Platies

Question
I have a 25 gallon tank with 2 black mollies, 2 silver mollies, 2 swordtails, one guppy(which I will find a mate for soon), and 3 platies. My female molly, which I thought was just fat, had 12 fry. I had them in a breeder trap in the main tank but removed them so I could medicate the tank with Jungle brand "Ick Clear"(which is harmful to the fry). They are currently in a un-heated 1 gallon plastic aquarium with the light on 24 hours(I thought the light might be enough to heat the water). Here are my questions:

1.) Is my current tank set up for the fry good enough?(non-heated, small, and 24 hours light.)

2.) How much should I feed them and how often?

3.) The effective medication I have is harmful but the organic one isn't affective. The effective one says for small and scaless fish, use half the amount. But the guy at the petstore said they would die either way. If the babies happen to get ick like some of the adults, how should I treat them?

4.) When should I release them into the tank?

5.) Basic care facts?

Answer
Hi Kim,
  You can keep the fry in the little tank for now, but you should strongly consider getting something larger if you want them to grow up normally.  The light makes no difference to the fish.
Heat does make a big difference.

2. I feed my fish once a day.  I would feed those guys with crushed flake food.

3. If babies get ick, they have little chance of survival no matter what you do.

4. I would only release them into the larger tank when they are too large to be eaten. Otherwise, they will be eaten.  

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>