New Baby

[newbie4]

Ok so i'm new at all this, had a small tank when i was a kid but am soo rusty now can't remember much (and they all died)

So we have a 10g tank (family xmas gift since my 2yr old is obsessed with fish) and we have (bear with me):
1 black molly (i think male)
1 "dalmation" molly (female i think)
1 red and black platy (male)
1 gold big bellied molly (female) - i think that's what she is called, i don't think she is pregnant

tonight i found hiding in a plant in a corner 1 single fry. I have no idea when she got here and no idea who her mommy is.

what should i do? poor baby is about 1/4 inch long (give or take) and is somewhat gray/silverish right now but i guess that will change (?)

Any ideas on how to explain to a 2 yr old why there is a baby fish in the tank too?

thanks
newbie4 (new mommy again i guess....)

oh BTW, our black molly is constantly chasing the dalmation - any ideas why?

 

[pondfreak4365]

hi newbie4
Congrats on the fry! Do you have a breeder net or trap? The fry may be able to evade the adults, but they will try to eat her. She will be able to eat finely crushed flake.

I have no idea what to tell the 2 year old!


Mollies are aggressive little fish. Maybe the black molly is the mom or maybe she just has a bad attitude! I have multiple tanks, so if I notice bullying, I transfer the bully to a different tank, preferably with larger fish. I have a male black molly that tries to harrass my rainbowfish, even though they are 4 times larger!

 

[newbie4]

Thank you for your reply.

No we don't have a breeder net (yet), we have an extra tank but it isn't set up yet. If the weather clears we are going to go out and get everything to set it up and a breeder net. RIght now it's a wonderful hider in our plants.

Our black molly is a male and it is constantly chasing the dalmation molly which I believe is female, and I think the mommy but am not sure yet. The fry is silver/gray is but the dalmation is always kind of hovering but has not made any attempts towards it. I wish I had "caught on" earlier because there is only one and from what I read there could have been at least 10.

Thanks for the help.

newbie