First molly fry : DOA

[BennyRick]

Hi all,

So our first molly looked ready to pop yesterday (nesting behaviours, and dark spots descending in her belly) so we left her in the breeder box overnight to give birth.

Came down this morning (~ 7 hours later) to a tray full of poop and around 10 dead fry.



I put her back in the main tank this morning, she looks like she may still have fry in her, and is staying on her own, but didn’t want to leave her stressed in the breeder box too long.

Any advice? This is our first we’ve noticed actually giving birth, and it’s a bit sad none have survived so far.

[plankton]

Don't put the females in a breeder box. They stress and this is likely the result. Sometimes the female will actually die herself.
Try to catch the fry into the breeder box after birth instead.

[black ghost]

Agreed. Never put an adult fish in a plastic death trap, especially a mother-to-be.. I never use them for fry either, because it’ll get polluted very quickly.

[BennyRick]

Breeder box removed, a couple of pots of salvinia added and also a pot of grass planted.
Not loads of extra cover but hopefully builds up enough to survive a fry or two