Newborn lyretail mollies - questions a-plenty!

[DreamingAloud]

I just became a "mother" to six tiny baby lyretail mollies. I bought Mama Cass on Monday, on Tuesday she had two babies, and by today there were six (though I don't know if I simply didn't find them all the first time or if she had more).

I've only been keeping the tank since late June (there were some initial mistakes which whittled my inhabitants down to just Ziggy) and I've some questions about raising the babies.

1. At what age will their lyretails manifest (presuming they will)?
2. What sort of rate will they grow at?
3. At the moment, they all look like females - at what age will I be able to accurately sex them?

I've looked around the forums, but so far I've been unable to find any answers If anyone could help out, I'd be really appreciative!

- Victoria

 

[kveeti]

Never had mollies, but how fast babies of any fish will grow depends on a lot of factors: water quality, size of tank, amount of food and quality of that food (live foods vs. only powder/flake).

 

[DreamingAloud]

Never had mollies, but how fast babies of any fish will grow depends on a lot of factors: water quality, size of tank, amount of food and quality of that food (live foods vs. only powder/flake).

I take it live foods would increase their growth rate?

The water quality's perfect for mollies - quite hard water, slightly salted. The adults are fed daily, the babies twice daily (though they seem to be constantly snacking on the light algae growth on the decor). I'm just slightly worried that they'll be, um, eaten... :/

Thanks for the tip!

 

[Ghost_knife]

lyretails if they are true will develop the tail in about 2-3 months, they will eat small small flake food, ground brine shrimp/bloodworm. anything small enough for them to eat, they grow pretty fast,

 

[DreamingAloud]

lyretails if they are true will develop the tail in about 2-3 months, they will eat small small flake food, ground brine shrimp/bloodworm. anything small enough for them to eat, they grow pretty fast,

Ah, thanks for that - I wasn't sure if it was just that none of them had the tails, or if they developed later. Good to have that one cleared up!

Any ideas on when I can sex them? At the moment they all look female and if they are, that has some pretty serious implications for my future stocking considerations.

 

[Marn]

you should be able to tell what they are at about a month to a month and a half ....i know they mature at 3 months .. ive had lots of baby mollies but just never really payed attention to when that happens..
what other type of fish do you have in there ?? that your worried about them being eaten ..??.. they usually get eaten the first day they are born.. if they have lived this long then they should make it through it .. if they have lots of hiding spots then they will be fine .. if you have another tank to move them to then i would move them that way they get enough food to grow fast and as far as the flake food.. put some in a zip lock baggie and crush it up to a fine powder and feed about 3 times a day .. i just find the more they eat in a day the faster they grow .. just dont over feed them at there feedings ...

Marn

 

[DreamingAloud]

you should be able to tell what they are at about a month to a month and a half ....i know they mature at 3 months .. ive had lots of baby mollies but just never really payed attention to when that happens..
what other type of fish do you have in there ?? that your worried about them being eaten ..??.. they usually get eaten the first day they are born.. if they have lived this long then they should make it through it .. if they have lots of hiding spots then they will be fine .. if you have another tank to move them to then i would move them that way they get enough food to grow fast and as far as the flake food.. put some in a zip lock baggie and crush it up to a fine powder and feed about 3 times a day .. i just find the more they eat in a day the faster they grow .. just dont over feed them at there feedings ...

Marn

I've got a guppy (who's the most docile thing in the world) and their mother in there. She likes to chase them a bit if they stray too far from their hiding places (of which they have many - most of the time I can only see 1 or 2 of them, even if I search - but I've seen 6 at once, so there's at least 6 babies in there!), so I was worrying that she'd catch them and snack on them. :/ I didn't know they were usually eaten right away, so that's reassuring.

I've got a tiny tank I keep for quarantine emergencies, but I don't have a heater or filter for it so it's probably not in their best interests for me to move them in there. Besides, they're tiny and (I imagine) very difficult to net!

I'll be away when they're a month old, so I'll have to rely on my fish-sitter to try and sex them for me - there's no way I'm waiting an extra two weeks to know!

 

[Marn]

even momma guppies will eat them to .. it just happens .. we have guppies also and they have eaten them to ..
what is the rush in knowing what they are ??.. do you have ppl that are wanting certain ones ??.. (just cruious)
but if the babys are a few days old now then they should be allright .. ive had a couple of baby mollies survive in a 65g hex tank with all kinds of fish.. and we have also netted lil babies up and moved them to another tank .. it isnt to hard ..but likeyou said you dont have a heater in there so i wouldnt move them into that ..
good luck with them

Marn

 

[DreamingAloud]

what is the rush in knowing what they are ??.. do you have ppl that are wanting certain ones ??.. (just cruious)

Hee... they're my first babies. I'm all excited, that's all!

Thanks for all the tips

 

[Marn]

LOL.. ok.. i understand im more the waiting to se what color they are ..lol. we have over 30 babies right from almost a month to 2 days old now ..of guppies and i cant wait to see the color .. the males are so pretty ..

Marn