laurie hites

ok .... i am a beginner and this is my first tank. i went to petsmart yesterday, bought some fish and wound up getting a molly who gave birth the next day. i have no idea how many she had, so far we've counted 5. she is a dalmation molly that is about 1 1/2 in., and i was wondering how many she could possibly have had. also, she is moving up and down the glass since she gave birth. is this normal and what should i feed the fry ??

Wolfgang8810

well chances are the fry will get eatin themselves if not seperated from the adults. You can get a breeders net. but they will eat finly ground flake food.

susitna-flower

Welcome to Fishlore, laurie.

What other fish do you have, and how big is your tank?

Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? If not the very first thing you should do is to go to the articles up in the header above, and read everything about setting up a beginners tank, and especially the nitrogen cycle....

For the fry. Take some tropical flakes, crush them. You can put them in a plastic bag and crush with a rolling pin.... feed just a tiny pinch for the fry.

Depending on what other fish you have in the tank, you MAY be safe with lots of plants. Anything that gives the fry a place to hide. Usually, rocks with holes, shells, or floating plants are good. This will give them a fighting chance, and easier for a beginner to deal with than a breeding net. That is just up to you.
Fry need really good water conditions. Do you have a test kit?
What are the readings for,
Ammonia:
Nitrite:
Nitrate:
If you get back with the readings for those things, we can help you with more to work with. Good Luck