raising molly babies

Question
QUESTION: Hi im Akshay from Pune, India
I have a 5 gallon tank with a couple of guppies neon tetras and a pair of mollies.
about 2 months ago the molly gave birth to 27 babies
i kept the babies separately in a bowl
here they survived for overa month
i then introduced them into the tank
but as soon as i did that the babies began to die
almost all the babies died eventually
why is this so?
my molly has nowgiven birth to a second batch of babies
how do i ensure their survival
thanks a lot
Akshay
ANSWER: Hi Akshay
Your question just showed up in our answer pool, so sorry for the delay in answering.

I'm in the US, and I'm not sure if your "gallons" are the same size as our "US gallons", but a 5 gallon tank is too small for that many fish.  The fish will put off too much ammonia through their waste and breathing, and ammonia is toxic to fish.  I would say your best bet for keeping all the fish alive, is going to be to get a larger tank.

Good luck with your new baby fish!

Christy

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

QUESTION: maybe i got the amount of gallons wrong or summin
could u tell me any other way to keep the molly babies alive
should i keep them in a separate bowl


Answer
Hi Akshay
Sorry about the delay in answering you, I'm dealing with my own fish problem now :)  Anyway, mollies get to be about 3 inches long, depending on what type of molly it is.  With that many, you're really going to need a larger tank.  27 babies is a lot to add to any tank size.  I would keep them separated from the larger fish until they're big enough they won't get eaten.  

Can you measure your tank, hopefully in inches?  Measure the length, width, and height of the tank, and let me know and I can try to figure out what size tank it is.  

Let me know if you can do that!

Christy