Molly Has Had Babies

[ladybird76]

I'm completely new to fish keeping and just yesterday I got four Gold Dust Mollys. This morning I wake up to find there are now eight in the tank and I don't know what to do. Do I need to do anything to protect the babies? Am I to expect any more? I'm really concerned as I don't want to anything wrong but also I don't want any more babies. I wish the guy in the shop had told me this could happen, I told him I was new to this and I only went there as the shop was recommended on here.
Please help!

 

[shelaghfishface]

congratulations ( i think)
do u have a breeding net that you sould put them in, or even add a load of plants for the babies to hide in.. that said well fed mollies wont generally eat there babies, but hungry ones will, crunch some flake into powder and fed tiny bits of that
did you know that youd bought a female? ( easy to tell) and they can have up to 6 lots of babies from stored sperm, its not the end of the world ,so dont worry,if you do none of the above then nature may just take its course xx

 

[Meggie :)]

how many of them are male and how many are female?

 

[fluttermoth]

Ladybird won't be able to tell yet what sex they are, Meggie ; all livebearer fry look female for the first month or two.

If you don't want to keep the fry, then just leave them. The adults will eat them soon enough (although if your tank is well planted with lots of hiding places, a few may survive). I know it sounds harsh, but these fish have evolved to have so many babies precisely because so many get eaten in the wild.

The only way to stop them having more is to keep only males, I'm afraid.

 

[Meggie :)]

oh haha sorry to be unclear...i meant how many of the four she bought are male or female

 

[minnnt]

Congratulations definately. Even if you do get a few more you can always sell them and use the money/credit to get a tub of fish food. If your tank is matured then there will probably be enough goodness around it to keep them fed for a few days at least. Crush up some high quality flake food and up your water changes as this will enable the fry to grow quicker and healthier!

Good luck

 

[fluttermoth]

oh haha sorry to be unclear...i meant how many of the four she bought are male or female

Oh! haha! Sorry, of course, that makes much more sense