# Baby Molley Question



## Knucklesam (Mar 8, 2012)

So I've been slowly starting a new aquarium over the past two weeks or so, and last night I acquired four baby dalmation molleys. I work at Petsmart, and they were found during a gravel vacuum. Since we can't sell the babies, I decided I would see if I could give them a fighting chance in my newly set up 40 gallon tall tank.

I didn't plan on having these guys so there still isn't much in the way of decoration in the tank, only a fairly large Colosseum type ornament. There are no other fish in the tank, either. I've been keeping these guys in a mostly submerged net affixed to the side of the tank so I don't lose them. So far, they seem to be eating well and are pretty active.

My question is: Should I let them have free reign of the tank? The only reason I haven't so far is because the tank is so large, and they are so small (a half inch, at best). Any advice is much appreciated.


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## KG4mxv (Oct 25, 2011)

I think you are doing fine. 

The only thing I would be worried about is the filtration or rather the intake.
Since the little guys could get sucked up.

Normally all you need to do is to supply some floating plants for the fry to hide in. 
but keeping them in a breeder net is ok for the next month or so. 
Then you can let them out of the net. 

I currently have 15 fry in my brooding 10 gallon tank. 
getting ready to be adopted.


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## Knucklesam (Mar 8, 2012)

Yeah, getting sucked up in the filter was one of my other worries. I felt like my tank could have cycled for a bit longer, but I figured it was better for them to have about a 50% chance at survival at my house rather than zero at work. You think it'll really be a month before I can let them out of that net? It isn't specifically a breeder net, by the way. It's just a regular 6 inch (I think) catch net that I just anchored to the side with my canopy.


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## KG4mxv (Oct 25, 2011)

well what you could do is to sacrifice a catch net to cover the intake of your filter to keep the little ones out of it.


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## Knucklesam (Mar 8, 2012)

I think I'm actually going to pay the 5 bucks and get a breeder net that suctions to the side just to be safe. I think they'll outgrow the net they're in pretty quick, but I just don't feel safe letting them loose in the tank freely. I really appreciate the feedback though.

I'll stick with these guys for a couple of weeks or so. They should be good to help continue cycling my tank because they'll gradually increase my ammonia level as they grow.


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## z1200 (Jan 26, 2012)

39 cents at walmart and you can get a filter intake in the women's clothes section, though you may get some weird looks form the walmart patrons. XD


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## cab3 (Nov 30, 2010)

We've raised well over 150 molly fry in the last two years, and I'm very partial to the plastic floating breeders similar to the one here. This is not meant as an endorsement of the store, just that the product seems to work well, and I like that it can float, so as evaporation happens, it still stays at such a height that other fish can't get into the tank, and you're never in fear of the water getting low. Also, it's great when you do water changes, since the tank just floats down to the height of the water while doing the change.

My experience with the breeder nets was that they became dirty much quicker and were virtually impossible to fully clean. The plastic breeder here can just be wiped off to clean, and is very low maintenance.


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## ChessieSFR (Dec 30, 2011)

I use a net breeder box for my baby platys, but if there are no fish that will eat them, covering your filter intake with a cut off foot of some panty hose and a rubber band will keep them safe as well, and then they can have lots of room to swim around.


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