well.. to cut a long story short, i'm a newbie, i have a fish tank, but have acquired a small 15 litre tank with 2 mollies in it.. both around 1 inch, supposedly they have been 'adapted' to cold water so there is no heater.

a friend of a friend got the fish tank for their birthday, showed no interest, so i decided to buy the tank at a cut down price (was planning on using it as a temporary quarantine tank until i got my new tank after the summer)

Basically, got home from work yesterday at 5 and realised that at the bottom of the tank, there were 13 baby molly, most of them were not moving and the unfortunate thing was i had to go back to work..

i got home at 10 and promptly tested the nitrite and nitrate levels, both were fine.

i then had to go about the crappy task of removing the dead ones from the bottom of the tank..

so basically now, i have two mollies and three baby mollies and need some tips on how not to kill them..

do i move the smaller ones to a different place (this can be tricky as i'm not sure if theres anymore money/room where i can put them)

do i need a heater? its only a 15 litre tank and funds are an issue, the mollies have been living in it for around 2 weeks i think..

how do i feed the little ones? i feed them flakes at the moment but is there specialised food for them?

any other hints/tips for these guys, i really dont want them to die!! PLEASE HELP!!!!

Hi Oregato,
I see you are doing everything right. checking the water is always the right first step.

I would guess the female got stressed in the last few weeks or is young! but it is good to see some survived your prompt intervention.

food wise you could buy liquidfry No2 for livebearers. but i would suggest shaking your flake and this will reduce it in size. If you have a spare pepper grinder put the flake in it and one twist over the tank twice a day.

a small plastic plant for the baby's to hide in or breeders net to put them in. or diy it! 1 plastic container about 2inches long, one inch wide dept, min 1 inch but no more than four. the plastic netting that onions or garlic comes in my preference is the garlic one. and a rubber band.

wash everything cut net to size place over opening use lid to secure in place then put rubber band on. remove lid and place in tank. make sure there is an air bubble in side this keeps it slightly raised in water and it won't seal to the sides of tank. the fry will use this to hide in and food can enter as well.

the temp of the tank would be a small concern. their range is 25 -28 deg room temp would be fine but if there is ever a sudden drop in temp they will suffer quickly in a 15 ltr tank. the good thing is we should be nearly over the worst of the weather.

will you be moving these to your main tank?

Mickey

Supplementary to Mickey's reply I always found Mollies to prefer warmer water, even into the low 80s...

I think your friend's information about them being fine at room temperature is incorrect...and my suspicion is that the low temperature is the primary reason so many have died. Immediately after being born most livebearer fry, but especially Mollies, are extremely delicate.

Actually I even find it hard to understand how the two 'adults' are thriving at such low temperatures as well.

I have to take an opposing view to Mickey here and suggest that, unless your room temperature is particularly warm you will need a heater...I appreciate your comment about cost being a factor here but beyond the actual cost of a small heater - and at a pinch even a 50watt one would do, although 75 might be slightly better - the running cost for such a small heater would be negligible, especially in the warmer months. And don't forget, it is thermostatically controlled so it will only run if the water temperature drops below the previously-determined setting, it won't be on all day, every day.

John

thanks for the reply guys,

i've got someone to run to the pet store for me to get some advice and things..

so far i've got.. another filter (a proper one that will run up to a 45 litre tank) as i feel that the one that came with the tank is just riduclous.

a net dragon, i think this is the net that you are talking about

and some more stress zyme and stress coat..

the guy in the pet store was also surprised that they survived, but at the moment, they're on the kitchen table beside a radiator..

i think the temperatures will fluctuate due to the rad being turned on and off..

the guy in the pet store also said that if they have survived this long in this temperature then they should be ok..

at dragon.. i dont think i'll be moving these to the bigger tank, i'm not sure what to do really, i heard mollys dont get on well with other fish or can be a bit agressive, so moving them over, i dont want to disrupt the other tank or the mollys, as for the young ones, i really hope they survive!!! if they do.. they will stay in the 15 ltr until they get big enough and then i'll move them.. i'd say at this rate, i'll have 3 fish tanks going in the house.. something that i dont want (although i'd say my dad would love it as he loves these fish so much haha!!)

so now.. the plan is..

summer time - get MASSIVE tank (as big as i can get for a decent price)

put gold fish into MASSIVE tank..

put mollys into current 50 ltr tank.. (including the little ones (please god they make it))

and use 15 ltr as a qurantine tank!

oh god.. i'm confussed..

dragon.. have you got msn messenger?

well..

just to give an update..

filter has been installed, i put some stress zyme and stress coat onto the filter media (as instructed by the lfs)

the net has been installed and are now housing three little tiny mollies... just a question, should i put anything into the breeding net like a bit of plant or something? currently, its just sitting at the top of the tank with a little bit of plastic plant in it..

also, out of the three, two of them are swimming at the surface, is this something to worry about? and if so, what do i do?

any help would be greatly appreciated.. thanks

Hi Oregato,
If it floats yes otherwise no.

the reason for this is that some thing sitting on the bottom of the net can create a gap fry will stray in to if for any reason the net is placed on the bottom the fry will be trapped and killed.

the Fry at the top of the tank. i would say it most probably because they feel safe there. and or hungry.

i would when doing water changes check the water from the tank and net. and check the temp. and when fulling/topping up divide the water between the main tank and net.

Are you using both filters at the moment? This new filter will need time to cycle so by using both you will reduce stress in the tank.

Mickey

thanks mate, yeap, still using both filters, however the bottom of the tank one is litterally a piece of cotton, think its being powered by the airstone..

sorry came in a little late here. one thing that was never brought up that would be a very important point is, what kind of mollys are they? as a rule mollys do like warmer water 26-28C (78-82F), most mollys that are well fed do not eat there young, and when they do it is minimal. still fry should have some type of cover as in java moss and such. i have three adult sailfins (2 females, 1 male) that share a tank with approximately 50 fry. no nets or traps. as far as feeding goes you can get special liquid it will work, but livebearers have big mouths. fine flake and the best is baby brine shrimp. they will grow like weeds. now the next thing i am going to tell you will open up a hole can of worms. salt. mollys like salt. about two teaspoons per 10 liters. this will never evaporate. so when you do a water change re-add to the amount of water you remove so as to keep the same salinity. this has nothing to do with the age old discussion of fish needing salt or not. we are talking about mollys. salt is medicinal for them. stops shimmies and helps to keep these high strung fish relaxed. those little black mollys you see in most pet shops are so bred out that there immune and nevious systems are shot. this works.