my molly fish

Question
QUESTION: hi! 2 days ago at night my molly fish gave birth in my tank (my tank is 20 gallons contains an aquatic dwarf african frog, 2 ghost shrimp, 1 catfish, and 5 mollys in all.) I used a net and was able to capture and isolate 16 of the molly fish babies! but, once in a while ill see another baby and then i have to go back into the tank to capture it. the problem is,is that this is stressing out the other fish in my tank. can you tell me a way to capture the baby fish without disturbing the fish in my tank? i also have another molly fish that is pregnant so im worried about the stress i may be causing her and what will i do when it is time for her to have babies! SOS!
please help me im new to this fish hobby!

ANSWER: Hi Tiffany,

It would be much better if in the future, you could transfer the mothers before they give birth, then remove them and keep the fry in the separate tank. Fry are sensitive to water quality, and 16 fry need a tank as big as yours is now, a filtered 10 gallon tank would be a bare bones minimum. I know they're tiny right now, but they'll grow fast! Water quality is imperative to keeping them healthy.

It may seem like a miracle right now, but you'll get used to the mollies birthing - it's what they do! They're among the most productive of livebearers. Mollies are not as hardy as other fish such as danios or barbs. You need hard, alkaline water to keep them happy, otherwise they start to become sick. They also need frequent water changes, because they're sensitive to nitrates (and of course ammonia and nitrites, which are toxic to any fish - an established, healthy tank never shows these levels!) You can find out lots about your water by testing it. Your water *chemistry* - pH, hardness and alkalinity - is very helpful to know, but ammonia, nitrites and nitrates tell you what your water *quality* is, and mollies and their fry are demanding.

I would be changing water every day in the fry tank! Sometimes people don't change the water in their fry tank, afraid that they will suck out the fry, and then unfortunately the fry die from poor water quality. One way to do it is to siphon it out with a piece of screen over a hose, this is what I do. Another way to do it is to use a gravel vacuum and siphon the water from a hard object such as a rock. This greatly decreases the chances that a fry will get sucked up by the gravel vacuum but makes the water change go a lot slower. Be careful what kind of filter you use, since they can get sucked up in the filter, too! The intake (where the filter sucks the water in from) should have very narrow slots, do keep an eye on that.

Fry also need to be fed frequently. Crushed flake will do, but you can also make a hard boiled egg and give them bits of the hard boiled egg yolk. Only give this once every few days and only a little at a time, since it will foul your water fast - it's messy! There's also Hikari First Bites and other fry food available at pet stores or fish stores, have a look. Make sure you are giving the fry adequate food, feeding about 3 times a day is recommended. That is why daily water changes of about 50% should be administered in the fry tank! Just change the water as often as you can.

Anyhow, the answer to your real question is -- there's no way to keep from stressing the other fish, they panic when there's a net in the tank. For deliveries in the main tank, some folks use net breeders. Those net breeders are better than the box breeders, but both are really stressful to the mother, and may increase the chances of aborted deliveries. Some folks use the net breeders successfully, it's hit or miss. You can see if your pet store has a net breeder.

My advice? Next time, when you see the mollies are gravid and look as though they'll pop any minute - separate them to their birthing tank, and then move the parents back.

This is all covered extensively on the web. Use google.com to find more info, use keywords such as:
molly fry
breeding livebearers

You should also read about how to keep mollies, they have a few special needs. For example, they're hardier in brackish water (seawater dilute with fresh, it's made using marine salt mix like the kind used for saltwater aquariums) and also are vegetarian, needing a diet loaded with greens:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/mollyfdgfaqs.htm
This will give you more feeding and diet information, also check the links at the top.

I hope that helps, you can write back if you need more clarification. Since you say you're new at fishkeeping, a site that details the basics of aquarium keeping is:
http://freshaquarium.about.com

Take care!
Nicole

P.S. Do make sure your pet store or local fish store can take some of those fry off your hands. Your tank will soon be overrun with molly fry! Some folks breed mollies (and other livebearers) to feed the fry to their other fish, which may seem cruel, but does replicate the natural diet of fish in the wild and is a much healthier alternative to other feeder fish, such as goldfish and minnows.

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

QUESTION: Hi again, sry but i have another quick question. there are no local pet stores around to take in my fry, and the male molly in my tank keeps following the famale molly who is currently pregnant (this seems to be aggrivating the female) i didnt want her to die from stress so i introduced another female, but he ignored her and continues to follow the same female! is this common behavior?
thanks for answering my prior question!!


Answer
Good evening Tiffany,

It certainly is common behavior! Mollies can become fixated on a single female, and while it does usually help to introduce more females, if your tank is fully stocked (as yours is) it may not be worth the gamble. It can be hit or miss, whether the introduction of a new female will help.

Why don't you try a few of these suggestions:

* Shake up the decor. Put the rocks (or whatever ornaments you have) close to the glass to make caves your female molly can hide in to avoid being harassed.

* Add more plants, lots more! Fake plants will probably have to do, unless you can get live plants to grow in your tank some other way. I've had success with the "Live Plant Bulbs" that Walmart sells, just drop them in your tank (about 5 to a package) and two or three will sprout in a couple weeks. The plants get huge and certainly provide lots of cover. These bulbs are actually Aponogeton bulbs, Google that if you would like to see what I am talking about.

* Put your male molly in a floating collander, like a large strainer or a plastic spaghetti collander. The water should still be able to flow through, but he should be restrained. A net breeder would work too, of course. An hour of that treatment might get him to behave a little better.

* Try a floating aquarium log, some fish really like it. ZooMed sells it, it looks like this:
http://www.zoomed.eu/Engels/aquarium%20products/Floating%20Aquarium%20Log.htm

I hope that helps! Take care.
Nicole

P.S. I'm moving right now - gotta get it done by the 31st! that's Tuesday, acckk!! - so if you would like any more help and you see that I am on vacation, please try Chris Robbins or Karen Fields. Both these gals are extremely knowledgeable about freshwater fish and are happy to help!