# live bearers



## JBarlak (Mar 16, 2008)

My main fishes in the tanks are live bearers. I am having my best luck with a pair of dalmation mollies which have given me 3 births of at least 15 fry. Its cool to see the babies all white and as they mature they gain their black coloration.
I also have luck with my guppies but I can't keep track of who is mating with who.


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## gookaluda (May 8, 2008)

Isnt it just exciting? Hey what are you feeding your mollies?


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## fox128 (Apr 19, 2008)

Two months ago, I bought one pregnant female swordtail .After about a week it gave birth to about 10 fry.I feed them freeze dried tubifex worms and pulverized fish food.But i can see that their growth rate is very slow .2 months age and they are still about half an inch in length.the tank is about ten gallons. I need some advice.


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## gookaluda (May 8, 2008)

They are omnivore but they need some greens in their diet. Try putting a small slize of Zuccini in there for them. You will have to get a veggie clip. If your near a petsmart ask them for one of their veggie clips they keep in the tank. They usually keep them in a small betta cup on their work stations. (If they are nice they usually give them to you for free) They also like a little aquarium salt.
They are not going to grow too fast in a 10 gallon. 
Do partial water changes weekly to keep the quality at a good level. The females may still be young. 
Females will generally have babies every 28 days. If you notice breeding, you can mark it on your calendar so you can keep a look out.
They can handle temps up to 82* I have always tried to keep my tanks at 79-80* You might have more algae problems, but with that small of a tank, the lights might do most of the heating for you during the day, and the heater will help at night.
If possible, I would upgrade to something a little bigger like a 20 or 29 gallon, and use your 10g for rearing the fry. Are you raising them in a net in that 10 gallon, or do you have them in a seperate tank?


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## fox128 (Apr 19, 2008)

the fry are born in the main tank (20 gal)using a breeder box. then i move the fry to the 10 gal tank.


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## forguppies (Dec 18, 2006)

To increase growth rate you need: 

1. more frequent and bigger water changes
2. more live food, with emphasis on Baby Brine Shrimp, variety and frequency
3. a bigger tank if possible

Growth development also depends on the fish's genes, but at 2 month, they definitively be larger. My 1 month old are ussually 1 in long.

I used 30 gal tanks for raising Guppy fry. I feed several times a day and cultivate my own Brine shrimp. I feed them earthworm flakes, black pearl flakes, color flakes, multi flakes, spirulina flakes, anti-bacterial flakes, anti-protozoa flakes, bloodworms, Daphnia, Infusoria and everything else I find available including green water sometimes.

The more BBS and live food with Carotene they eat, the brighter and stronger color the fry will have when they mature. So, try more WC and changing the diet. That can already make a difference.


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## fox128 (Apr 19, 2008)

Thank you (for guppies) , But can I use freeze dried tubifex worms +color enhancing flakes as a substitute for BBS? If I can't then please tell me about other choices.(BBS is expensive in my country,live worms are not always available as well)


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## forguppies (Dec 18, 2006)

You can also get BBS flakes. They are not as great as live ones, but it is an alternative. Also, you can cultivate infusoria in your tank/s or other glass containers. Do a search on the internet for easy free infusoria cultivation. I'm pretty sure you can do it at home. There are many methods and all are good.


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## forguppies (Dec 18, 2006)

Please read this about raising fry. They mention raising the temp which I forgot to mention. The temp breeders in the US have their fry tanks in is 80F and the adults at 70-75.

Fancy Guppies UK - Fry Collection & Development


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## jaiko1975 (Sep 7, 2008)

I was moving some java fern a week ago and guess what..my sunburst platy had a small fry it was swimming under the plant... i guess the water temp does matter when it comes to bearing?


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## eaglesfan3711 (Nov 16, 2008)

Mollies, in my opinion, are the best livebearers to raise. I've had difficulty keeping sword and platy fry. Guppies breed a little too much. Its interesting if you start mixing mollie breeds. My grandpa accidently got his yellow mollie crossed with a MUCH smaller gold dust mollie. For some reason the babies which are now adults were 6 inches long. Much larger than either parent.


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