Just wondering about molly fry

[binty2517]

How long do they take to grow bigger and be able to tell which are female and which are male? Currently I have 3 fry in my tank that are about a month old and that is the only fish I have in my tank since the mother died after giving birth. I started them out on "first bites" fish food for baby fry then just recently started feeding them flakes. They seem to be eating this stuff just as well. They are maybe a couple centimeters long. Im planning on switching to real plants hopefully today. Would real plants help them grow or not? Should I switch back to that first bites food or continue with the flakes? The temperature in the tank is approximately 82F as I read somewhere that the higher the temperature the quicker they can grow. They are currently in a ten gallon tank until I can find a bigger tank for a good deal and convince the boyfriend to let me get a bigger tank.

Should I be able to tell what they are now or in a few more months?

 

[RadleyMiller]

How long do they take to grow bigger and be able to tell which are female and which are male? Currently I have 3 fry in my tank that are about a month old and that is the only fish I have in my tank since the mother died after giving birth. I started them out on "first bites" fish food for baby fry then just recently started feeding them flakes. They seem to be eating this stuff just as well. They are maybe a couple centimeters long. Im planning on switching to real plants hopefully today. Would real plants help them grow or not? Should I switch back to that first bites food or continue with the flakes? The temperature in the tank is approximately 82F as I read somewhere that the higher the temperature the quicker they can grow. They are currently in a ten gallon tank until I can find a bigger tank for a good deal and convince the boyfriend to let me get a bigger tank.

Should I be able to tell what they are now or in a few more months?

The males have a much larger dorsal fin and the females have a smaller one. They seem to small to have their gonopodiums developed.

Put of algae wafers/dried algae in the tank, they LOVE that stuff.

They will be fine in the ten for now and if you want, add some marine salt. Mollies are brackish and can handle fresh, brackish, and marine conditions.

Any other questions?

 

[binty2517]

I bought them some of that baby shrimp and they dont even touch it they just let it sink to the bottom and then I have to remove it.

 

[sandtiger]

Mollies reach sexual maturity after about 6 months, you should be able to sex them by then. Also look for the gonopodiums, those probably show up before the finnage.
I notice you said you feed them shrimp, try some veggie based foods as well, mollies prefer veggies. I would feed them green water, it's easy to culture. Just place a bananna peel in a cup of water in the sun till it turns green, then put a bit of the water with the mollies.

 

[binty2517]

Thanks. I think I might try that green water for them when we have some fruit other than apples in this place.

So they prefer fruit instead of shrimp?

 

[sandtiger]

Thanks. I think I might try that green water for them when we have some fruit other than apples in this place.

So they prefer fruit instead of shrimp?

You can also use bread to do the green water thing. You don't actually feed them the fruit or bread, you're feeding them the microscopic organisms that develop.
The stuff you would be feeding them is known as Infusoria and is used to feed a lot of baby fish. Here is some info...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infusoria

hHow to grow it
http://www.aqualandpetsplus.com/Live Food, Infusoria.htm

 

[Bleeding]

Also, when you go with your live plants, get a ball of Java Moss and put it in the corner of the tank. This will help as a hiding ground for the fry and they can feed on it as well. You can feed with flakes too, but this probably isnt as "healthy" as the green water he was talking about, or natural foods. If you do flakes, just crush them up really small and fine.