fish had babies

Question
We have a 30 gallon tank with mostly community fish.  One of our mollies had babies. We did the separation thing with a separate mesh tank that hangs off the side.  We think we have about 35 or so babies. How long do they have to be separated from the other fish?  Also, my pre-school son's teacher asked if she could have a few to set up a tank in class.  How soon can I give her some of the babies?  It would be neat if the kids could see the fish grow from being so small.  Can she have them right away if she doesn't put any other fish in the tank for a while?  
Would she need some of the water from my tank that they were born in, or doesn't that matter? The babies are 5 days old and are still very small.  So far, none have died. I've been feeding them frozen brine shrimp and flakes. Thanks for your time.

Answer
Hi Joanne;

The babies can go with your other fish when they are too big to be eaten by the parents. This is usually when they triple in size from their birth size. If you have other fish with larger mouths than the parents, wait longer.

The babies can be moved anytime to the school tank as long as there are no other fish to eat them. You don't need any of your water to go in her tank. All she needs is for the school tank should be of the proper temperature via a heater and have a filter. Just tell the teacher to take them straight to the classroom tank in a plastic bag of your tank water, and the bag must have a big air bubble in it. Acclimate them slowly to her tank by letting the bag float on the tank water for about 15 minutes. During the 15 minutes, open the bag twice and add a little bit (1/4 cup) of tank water to the bag. Reseal after every water addition, again leaving a big air bubble. Once the 15 minutes is over, she should net the babies out of the bag and release them into her tank. It is important to throw away the transport bag water. It will have ugly stress hormones and ammonia in it that should not go into the tank.

It would be a good idea for her to read about new tanks on my web page too. There is important info about the Nitrogen Cycle she will want to know. Here is a link to it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

Have fun!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins