Livebearer Advice needed

[Something's Fishy]

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

[jessie]

"Something's Fishy" > wrote in message
om...
> 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

hagen makes a few units that sound like what you're describing
http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=122&PROD_ID=01109310010101
http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=122&PROD_ID=01109330010101
http://www.hagen.com/canada/english/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=122&PROD_ID=01109360010101

i got one from big al's, their online store sells them too.
-jessie

[Jim Brown]

Something's Fishy > wrote in message
om...
> 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