More molly babies -- how old before they can move to a new tank? Help!

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lynniecat

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Oct 16, 2013
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Ok so the first batch are now 6 weeks old maybe? Five survived and I *think* they are all female. But the adult male is still in the tank and the adult female just has more babies. I want to move the male out (find a new home) and then find someone to take the second set of fry (maybe 2 weeks old now).

I realize someone may want them as feeder fry and I am ok with that too. But I am wondering at what age they can be moved without them just dying right away in the transport bag/container?

I have also considered a tank divider to separate the males and females, but I understand that two males will fight, esp without any females. I also thought about a second tank but that's a slippery slope.

Thoughts on what to do? Is it cruel to flush the males? I can not bare it, but I don't want my tank to die either. The nitrate was high when I tested so I added solution to lower it. I hope that works. Argh! Its my fault for not realizing I was sold a male when I asked for a female. I should have learned to tell earlier and verified the sex before I put him in the tank.

Suggestions and information are appreciated!

Thanks,

Lynn
 

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Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
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Lynn:

What size tank do you have?? You say that your Nitrates are high, what is high?? Depending on temp, and how much food the babies are getting (higher temp, more food= faster growth), they probably can be moved in about a few weeks.
 

FreshyFresh

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You could move/re-home the babies now I'd think. I've had molly fry get sucked up into hang-on-back filters and survive no problem. What solution did you add to lower nitrates? All you have to do is a water change to lower nitrates. Weekly water changes at a minimum.
 

lynniecat

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Oct 16, 2013
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I added something called prime. High is 160. All the other markers were perfect except we have hard water. You know I never do water changes. The tank is 37 gallons and the person who gave it to my 5 year old (her nanny) takes care of it and says we do not need water changes. But no one seems to agree with that. Ok, so that is probably the problem. Not sure how to do the change -- how to get the old water out, etc. I probably need to buy a suction thing?

Hmm, you can see i am so uneducated. :-( Still no takers on Craig's list for the mollies ...
 

FreshyFresh

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Yikes.. 160ppm is crazy high for nitrates. Pretty much spells death for fish, being exposed to this long term. I'm kind of surprised things are still alive in your tank. Prime won't neutralize nitrates, but it will for nitrites and ammonia. You really need to do regular water changes. 160ppm is so high, you'll have to bring them down gradually to bring the fish back to good health. On your 37g, you could try a 10-15% daily water change, if all is well, do a 30-50% weekly water change. Most of us try to keep nitrates <20ppm.

You could get a cheap $5 ebay gravel vac with a siphon bulb on it and siphon into a 5gal pail. Dump the pails out the door (lawn/garden LOVES the stuff), or dump it down the toilet. Use the same bucket for refilling after treating it with prime to dechlorinate. Another water change option is to get a cheap dollar store plastic pitcher and bail from pitcher to 5gal bucket.

Lynn, you've got to get into a water change routine if you want to be a fish keeper.
 

lynniecat

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Oct 16, 2013
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OK I just checked it now and it was between 40 and 80. You are supposed to look at the color at 30 seconds. If you wait longer -- it reads higher. The person who agreed to help with the tank did lose her entire tank. So her advice to not do water changes very often was probably not good advice.

The fish seems pretty happy. So I probably do need to slowly bring the nitrate down. I have to remove the male molly and the fry or the nitrates will climb. I am surprised the fry are alive based on what I learned about nitrates!


Thanks -- I will post on how things go.
 

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Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
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160??? Are you testing correctly?? Do you have the right tester?? I am surprise there is anything alive in the tank.
 

lynniecat

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OK so I tried one more time and used a stop watch.

Nitrate between 40 and 80
Nitritie 0 (ideal) Caution
PH 7 (ideal)
carbonate 120 (ideal)
Hardness 180 (danger)
 

tanker

Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
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Tanker... that picture is awesome! :)
LOL, Thx. The love of my life. Sorry he no longer looks like that. Just an old dream....

How many total fishes do you have in your tank?? Does the "New" water measure any Nitrates??
 
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