Trying again ... babies

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Well, my prego molly that I'd been waiting on FINALLY had her babies! I had a feeling she might go soon so I put her in the hang on breeder just in case ... GOOD THING! Went for a walk this evening and came home to a bunch of tiny little babies all over the breeder tank floor. I scooped mom out and put her back in the main tank ... hope that was best? I remember reading something about the mom can eat the babies if left with them.
Anyway, I found the lid to the breeder tank so I'm hoping to have better luck with this batch then I did with the last (someone sneaking a midnight snack). Any tips on safely rearing at least a few of the fry? How many fry can I expect to live? How long does it take for the babies to get big enough to go into the main tank somewhat safely? Thanks

PS, there;s something like 20-30 babies or so ... kinda hard to get them to sit still for a count.
 

Blinky

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Jun 22, 2004
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Congratulations!
Are you planning to leave the babies in the net, or do you have a fry grow-out tank?
20-30 babies will be very crowded in a net breeder, if you can afford it I suggest you get either a Rubbermaid container or a small aquarium (a 10g or even a 5g would be fine), a heater, and a sponge filter (they're really cheap and safe for fry). That's really all you need for a fry tank, it's best if it's bare bottomed so you can keep it really clean. Transfer the fry IN WATER - scoop them out with a glass or other small container, I've never tried using a net to move fry but I can't imagine they'd do well being out of the water for even a second, they're pretty delicate. Fill the fry container/tank with water from the tank they're in now so they aren't shocked at all, and just refill the larger tank and call it a water change :D
If you can't do that, you could raise them in the net but I'd get another few net breeders and spread the fry out so they've got more room to move around.
When it's safe to release them into the main tank depends on how large the other fish are. You need to wait until the fry won't fit into the mouth of the largest fish - often 1/2" is large enough. Make sure the fry will have some cover so they can hide from larger fish if they feel the need.
As for how many you can expect to survive, I can't answer that definitively, I think it depends on too many factors to really know, but I hope they all make it.
 

LongTime

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What else do you have in the tank? If you give the babies plenty of hiding places and keep them well fed, mollies are not as bad about eating their fry as some of the other livebearers.
 
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