what to add to control molly popuation

janetdc1

janetdc1

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Aug 25, 2007
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I have mollies and they are so cute but they keep having babies. To control the population I was told to add a fish that would eat the fry when they are born. Mollys are cute but can be kind of hyper-so I need something that can hold its own. I had a gold gourami in there for a while -he was beautiful but pretty aggressive -he ate any babies but also attacked my mollys- so I took him back to the LFS where he was given a happy home- but now I have babies again!LOl! Some of the fry have been given to my son's cichlids who gobble them up in a second- but truthfully, this is difficult for me to do! Take them from their nice planted aquarium and drop them in another to be eaten-
I know fish eat other fish, but it would be easier for me and my youngest if we had a "fry eater" in the tank - it would just seem more natural.
Any suggestions of what fish would be good in a tank with mollys, that would eat their fry, will be greatly appreciated! Not an emergency- the "momma molly" looks like it will be a while before she has more- These few fry are about 2 weeks old and I have plans to set up a 20 gallon- 3or 4 will go in there, the rest will have to go.
thanks!
janet
 
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Hi Janet.

What was the size of the tank? You could do apistogrammas provided they are acclimated well if water is hard and alkaline.
 
lupin, I looked these up and they are beautiful but it says they are mostly vegie eaters?
I have a 30 gallon tank. was overstocked but now we have split up the mollies and platys so we have only a mommy and daddy molly in there now and some bumble bee gobies- oh and a balloon molly.
(plus babies!!!)
Janet
 
janetdc1 said:
lupin, I looked these up and they are beautiful but it says they are mostly vegie eaters?
Click to expand...
I've never heard of them being predominantly veggie eaters but they will certainly veggies if you provide them those. They are suitable for planted tanks. Which site said it?:confused:
I have a 30 gallon tank. was overstocked but now we have split up the mollies and platys so we have only a mommy and daddy molly in there now and some bumble bee gobies- oh and a balloon molly.
(plus babies!!!)
Janet
Click to expand...
Hmmm...You had me rethink of my suggestion for apistos because of the presence of bumblebee gobies. Some bumblebee gobies thrive best in brackish water conditions depending on the species. The only true freshwater bumblebee gobies I know are Brachygobius aggregatus and Brachygobius xanthomelas but I could be missing others. How long have you kept them in freshwater?:) The other possibilities are Chanda ranga for brackish environment and danios which also love to consume fry the moment the fry try to go to the surface when they are dropped by the female livebearer.
 
Why don't you remove all of one sex?.
 
my clown loaches did a pretty good job of keeping the molly population down. It was either them or the catfish, but am pretty sure it was the loaches.
 
olivesaxer said:
my clown loaches did a pretty good job of keeping the molly population down. It was either them or the catfish, but am pretty sure it was the loaches.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately, any botiine loaches will easily outcompete the bumblebee gobies for food. For a 30g, the selection of loaches is very limited.
 
One method I've heard other members on this forum utilize (I've yet to actually try it myself, the necessity has not yet arisen) is to sprinkle just a very small pinch of fish food on the surface of water (since they're fry and there's lots of 'em, grind it up nicely with your fingers first) and use a quick swipe of a fishnet just skimming the top few inches to catch most of the fry while they're eating and distracted. Then perhaps you could place them in a barebottom tank for temporary holding, since its a heck of a lot easier to get fish out of a bare tank than a fully planted one. From there, selling them to a lfs seems like a great idea, since not only are they getting some new livestock for a good price, but the money you get from it could go into your fish food budget. :-P Just a thought anyway. :-)
 
Lupin said:
I've never heard of them being predominantly veggie eaters but they will certainly veggies if you provide them those. They are suitable for planted tanks. Which site said it?:confused:

Hmmm...You had me rethink of my suggestion for apistos because of the presence of bumblebee gobies. Some bumblebee gobies thrive best in brackish water conditions depending on the species. The only true freshwater bumblebee gobies I know are Brachygobius aggregatus and Brachygobius xanthomelas but I could be missing others. How long have you kept them in freshwater?:) The other possibilities are Chanda ranga for brackish environment and danios which also love to consume fry the moment the fry try to go to the surface when they are dropped by the female livebearer.
Click to expand...

Me again!
i have the Brachygobius xanthomelas-man they are cute little guys! 3 of them- I have had them for 3 months now and they are really fun to watch. I have a "salty" tank- but it's just aquarium salt- so- not brackish, right? just a little salt added during water changes. I did that a while ago to keep some ich at bay and it hasn't returned.

Danios!!! GREAT IDEA! I've had them before and they are a fun fish! and not too big-
thanks for the ideas!
J
 
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