Switching tanks with baby fish

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yelloguy

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Dec 29, 2007
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I had two mollies-- black and white and a platy. My molly (presumably black one) gave birth to 8 babies about 10 days back and the same night the platy died. I read up on these forums and separated the babies into a small breeder tank/net within my main 10 gallon tank and all has been well so far. But since I wanted a bigger tank anyway, I bought a used 29 Gallon tank with stand on Craigslist today and will be moving the fish over to the new tank next. I have done some more reading on these forums and I wanted run my plan by the smart folks here.

The new tank does not have a filter or a heater. My heater is plenty big so I intend to move it over and pay attention to the thermometer to make sure it can maintain 78 degrees. But the filter will need to be upgraded because my current one is rated 5-15 gallons. Even so, I intend to use this one for a week or so to keep the good bacteria. I would probably transfer some 10-20% water and all the gravel and decorations.

So, I would have to first move the babies out of breeder and to the main tank for a while since the water table will go down and the breeder tank will not have any water.

Then I will reduce the water by scooping out some top cleaner water. A gallon or so will go in the new tank.

Now I can reduce the water with a vac to remove the debris from the gravel.

After the water is sufficiently reduced and the fish are still in it, I will have to transfer the gravel and decorations. The gravel looks super dirty. Would it be a good idea to transfer it to a bucket first and wash it at this point?

Then I will add more dechlorinated water to the new tank and transfer the heater, filter and the thermometer to measure the new tank's temperature.

Then I can transfer the fish and remove the old tank.

Does that sound about right? I understand the heater needs to be shut off before and turned on after being submerged in the new tank for a while to avoid cracking it.

Btw, the babies are looking a little bigger but I am afraid of moving them to the bigger tank still. Anyone know around how many weeks its ok to move them in with their mom?
 
Well you can move them in with the other fish as soon as they are big enough not to get eaten. That should be about a month. They won't have enough space in that breeder net though, so if I were you I would leave that 10 gallon up and raise the fry in there...leave the filter on it and just rinse the old media in the new tank. Leave the fry tank bare bottom, it makes everything easier.

There is no need to put old water in the tank. There will be almost no bacteria in the water column, so no sense putting the dirty water into the new and clean tank.


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Thanks Jon. The little ones look bigger than their mom's mouth now and I am not sure I can maintain two tanks for 20 or so days. I would need a new heater for these few days. I am getting a bigger new filter for the new tank so that is not a problem. And then, I have a feeling the black molly defends them aggressively. I think she killed my other platy since it died the same night the babies were born. And now it [the black molly] is bullying the white molly at meal times. I think the babies will be fine in the new tank. Do you think I should try moving some babies first in the old tank? Or just wait another week or so in the old tank because of all the logistical problems?
 
yelloguy said:
Thanks Jon. The little ones look bigger than their mom's mouth now and I am not sure I can maintain two tanks for 20 or so days. I would need a new heater for these few days. I am getting a bigger new filter for the new tank so that is not a problem. And then, I have a feeling the black molly defends them aggressively. I think she killed my other platy since it died the same night the babies were born. And now it [the black molly] is bullying the white molly at meal times. I think the babies will be fine in the new tank. Do you think I should try moving some babies first in the old tank? Or just wait another week or so in the old tank because of all the logistical problems?
Click to expand...

Mollies don't exhibit any parental care and will often eat their own fry if given the chance. What you are seeing during meal times is typical molly behavior. I'm sure it has partly to do with the fact that they are in a 29 gallon tank, but it may also have to do with the fact that there are only two mollies in the tank.


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Interesting. BTW, they are in a 10 gallon tank now. Going to a 29 gallon bowfront tank.

They are not a schooling fish and don't need to be in a group, right?
 
while mollies are not your typical schooling fish (like tetras or barbs), they do seem to enjoy the company of their own kind.
 
I just switched the tanks and decided to move the baby mollies to big tank. I had to do it for short term but since they are doing fine, I am thinking about leaving them there. They seems to be happily co-existing.

Oh and the water is clean (new) but the decorations have algae on them and the fish seem to be eating that algae off of the decorations. Is that normal or should I do something about it? Am I feeding them less or should I clean the decorations one by one?
 
mollies love to eat algae, so just leave it be and feed them normally (as much as they can eat in a few minutes, with no food left behind - a pinch or so will do).
 
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