fish had babies

Question
I have a ten gallon starter tank thats been set up for three weeks.  I purchased 8 fish and all died except for one.  I went to feed her and realized that she had babies approx 5.  Is there any thing special I need to do so that the babies survive?  I dont know the levels of the water

Answer
Hi Theresa;

Make a 25% water change every day for the next 3 days. The other fish died from "New Tank Syndrome" toxins during the break-in period. The water changes will help lower them so the little guys and the mom will survive. Also add more hiding places to help the babies get away from her. She will eat them if she can find them. Live plants work very well and will also help the tank get through the break-in period faster. The babies will nibble on them too. Elodea (anacharis), water sprite, ludwigia, java fern, java moss, are all good ones. Many plants sold in stores as "aquatic" are really not. They fade away and die leaving a horrible mess. Stick with the ones above and you will be fine.

Feed the babies very tiny crumbles of regular fish food. They really don't need anything special.

Here also is a link to my article on new tanks. It will help you understand what happened in there;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

I hope they all do well.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins