in4m

Question
QUESTION: my molly gave birth to fries they are about 70 plus
i have kept them in a breeding net
Q1 when will they become big
Q2 what temp they require now a days in winter
Q2 its recommended that betta should not be kept with other betas then how do they reproduce
Q3 can a beta live without heater can it be kept with balloon mollies

ANSWER: Hi Wajid,
A betta cannot be kept with mollies as they will nip the betta's fins, and he would be stressed, and die.
A Betta is best kept alone.  He needs 78-80 degree temperature and a 2 1/2 gallon tank, but 5 gallons is best.  He must have a good diet, with water changes every week or more depending on the size of his tank.  He must have pellets, betta flakes, and daphnia, alternating each day, and bloodworms once a week.  He should fast one day a week, and on that day he should have a frozen cooked pea.  You cook the pea very well until tender, remove the outer layer, and cut in into small pieces, and feed the little pieces to your betta one at a time, so that they don't fall to the bottom.  This is to clean out his system, as bettas tend to get constipated, and constipation leads to Swim Bladder disease.  He should have three meals a day on the days that he isn't fasting.  Example: 2 pellets for one meal.  His tummy is the size of his eye, we must always remember this when feeding a betta.  Never put two bettas in the same tank, male or female, as they are fighting fish, and the male will kill the female if she is not ready to spawn.  Two males will rip each other apart.  When breeding Bettas, the female must be ready, and has to have many hiding places for her to hide during the spawn.  She should be well fed, before, and after the spawn.  You must watch them while they are spawning, this may take anywhere from 2-4 hours, and she must be removed right away when the spawn is over.
Concerning you baby mollies.  The parents do not eat their young, you should take them out of the breeding net as this is not good for them.  Feed them vegetable flakes like you do the parents, only crush it up very very fine.  Mollies are vegetarian, and don't eat smaller fish.  There is no danger for the fry, like there is with guppies, and platys.  Feed them 4 times a day, and make water changes everyday so that they don't get ammonia in the water.  Ammonia is the number one killer of fish.  Their temperature should be 78 degrees, and one teaspoon of aquarium salt should be added to the water (1 teaspoon to 5 gallons)  There water should be alkaline.  If your water isn't alkaline, buy a bag of crushed coral at the Pet Store, put a little in your tank, wait a day, check your PH, if it isn't alkaline, add more, a little at a time, wait another day.  Do this until you reach a PH of 8.0.  Bringing up your PH too fast could kill your fish, so do this slowly.
Usually, mollies take 3-4 months to be mature.  This depends on the size of your tank.  Water changes helps them grow faster.
Hope this helps
Lynda

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: for making the water alkaline for mollies can i use the sea shell in water.

Answer
Yes you can, and sometimes you can find them at the dollar store.  Add them slowly to your tank.  Make sure you don't bring the water up to alkaline too fast.  I don't know the size of your tank, so I cannot tell you how many to put in...do it slowly.
Lynda