Molly fry growth rate ?

I think people over here have severe doubts about my biological filtration. Let me clear things. My tank ran for about a week with fish food and filter on. Then I got a betta and the betta was there for 3 weeks (filter was not constantly on, but since its an internal one, I am pretty sure that the colonies must be safe) and then it ran for a week and a half with goldfish. Now it has the molly fries since 4 days. Do you think my tank is not cycled?

In the initial days of cycling, the bacterial colonies remain very unstable. If you turn off the filter during these early days, the cycle will never complete even if your filter is inside the water (new tank syndrome). You even stated that your water smells fishy. That's ammonia. In the final stages of cycling, the ammonia becomes zero and nitrite keeps increasing, which doesn't make the water smelly. If it's smelling fishy, you are still in the very early stages of cycling, atleast two weeks until it's fully cycled. Ammonia decomposing bacteria colonies form quickly but the nitrite decomposing bacteria takes a little longer to form their colonies. Without a test kit, you cannot say for sure if your cycle is complete. The one about the smell is one of the indicators, however, at smaller concentrations of ammonia the tank might not smell at all. But even that smaller concentrations of ammonia is harmful for the fish especially for fries. Many of them might survive this ammonia and nitrite but they might have gill burns etc which will affect their overall life. Api master test kit is available in India in the online stores, one of the most popular test kits in the hobby.

Also if the ammonia and nitrite concentrations are too high, it might stall the cycle even longer. Test kits are the only solution to know where you are in the cycling process.

 

Hey! Just came for an update.
I have been doing partial water changes as suggested (I add a treatment which was recommended by my LFS and it contains mythelene blue) and I also use rock salt. The fish seem to be doing fine. They'll be 3 weeks old tomorrow and have also become considerably bigger. I was wondering that when should I plan on separating them and rehoming a few ??(there are about 20 in the tank). Some of them also chase each other some times. Just now I noticed that one of them actually ate a whole adult pellet. When will the actual colours begin to show? And should I start feeding them lesser now? (I used to give a pinch about 4 times a day). Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

Hey! Just came for an update.
I have been doing partial water changes as suggested (I add a treatment which was recommended by my LFS and it contains mythelene blue) and I also use rock salt. The fish seem to be doing fine. They'll be 3 weeks old tomorrow and have also become considerably bigger. I was wondering that when should I plan on separating them and rehoming a few ??(there are about 20 in the tank). Some of them also chase each other some times. Just now I noticed that one of them actually ate a whole adult pellet. When will the actual colours begin to show? And should I start feeding them lesser now? (I used to give a pinch about 4 times a day). Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks!

If you are planning to give/sell it to your LFS, just ask them if they would take such small fries. As per my experience, they won't take fries, that too of molly, unless they are atleast an inch or so and fully colored. Usually the ones we get here in LFS are almost 3-4 months old. If you want to give it to your friends, you can do it anytime. I used to feed them frequently in smaller quantities for the first two months in order to grow them quickly. After that twice a day is enough. I have had Mickey mouse mollies and white sailfin mollies. The Mickey mouse fries started showing some orange colors after 2-3 weeks but the sailfin ones remained pale for almost a month. But after two months they can be mixed with the adults provided they have grown enough (length and girth) so that they don't fit in the adults mouth.

 

If you are planning to give/sell it to your LFS, just ask them if they would take such small fries. As per my experience, they won't take fries, that too of molly, unless they are atleast an inch or so and fully colored. Usually the ones we get here in LFS are almost 3-4 months old. If you want to give it to your friends, you can do it anytime. I used to feed them frequently in smaller quantities for the first two months in order to grow them quickly. After that twice a day is enough. I have had Mickey mouse mollies and white sailfin mollies. The Mickey mouse fries started showing some orange colors after 2-3 weeks but the sailfin ones remained pale for almost a month. But after two months they can be mixed with the adults provided they have grown enough (length and girth) so that they don't fit in the adults mouth.

