new siamese fighting fish

[Big_al_d]

Hi all

I'm a new fish owner and am hoping somebody can give me a little bit of help/guidance?!

Let's start from the start: I own a bi-orb, to which I have added a heater. Firstly, I added a siamese fighting fish (Sonny Chiba).

4 weeks later, I added 2 glass ghost fish. 1 of the glass ghost fish died within a week (he never looked right when I first added him to the tank. With hindsight, I should have taken him back to the store)

3 or 4 weeks later I added 2 dalmation mollies. Within a week one of them was dead. phhwrrr.

Last week, Sonny Chiba got real sick in a short space of time. His fins started dropping out, he lost colour etc etc. I went straight to the fish store who sold me some anti-bacteria stuff and some aquarium salt. By the time I got home he was dead. I took some of the water to the fish store to have it checked as I thought this must have been the cause. They told me the water was fine and that it was probably caused by introducing the mollies (which came from a different store to the others) which may have been carrying bacteria which Sonny reacted badly to.

I decided at this point that all my future fish would come from the same store.

Anyhow, the store said after the course of anti-bacteria, then all should be well and I could slowly continue to build on the stock in my bi-orb.

So, yesterday, I went to the fish store, picked out a new siamese fighting fish, and introduced him to his new home. He settled in quickly.

Whilst I was watching him settle in, I spotted a tiny little fry in the middle of the tank – Bloomin heck, my Molly has given birth! I had no idea she was pregnant – she’s been in the tank for around 5 weeks and I just assumed she was ‘large’. I got right on to the internet to do a bit of reading as I certainly wasn’t expecting this!! It has been suggested that by adding the salt, this may have spurned the birth. Of course, after reading, I was expecting more fry but Molly was now just swimming round minding her business. I thought that by adding the new fish, I may have stressed the Molly, so I have now removed the new siamese fighting fish and he’s now in a large Jar (holding 1 gallon).

I’m now not really sure what I should do. It’s now 11.00 a.m. and I’m at work. When I get home at around 5pm I have to either put the fighting fish back in the tank, or take him back to the store. I’m sure I can’t leave him in the jar (even though I’ve read on several sites this is ok, I don’t feel right about it!). Should I be expecting more fry? Do you think I should invest in a breeding net? I should I just let nature take its course and let them get on with it?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Sorry for the long winded post, but I figured it best to give you all the background info so you know the changes that have been made to the tank.


Thanks in advance

Al

 

[warrion_2000]

congratulations!!!

get a breeding net and put the fry in there. you can put the betta back but it'll be fine in the jar.

you can expect babies every 3-4weeks. one more thing mollies are extremely prone to diseases. So don't buy more mollies

 

[Big_al_d]

Thanks for your reply

You've managed to stop my panic anyhow

Well, i'll give it a go, Mr new Fighting fish (not named him yet!) goes back into the tank later once i've added a new breeding net

Wish me luck !

 

[mollie]

to Mr 2000
buy more mollies - they are great
yes - they give birth every month or so but you'll hardly notice as they are extremely tasty to other fish.
yes - it's easy to tell their sex by the anal fin
yes - they are prone to disese, but treated quickly they recover quickly and are a good indicator to your water perams. and stress
yes - i have mollies and would like more - waiting for my six babies to grow beyond catfish mouth size to release them from the breeder net
Sail fin mollies are the best - the male has lovely finnage when chasing the ladies!
Don't know wether this might annoy Mr Siamese Fighter or not?!?!?!

 

[Lenna]

I have sailfin mollies and a betta in the same tank. He only chases them if they try to take his blood worms. Otherwise he just ignores them and they keep their distance. Watch out though, one of my mollies gave birth and the bettas proceeded to hunt them down. They had a real feast and gorged themselves until their bellies were so swollen! I only managed to save 4 fry!

 

[Big_al_d]

Well, so far there is still only one fry. Molly still looks 'large' so maybe there'll be more The one that's in there must be a right little fighter to survive until now He's way to quick for the others - you miss him in the blink of an eye!

I'll be keeping a close eye on them, but I guess it's possible that Molly has had lots more, but they haven't been quite so lucky/quick! If I manage to catch molly dropping any more then i'll try and rescue 'em with the breeding net before they become dinner too Or maybe I could distract the Betta with some bloodworm

 

[Origami Gourami]

Wow Al, sounds like you've got a soap opera on your hands!

I'm no expert, but my only word of caution would be that bettas in jars and small heaterless tanks seem most common in sunny USA, whereas us Brits have a more chillsome climate! Be sure to monitor the temp for your Siamese FF as he may get the shivers if the temperature gets as breezy down in London as it has done up North!

Just a thought...

Good luck!


PS My first molly had a babby in the first month I had her, it was so cute, but unfortunately I think it got chomped as it quickly disappeared - if only I'd known to isolate him/her.

 

[Big_al_d]

Thanks for your message, Origami Gourami

I forgot to mention in my earlier update, that Mr FF is now back in the main tank

I really didn't feel right about him being in the jar, for temperature reasons, as you rightly pointed out, but also, because the main tank has much more for him (plants/company/HEAT/rocks etc)..

I jusy hope I can get to any more fry before he does!!

 

[Origami Gourami]

That's cool Al! When I bought my male betta i was really woried he wouldn't get on with his tankmates, so I had a backup small tank planned, but I'm so glad he's alright in there because he has much more space to move around and play!

Luckily he's a bit of a wimp, so he doesn't cause any bother! I'm monitoring how he behaves with his new wives, he seems to be a gentleman so far!

I have to say my Dalmation Molly (RIP) was the friendliest fish I've ever had, she used to follow your finger along the glass and always swim up to say howdy!

Good luck with your new pals!