellow ring around the pupil)
- the skin looks more like scales than scaleless skin?
- an appearance of MAYBE a white belly
Hopefully someone else can help me out in figuring out who these babies belong to. I feel it's the puffers, but I've read that puffers are extremely hard to breed in captivity, and besides, I have NO idea the sex of the two. What would the chances be? I suppose only time will tell!
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