Help Quick!

[cjohnston]

Hi, my mollie is giving birth now, but is eating her babies, is this normal?? She is separated in a tank, should I move her out as soon as she has given birth

 

[black molly3]

gather the babys in a net as soon as possable and then put
them in a breeding trap if you have one otherwhise let them be chased and let nature take its place
gud luck
black molly3

 

[melloumaw]

hi,im no expert but i think this is quite normal my guppy has done it and my dalmation molly
melanie

 

[black molly3]

yes it is normal but if you want to save any of the babys its up to you
if you have plants in there some of them will hide in them gud luck
my silver mollie has just recently droped and i saved 16 wupee
gud luck
black molly3

 

[cjohnston]

Thank you all so much, I did happen to have a breeding trap and I've managed to rescue about 30.

Does anyone know why these traps are made see through, all the other fish are thinking dinner!!!!!!!!

Same with the tank divider, when she started giving birth, the other fish on the other side went crazy which stressed her out.

I'm sure it would be a lot less stressful if both were not see through.

Thanks again.

I'm off to have a little celebraty drink any excuse

 

[guppymommy]

Yeah, I think they are see through so YOU can see the fry too. But I agree that it's stressful when all the other fish are trying to get at the babies through the net or divider.

 

[Rafael Dilone]

Well you probably made the best choice with going with the breeder trap. It really saves alot of babies. About the other fish trying to eat the babies, it is reccomended that the female livebearer be moved to another tank so she does not have to deal with being stress from the other fish trying to eat the fry. But if you dont have another tank do what I do and turn off the lights of the tank. The other fishes dont really see the fry and leave them alone. Hopefully you move them into their own tank as they will need more room to grow properly. Good luck with your fry

 

[cjohnston]

Hi,

Exactly what I did and moved her to another tank, she actually had some more babies later on so I have around 35 now. Today, I moved the fry into the tank divider section so its more natural for them. They are all doing really well.

Thanks everyone.

Well you probably made the best choice with going with the breeder trap. It really saves alot of babies. About the other fish trying to eat the babies, it is reccomended that the female livebearer be moved to another tank so she does not have to deal with being stress from the other fish trying to eat the fry. But if you dont have another tank do what I do and turn off the lights of the tank. The other fishes dont really see the fry and leave them alone. Hopefully you move them into their own tank as they will need more room to grow properly. Good luck with your fry

 

[black molly3]

see i told you to use the breeder trap it clearly is the best method.
i would have to agree with the others and turn your
tank light off of a night
good luck
tony

 

[nmonks]

You can only keep baby mollies in a breeding trap for a couple of weeks. Mollies eventually need a breeding tank. See the pinned topics at the top of this forum section. The problem is that a breeding trap is a very small space, and if confined, the fish won't grow quickly or properly There is also limited water circulation between the trap and the clean water outside it, which is obviously a bad thing. Why? Because you need to feed your fish up to 6 times per day, and that means the fish will quickly pollute the water inside the breeding trap, and uneaten food will lie about rotting.

You *might* be able to put the baby fish back in the main tank after two weeks, if the parents are well fed and you stick a tonne of floating hornwort in the tank. Otherwise, invest in a 5-20 gallon aquarium with a simple filter and heater. You will find your results at fish raising so much better. You can virtually guarantee raising the bulk of each brood, which you can sell back to the aquarium shop, and thus pay off the cost of the new tank.

With a separate aquarium you also have the (decidely wise) option of adding a little salt, which will minimise health problems over the long term.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[tetraman]

Cool! I have 2 very pregnant pineapple swordtails. I don't have a breeding net, a divider, or a second set up tank. I do have an empty 20 gallon tank, but only the tank. What do you suggest I do?