Just bought a molly had babies on the way home what do I do

I just bought 3 balloon mollies from petco and on the way home, 17 fry appeared. What do I do with them!?

 

See if you can return them to the shop. The Mollys could still have sperm stored so be prepared for another lot of fry even if you did not buy any males. If you did buy males then you will keep getting lots of fry every month. If you do not separate the fry from the parents, they will eat them.

 

Oh my god .-. I don't know what gender they are. What do I do monthly, just let them eat the babies?

 

Yes, I highly suggest survival of the fittest. What size tank? They will give birth every month for at least six months to 50-100 fry if they are experienced. After their last contact with a male.

 

Danggggg. Well I decided it's a good thing, I put 4 fry in a breeding net and fed the rest to my bettas and angelfish. It should be a nice monthly snack. The mollies are in my 10G until my 55 is finished cycling

 

Ok, just making sure, a lot put them in tens and leave them there(I'm guilty of doing that before I actually new what I was doing), I'd be careful about feeding the fry to the other fish right now since they just came from the store and you don't know if they are carrying anything harmful. Glad your getting them into a 55g, they'll love it!

 

Wow, you put them in a 10 gallon tank? Is this the same tank you have the other mollies and the 2 angels in??

 

I hope so! I'm excited to get my tank up and running

And yes same tank

 

Wow, you put them in a 10 gallon tank? Is this the same tank you have the other mollies and the 2 angels in??

why not just wait until your bigger tank was ready rather than packing all those fish into that tiny tank? Watch your water parameters. Mollies are huge waste producers! Your bacteria is likely to become overwhelmed.

 

Ah I didn't know that! I thought it would be ok for now

 

smellslikechaos, how long have you been working on cycling your 55?

 

smellslikechaos, how long have you been working on cycling your 55?

I just got it yesterday so I haven't even added water

 

Gosh, I thought it was only three mollies in the ten which is acceptable for a short period of time. Are you going to get bacteria and cycle it quickly? If not I suggest returning them.

 

It could take weeks to cycle your 55... I would return them asap!

 

oh, I was hoping you would be closer to the end of cycling. I would not keep them in that 10 gallon that long, you are talking probably close to 3-4 weeks minimum as you haven't even added water. and those mollies will continue to drop fry

 

I'm not keeping the fry anyway, if they drop more I'll let the other fish eat them

And yes I have bacteria to add I'm not expecting it to take too terribly long

 

the bioload from the 3 adults, much less the multiple clutches of fry you are going to have is astronomical in a tank that small. on top of the other mollies and angels? this is not a good thing at all.

you can't rush a cycle, expect them to be cramped in that 10 gallon for 3 weeks- the stress and bioload issues may cause fish death, please keep a very VERY close eye on them if you are insisting on having them all in that tank.

 

I've read that it's possible to instant cycle with mature filter media. If I'm not keeping the fry I don't see how they could be a problem.

 

the main problem with the fry- you may not get them all. they hide until they are big enough to swim around, then they still hide quite a bit. even tiny, they add to the bioload.

3 mollies alone is enough to fill the 10 gallon tank. I read yo uhave even more mollies and angels in that same tank.

attempt an instant cycle, but just keep checking your parameters. the water can go wonky in an instant and you will come back to dead fish if you aren't careful

 

I have 3 mollies 2 angels and 4 bettas. The only ones staying in that tank once the 55 is done are the bettas and snail

 

The ten would still be overstocked, max two betters in a divided ten.