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Plant or Net?

1K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  henningc 
#1 ·
Hello,
I need some serious help because i have a 5 and a half gallon take and i got 2 dalmatian mollies at the store. Later on after doing some research i found out that I owe a female and male mollie. So I did even more depth in the category and found out that she is in the early stages of pregnancy. But as I looked into mollies giving birth i saw 2 different styles of mollies giving birth, so i am wondering if i should use the plants or the net and whatever is safer for the babies and their parents would be the best.

P.S.
And I am in addition getting a bigger tank to support the little ones on the way.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Hi Fishkeeping101. Sorry it has taken me awhile to respond to you. and Welcome to the forum!! I love the avatar name! Yes there is a lot to learn. Starting with yes if she isn't pregnant it would be surprising... but they drop fry every 28 ish days so you have some time to get set up.
My first concern is getting that bigger tank set up fast. 5.5 gal is really not big enough for Mollies as they get quite big. Here is our Reference link: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/livebearer-species/molly-poecilia-sphenops-187369/
The male will harass the female and follow her around... there isn't far to go in a 5.5 for the poor female to get away from him plants or no plants. No one wants our fish hiding all the time, that's not what you bought them for. The 5.5 would be an ok place for the fry tho when we get to that point... but then again, what do you plan on doing with the fry? More fry = more females = more fry... etc... see where this is going? One option is to return the male if they will take him back and get a 2nd female. You may still get some fry as they could already be pregnant, but you will enjoy the less stressed out girls by far.
So... can you swap him for a female?
Do you know how to tell them apart? ie sure you have one of each?
Do you know that in spite of what we try to do, they can/will still eat their own young?
Can you get that 2nd tank set up and how big is it? Ideally they need a tank that is 36" long... that is a 35 or 45 gallon. Quite frankly, the more water you have, the more stable the environment is, so get the biggest you can afford.
What would you really like to do with all the fry that you might end up with?
Do you know about "Cycling a tank"? That means getting a new tank thru the 3 stages of the Bacteria Cycle which can be quite toxic to fish if not handled correctly. Here is a link to that too: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...nners-guide-freshwater-aquarium-cycle-213418/
Just good questions to ask yourself before you get in too deep.

I'm sure others will be along to help out but if you can put some thought to these questions we can help you be successful.
 
#3 ·
I'd suggest letting nature take its course until you get the new tank thing figured out and cycled. If you use plants, it will be so limiting in a 5.5gal that the adults will have almost no swimming room. If you use a net, I don't even know if you can fit a net in the small tank. The danger in either case is by saving the fry you are adding to a totally overloaded eco system and could end up crashing the entire works. If you really just need to raise the fry I suggest getting a breeder net or a plastic pasta colaner, heater and airline and set up a 5gal bucket. Place the female in the colander and let the fry fall through. Do a daily 50% water change until the fry are big enough for a new tank. Don't put them back in the 5.5gal as it will crash the tank.
 
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