What's Wrong With One Of My Molly Fry?

[Aquariumfish912]

In a 1.5 gallon fish tank, I am raising three Silver Molly fry and two Platy fry(the fry were born in the community tank so we could only rescue a few). One that was very small is eating a lot now and getting larger. But it's another Molly that I'm worried about. Everytime I feed the fry defrosted bloodworms(twice a day) the one fry sulks at the bottom. In fact, the last time she was swimming at the top of the aquarium happily was months ago. Whenever she gets a hold of a bloodworm, a larger fry steals it. She almost looks as small as a newborn fry, and her belly is amazingly flat compared to the rest of the fry. Not to mention the one fry usually hides in the plants. What should I do? Seperate her from the others?

 

[OldMan47]

You should start with a larger container. 1 1/2 gallons is an emergency housing for a day or two for that many fry, it is not a place to raise them. At several months old, the fry should already be plenty big enough for a typical community tank.
You should definitely not be feeding blood worms twice a day. Mollies are largely vegetarian in their preferences and should receive foods high in vegetable content. That tiny tank needs a daily water change of at least 75% if you want your fry to stay healthy and grow, which is why I suggested a larger tank.

 

[Aquariumfish912]

Well, we aren't going to introduce the fry to the community tank because our black ghost knifefish might eat them. We think that it is how we lost two Molly fry who escaped from a partition. Instead, we are going to have them start their own community by placing them in a 20 gallon tank. As for their the bloodworms, the larger fry are growing extremely quick on it and are very healthy, so I'm reluctant to change their diets. Also, the Molly mother is a huge bloodworm eater. The Platy mothers also accept bloodworms. But if you insist, what should I feed them?

 

[OldMan47]

I have found that clean water, meaning tons of water changes on a small tank, and good low protein vegetable food does wonders for my common livebearers. I often end up buying my fish food from places like Ken's aquatics and focus on the vegetable foods for the livebearers. My own fish are avid eaters of things like frozen brine shrimp and frozen daphnia, but my children were also avid eaters of candy. That does not mean that they were making good nutritional choices. The larger tank will be a definite plus for growing your fry. It will significantly reduce, not eliminate, the number of water changes required.

 

[Aquariumfish912]

Good point. Maybe I should feed them food like lettuce or algae wafers or anything with vegetable content that is good for the fry. I'm also going to feed the grown-up Platys and Molly green foods. Thanks for the help!

 

[amy1994]

You could also crush some flakez or freeze dried food, then it will go everywhere and they will all get some

 

[Aquariumfish912]

I used to feed them crushed flakes when they were small, but they were growing quickly on the bloodworms, which also scatter everywhere. The probelm is that the fry steal food from each other! lol.