my 1 week old molly fry

Question
hi
okaii well my silver molly gave birth 2 roughly 35 babies and so far 14 have survived
they are now just over a week old
in my main tank i have
1 dalmation molly about this big <<<<<<<
1 black molly " " " " " " " " "  <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
1 silver molly " " " " " " " " " <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
5 tetras
4 WMS minnows
1 sucker fish about this big <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
1 angel fish " " " " " " " " <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
2 platies about this big <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
and 1 rasict lol fighting fish about this big <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
he's racist because anything black he will start displaying and chasing it
he is blue himself
anyway when can i put the fry into the main tank they are all roughly this big <<<<
i no there no where near being able to go back
oh an my tank is 200l

Answer
Hi Lauren,

Yep, bettas can be mean...they do tend to pick on specific fish, I had one that picked on my female blue ram until she turned black and nearly died from fright and misery! Unfortunately, I didn't notice for a long time because most of this picking happened in the back of the tank in a spot I didn't have a clear view of.

You have an eclectic collection of fish, but as long as everyone gets along, everything should be OK. The "sucker fish" is probably either a plecostomus or a Chinese algae eater, these are the two most commonly prescribed "tank cleaners". To be honest, there are much better algae eaters, my favorite being otocinclus. They eat lots more algae than they produce waste, whereas a CAE or a pleco eats a little algae and produces LOTS of waste, especially if fed special foods just for them. So if you like the sucker fish, whatever he/she may be, then that's fine, but if it's in there just to clean your tank, trade him in and see if you can't find some otocinclus instead, or a Siamese algae eater, since they eat all types of algae.

Here's an article on algae and algae eaters for more info:
http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm

OK, now, to answer your question: the angelfish is going to be the main predator here. I would definitely keep the babies separate for 2-3 months at least, but since their size is going to depend less on time and more on other factors (how frequently you feed and change water in the grow out tank, namely) it's hard to predict a time frame. When they're 50-60% bigger than they are now, they ought to be way bigger than your angelfish's mouth, right? If so, I would say that would be sufficient growth to avoid predation, definitely by the time they grow to the size of adult WCMMs all should be well. Angelfish are *especially* good at hunting down fry. In fact, if you become overrun with fry, you may decide to let them be born in the main tank and have the angelfish there as a sort of natural population control. Sounds mean, but you can easily end up with 100 mollies in a few months!

To get your mollies to grow the fastest, change 25% of the water daily in the grow-out tank and feed 5-6 times a day, very light and varied meals. Crushed flake of all types works well, I love Hikari's Fancy Guppy food since it's powdery, just perfect for fry. Powdered egg yolk works well also. You can also start training your baby mollies to eat veggies...try putting out a slice of cucumber or zucchini rubber banded to a rock. I bet you'll find those babies picking at it!

I hope that helps, take care.
Nicole