[jd08]

Hi, I am wondering if the fry like to stay at the bottom of the tank? And how and what to feed it? Will it eat flake food? I woke up this morning and have a baby. Just one. I'm not sure if there were more or not as this is the only one I see. I keep checking on it to make sure it"s still there I would like for it to survive. I had 3 fish in a 10 gal tank and down to two as I found one dead on the bottom before I saw the fry. I originally had 6, but the number dwindles and I'm not sure why. I don't use heater since my tank stays between 74-78. Also what kind of live plant is good for mollies and platties? Sorry so many questions. I'm new to this. Thanks!

 

[SeaHorse]

Hi jd08! Welcome to TFK! We're glad you joined us!!

You are SO special to us we gave you your own thread!! lol

Since we don't know much about your tank other than 10 gallon... we'll need more info. However you can feed that baby by scrunching some food very fine. Please make sure you have some cover for the baby. It is not safe until it is BIGGER than the biggest MOUTH in the tank. He could become a snack and needs cover to be safe.
Would you be willing to answer our questionaire? Some might not be applicable but it eliminates us going back and forth asking more questions.... Haha hopefully!!
1. Size of tank?

2. Water parameters
a. Ammonia?
b. Nitrite?
c. Nitrate?
d. pH, KH and GH?
e. Test kit?

3. Temperature?

4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)?

5. How long the aquarium has been set up?

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them?

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)?

8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants?
b. Sand, gravel, barebottom?
c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors?

9. a. Filtration?
b. Heater?

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used?
b. Any sunlight exposure? How long?

11. a. Water change schedule?
b. Volume of water changed?
c. Well water, tap water, RO water?
d. Water conditioner used?
e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed?

12. Foods?
How often are they fed?

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms?
b. Appearance of poop?
c. Appearance of gills?

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis?
b. What meds were used?

15. Insert photos of fish in question and full tank shot if necessary.

 

[jd08]

Thank you! I do have a 10 gallon tank know absolutely nothing about the chemical stuff. I treat the water before I add after I've used the gravel vacum and also have a weekly treatment for the pH other than that I know nothing. This was just a tank for my son to have some sort of pet after we moved since we couldn't bring our dog.

1. Size of tank? 10 gal

2. Water parameters No idea
a. Ammonia?
b. Nitrite?
c. Nitrate?
d. pH, KH and GH?
e. Test kit?

3. Temperature? Stays about 78 during the day and 74-76 during the night.

4. FW (fresh water) or BW (brackish)? Fresh water

5. How long the aquarium has been set up? We've had it set up for a month as of right now.

6. What fish do you have? How many are in your tank? How big are they? How long have you had them? The fish we have I believe are both platties. One is a mickey mouse the other I'm unsure. The pet store said they were an assortment. I'd say 2-3 inches roughly guessing.

7. Were the fish placed under quarantine period (minus the first batch from the point wherein the tank is ready to accommodate the inhabitants)? NO

8. a. Any live plants? Fake plants? Fake plants but would like to get a live one
b. Sand, gravel, bare bottom? Gravel
c. Rocks, woods, fancy decors? Any hollow decors? I have a couple of hollows and a little t-rex my son picked out

9. a. Filtration? Filter is for 5-15 gallons came with the tank we bought a starter set brand new.
b. Heater? No

10. a. Lighting schedule? What lights are used? Florescent lights on from about 8-9 am and off at about 9 pm
b. Any sunlight exposure? How long? No

11. a. Water change schedule? water changes/ added after vacumming the gravel
b. Volume of water changed? 2-3 gallons
c. Well water, tap water, RO water? Tap
d. Water conditioner used? Tetra Aquasafe plus & Tetra Easy Balance Plus is the one I use weekly.
e. Frequency of gravel/sand (if any) vacuumed? Once a week as of 2 weeks ago.

12. Foods? Tropical flake
How often are they fed? small amount in am and pm

13. a. Any abnormal signs/symptoms? No
b. Appearance of poop? Yes
c. Appearance of gills? Yes

14. a. Have you treated your fish ahead of diagnosis? No
b. What meds were used?

I added some photos for you

 

[SeaHorse]

AWESOME!! Thanks for the info!