Okay! Well, I guess I'll wait for about 2 - 3 weeks before giving them to the LFS. I feel they will be happy to get those cute things (may even get store credit, altho I am not very sure). They will be fine in the 20 gallon for now, right?

 

Okay! Well, I guess I'll wait for about 2 - 3 weeks before giving them to the LFS. I feel they will be happy to get those cute things (may even get store credit, altho I am not very sure). They will be fine in the 20 gallon for now, right?

Yes 20 gallons will be fine for the fries.

 

Another update. They all are doing good, gonna be a month old this Thursday! Although I am not very sure if their growth is okay, I am happy with the fact that they are growing. I will attach a pic as soon as I get time.

 

Heya! My fish celebrated their one month birthday yesterday. I am a little concerned about their feeding. They chase each other around and sometimes even get into fights for food. Is it normal? Am I underfeeding? I usually feed them tiny amounts 3 - 4 times a day. Can this stress lead to death?
Thanks in advance!

 

Heya! My fish celebrated their one month birthday yesterday. I am a little concerned about their feeding. They chase each other around and sometimes even get into fights for food. Is it normal? Am I underfeeding? I usually feed them tiny amounts 3 - 4 times a day. Can this stress lead to death?
Thanks in advance!

I think what you are describing is basically they are competing for food during the feeding time. That's normal with fast-moving fishes like mollies as well as fishes in general. You can spread the food in the tank so that not everyone is feeding at the same spot. A little bit of chasing is also normal and the strongest fry will try to chase away the weaker ones during feeding. Nothing to worry about unless you notice any serious damage to fins. Btw how many fries do you have now? With larger numbers, even if there is some chasing, that aggression would get distributed and chances of one fry getting targeted every time will be less. Whether you are feeding the right amount will depend on your judgement by looking at the size of the fries and their numbers. I personally do not believe that 'feed as much as they can eat in 2 minutes'. The mollies I had could gobble up a huge quantity of food in 2 minutes. Same with my African cichlids, they can fill their mouths with enough food in under 30sec. So, use your judgement and underfeeding is always better than overfeeding. Plus you are feeding multiple times a day, so underfeeding should not be a problem.

 

I think what you are describing is basically they are competing for food during the feeding time. That's normal with fast-moving fishes like mollies as well as fishes in general. You can spread the food in the tank so that not everyone is feeding at the same spot. A little bit of chasing is also normal and the strongest fry will try to chase away the weaker ones during feeding. Nothing to worry about unless you notice any serious damage to fins. Btw how many fries do you have now? With larger numbers, even if there is some chasing, that aggression would get distributed and chances of one fry getting targeted every time will be less. Whether you are feeding the right amount will depend on your judgement by looking at the size of the fries and their numbers. I personally do not believe that 'feed as much as they can eat in 2 minutes'. The mollies I had could gobble up a huge quantity of food in 2 minutes. Same with my African cichlids, they can fill their mouths with enough food in under 30sec. So, use your judgement and underfeeding is always better than overfeeding. Plus you are feeding multiple times a day, so underfeeding should not be a problem.

They are about 20 fry in their. I agree with the point that they can eat huge amounts in 2 minutes. I feed them about half a pinch 3 - 4 times a day. Also planning to feed mosquito larvae in the near future, any suggestions about that?

 

They are about 20 fry in their. I agree with the point that they can eat huge amounts in 2 minutes. I feed them about half a pinch 3 - 4 times a day. Also planning to feed mosquito larvae in the near future, any suggestions about that?

The quantity of food seems to be fine. I have never tried live feeding so I would not be able to comment on that. I have always used packaged food and I have never been disappointed by the well-known brands, however, I have seen some videos on harvesting and feeding mosquito larvae and according to them its fine. For me, live feeding is just too much work .

 

Heya....Recently, I've noticed some black spots on the fry (seven weeks old now). Is this any sort of illness? I'll be attaching pics asap...altho it isnt clear at all in the pics.