hi guys, i just set up a 23 gallon tropical tank for some balloon mollies, and i bought 3 females and 1 male, and the dalmation female gave birth last night, now i only saw one baby, but do you think they have sort of chance of surviving if i heavyly plant this tank??? at the moment i have quite a few plants and java moss, but i will get more plants today.

Plants will definetely help, or try finding a breeding net, where you can put the little guys in. Keeps them safe from the parents' mouth....

i'd go with the breeding net... plants aren't enough for a determined hungry parent i stuck my mollie fry in a 10 gallon the day they were born with nothing but a snail... the poor things seemed so scared in the tank they were born in... not moving.. just setting at the bottom hiding in the fern... but as soon as i put them in their own 10 gallon... away from the "big" fishies... they were pretty happy and active.. they swim all over the place without a care in the world... but i had to stick them in a breeder for a day or two.. so the guppy can give birth without them ravaging them all... i lost 2 guppy fry to my mollies before i got them all in the breeder.. i didnt wanna put the female guppy in the breeder because once she pushes out the baby... she eats it right away... now in the tank.. the fry had a better chance of hiding cause it's bigger.. in the breeder net.. the poor thing would get swallowed before i'd be able to scoop it up. whatever you do.. make sure you dont leave the mother in with them... good luck

Hey!!! How many do you ahev becuase i am interested in mollies and this would be great if i could have or buy a few!! It depends on where you live as well. Thanks!!!
Dean

well thanks guys for replying, i think i will be better prepared for next time, cos i was only able to see two of them, and they are so fast, so i found one in the filter pad dead, and i saw one the other day swimming about but i disapeared, so next time i will have to catch them as soon as they are born, but they are so fast, so it will be a hard job. thx again for the tips.

update, my babies fry are doing really well, i have kept them with the parents, and two other females, the mature mollies dont touch them at all, but i have changed mu tank abit, i put netting around the filter intake so no babies would get sucked up, cos i lost a lovely dalmation babie that way from my first batch, and i have also added lots more plants for them to nibble and hide in, and the one thing i must do is feed the fish every few hours so they dont eat the babies, well until they are a couple of weeks old, so my first ever batch of babies are doing pretty well with a newbie to it all owner, i've only had these fish for two weeks believe it or not, the fry are about five days old now, so they are getting bigger and stronger.


i'll keep you updated.



bye

Great news that your fry are doing so well. Please keep us posted on their progress

thanks touchofsky, i will