caring for live baby fish

Question
Karen-
I found 15 live babies in my tank this morning. Since we have had all of our fish for more than 3 months I assume these have to be mollies or neon tetra babies since these are the only fish that we have in pairs. We set up a second tank and moved the babies to this to protect them from aggression on the part of the adults. I have been looking for information on how to care for them. I found frequent water changes, very small food or food specific to baby fish, and the suggestion that they require algae or spirulina. Could you please tell me 1. whether I need to buy food specific to baby fish? 2. Do they need algae? How do I add this to a new tank?
Thanks so much for the information
Connie

Answer
Dear Connie, Congrats on the new babies! I greatly assume they are likely baby mollies as Neon tetra babies are extremely delicate and often don't make it to even hatch in community aquariums.

Mollies are very easy little fish to raise. The good thing with Livebearers like Mollies is their babies are large enough to accept finely powdered flake food. Unlike some of the tiny tetra fry which can only accept minute live foods. Your baby fry should love to nibble on finely powdered flake food. It's easy to make powdered food by placing a few pinches in a plastic storage bag and then crushing it in one corner with your fingers. Then just feed a tiny pinch at a time. Of course you can also feed your baby mollies newly hatched brine shrimp which they should enjoy. Hatching brine shrimp is easy. You can get brine shrimp eggs at the petshop. One easy way to hatch brine shrimp using a homemade container follows like this-
Use an well rinsed out 2-liter soda bottle. Leaving the cap on, turning it upside down cut the bottom off. Fill it with a moderate amount of tap water. Then add about 1-1/2 tablespoons of aquarium salt, and be sure to put an airstone in for continous water circulation. Add 1 teaspoon of cysts and allow up to 48 hrs for the cysts to hatch. Once hatched, remove the airstone and shine a flashlight near the bottom of the container. In about 2-3 minutes the hatched larvae will swim down towards to light and the unatched cysts will remain floating. If you can use airline tubing, this is good to siphon the larvae from the bottom of the container and through a brine shrimp net which is most convienent. Then just take the net and rinse in a small amount of fresh water just for a bit and then feed to your hungry little babies. Normally, if conditions are right you can get several harvests from one setup.

Introducing spirulina algae into the baby fishes diet would be excellent. Fortunately there are high quality flake foods based on spirlinia algae. If you really wanted to be a good mother to your molly fry, including powdered spirulina flake food would be a great supplement for their overall health.

And yes, it's true that daily water changes do wonders for growing young fish. 20% every day will cause a growth spurt. Also, feeding several times a day is best, 5-6 times.

Insuring warm and clean water, good quality food fed in frequency, and low stress levels will insure the best rate of growth and health in your new little babies...

Best wishes and Happy fishkeeping!
Karen~