Ok straight off!! THE TANK
Your tank is new and without live plants WILL go thru a Cycle. This can take 6-8 weeks and can cause fish death. There are 2 stages of growing good bacteria and the process causes dangerous spikes that are harmful.
Read Post 1 to the end of "Fish In Cycle" at the very least.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...inners-guide-freshwater-aquarium-cycle-38617/

Having a API FW testing kit would be the next thing to buy if you can. They can be expensive $25 to $40 depending on where you are. But the little test tubes allow you to test your water any time and get readings you can act on. A second but much less reliable option are the test strips but they can give false readings as they are effected by moisture and humidity getting at them.
Having a small bottle of "Prime" is wonderful to help neutralize in an emergency too. Your tank is small and one cap does 50 gallons. So get the smallest bottle you can if you can.
Is there any time that your outside or room temperature would drop below 74? If so you need a back up heater. I'm not familiar with Ohio's weather.
I love the dinosaur!! I also love that you have a couple of hidey-holes. The trunk is great. If you don't see baby hiding in there, try to clump some of the bottom bushes together. I would even move the trunk to the corner the Fry likes and create an area for him with a plant or 2 above/around him and it. A safety zone. Once he is grown big enough you can move it back.
Don't be surprised if you have more fry in 28 days... Females can hold sperm for months.

 

[SeaHorse]

Also... in case you don't know this... in 28 days... maybe...?
Platy's, Mollies, Swordtails... basically are all sexed this way. What do you have?

 

[jd08]

I've never used any kind of testing kit in a fish tank before is there a brand that's better than others? At home we have our thermostat set on 75 and it never goes below that. I believe the two I have left are males and the one that I found dead this morning was a female. Also another question.. how come some fish float and some sink to the bottom when they die? I thought they always floated. My lil fry seems to stick to one side of the tank by the log and the t-rex (which i love also). It always stays at the bottom I assume that's normal and I'm guessing it's eating what flake parts make it to the bottom.

Is this the kit you are referring to?
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2754034&lmdn=Fish&f=PAD/psNotAvailInUS/No

 

[SeaHorse]

Aweee sounds like your Female died after having her baby.... or you are dealing with Ammonia or Nitrite. Both will spike. Too soon for Nitrates yet.

Yes API is the brand... there are several varieties... make sure it tests for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrates.
Some also have KH, GH, and PH. PH is important when picking fish... Live bearers like a more basic water meaning above 7. (Acidic is below 7).

Mine always hide and die at the back of the bottom of my huge tank. Have to put my arm up to my armpit to get it out. lol.

If anyone/friends/family offers you a bigger tank... take it. (they multiply too by the way) as a larger volume of water is more stable. Consider a drop of food coloring in a cup of water and that same drop size in your 10 gallon vs a 20/29/45/55. Things are diffused and less toxic.

 

[jd08]

Well it looks like my fry didn't make it past Tuesday afternoon. I've also come to realize that one of the two fish I do have left looks like it might be a female and she just tends to keep her fins back. I happened to notice when I fed them this evening. Which after thinking about it it did look a bit fat a couple weeks ago. So now I guess I'll be keeping an eye on them and possibly buying a divider maybe or what would work best in the case of this actually being a female and having more babies? Hoping maybe this time around I can keep them alive. My son was really excited about a baby fish. I do hope to go up to a 20 gallon tank eventually when we know we can keep fish alive lol

 

[SeaHorse]

Awwwww I'm sorry. Best not to tell your son about babies until we're successful. I forgot to tell you that the female fans her fin up and down. So yes at times she will look male. The male however cannot do that.
Not to worry... mark your calender for 28 days from now and keep an eye open.
Good luck.

 

[jd08]

New fry

Since I've been on last, its been awhile.. I have had new fry. I had 5 and now down to 4 still going good. I had gotten a divider and separated them from the bigger fish til I thought they were big enough and just recently allowed them to be together. They are doing great. I am wondering though when they get their color and if they will look like the mama fish. I.e if mama fish is a Mickey Mouse platy will they also be Mickey Mouse? They are about a month old now. My son loves having baby fish and tells everyone about them :-D

 

[Rose663]

They may b a mixture of colours. I have orange, yellow and white all from the same brood!

 

[jd08]

Wow. I have two female fish and I'm not really sure which one had the babies but one of them is a white Mickey Mouse platy the other I'm not sure what it may be called but she's yellow.
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[Rose663]

Think mine were around 2-4 weeks when colours came in. Surprising the differences that can b from same batch!

 

[jd08]

So far no colors on mine. They still have that translucent look to them. They are about 4-5 weeks. I forgot to write down when they were born..
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[Rose663]

Colour will come eventually. They may b light yellow? My lighter ones have a translucent look still

 

[jd08]

I kinda wondered if they were gonna be a light color. I can't wait to see their colors.
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