Subj : Re: Livebearer Advice nee To : All From : Jim Brown Date : Fri Jul 18 2003 09:33 pm Something's Fishy wrote in message news:d6116756.0307172101.7772ee2a@posting.google.com... > I have a 75 gallon plant tank with guppies, black mollies, and sword > tails. The female black molly will bear live babies soon and need > advice on how to best ensure survival of the fry. > > Years ago (we won't mention how many)I had a breeding tank that fit > into the larger tank. The tank had two chambers. One for the > pregnant mother and the other for the fry. When the fry were born > they would sink out down through a slot and end up in the fry chamber, > where the mother could not get to them. It was quite effective as I > successfully bred numerous swords and mollies. > > Apparently this type of system is no longer available (or at least the > kid at the local pet store doesn't know of it). My wife purchased a > fishnet breeder tank which is similar to the system that I described > except it doesn't keep the fry and mom seperated. Is this the current > state of the hobby? In other words, do I need to worry about mama > molly eating her young or not? Or are we better off allowing her to > have her fry in the aquarium, where they can find refuge in the > plants? > > Thanks in advance to anyone that can shed a little light on this one. > > Small Fry Unless you are wanting to save every baby, just let Nature run its course. Mollies, as a rule, do poorly when moved to special nursery containers, especially if too small, and she is close to her delivery date. You say it is a plant tank, so there should be adequate cover for some fry. If maximizing fry count is your objective, she would need to be isolated in at least a 5 gallon aquarium within a week of having delivered the current batch of fry. Then, she can go through a stress-free gestation. Jim --- þ RIMEGate(tm)/RGXPost V1.14 at BBSWORLD * Info@bbsworld.com --- * RIMEGate(tm)V10.2áÿ* RelayNet(tm) NNTP Gateway * MoonDog BBS * RgateImp.MoonDog.BBS at 7/18/03 8:33:54 PM * Origin: MoonDog BBS, Brooklyn,NY, 718 692-2498, 1:278/230 (1:278/230) .