# Help - lots of baby black mollies



## ldavidson84 (Feb 2, 2009)

Hi all,

Over the weekend we decided to give our 3 guppies some friend. Went to local fish store and of advice from them came home with 1 Silver Shark 2 catfish 2 red tetras 2 blue diamond guppies and 2 black mollies. 

Yesterday we woke and feeding fish i see little black fish swimming about and a much thinner black mollie. I could see about 6 so for them not to be eaten i went and got a breeding trap to put them in. As i was catching them they were multiplying, i got to 18 and could see more, i sought another spare tank and set it up. The little ones are happily swimming about in that all 32 of them.
Now on looking more closely at the fish i bought i also think i may have a pregnant blue diamond guppy 

My tank is only a small community tank and i have no room for the black mollies or guppies (if she does give birth) what to do??? 
Does anyone know the duaration of a guppie pregnancy? She is very chuncky and has what i think is a gravid patch. 

Any help/advice would be appreciated x


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## thedogsmother (Aug 28, 2008)

Sorry can't tell you te pregnancy duration but our guppies bred like rabbits I felt horrible letting the babies get eaten so I always put the babies in a breeding trap like you have done, I fed them crushed up tropical flakes and always felt a bit sad when they went to the pet shop, apparently the babies can breed with each other as soon as the males start to get their pretty colours and if the babies inter breed the offspring will usually be unhealthy. Most female guppies bought from the pet shops are already pregnant. Most pet shops/aquarists will take the babies when they are old enough and most will usually trade you for them (we used to get fish food or filter sponges).


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

Guppy gestation is anything between 21 and 40 days. Most fish shop will take the babies back and have a separate tank for the purpose of baby fish. THe baby guppies can be put in with the mollies as long as there isn't too much of a difference in size - this will depend on how far along your guppy is. I would contact your pet shop and ask if they will take them back. If not, you might end up with oodles of live food. Unless your like me and buy two more tanks to separate the male and female babies and keep them!!
As for the gravid spot, not always something to go by. I have kept guppies for years and all the females (other than the colourless ones and virginal females) had gravid spots. What to watch for is whether it gets bigger and darker than normal.
Hope all this helps!!


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

Just a quick question, but when you say that you only have a small community tank, how small do you mean? I only ask because I've recently been researching sharks, and you do know that silver sharks can grow to over a foot in length don't you?? I think adults are generally recommended to be kept in a 6 foot tank.

If you already knew that then fair enough - I just wanted to make sure!


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## Guest (Apr 19, 2009)

magpie said:


> Just a quick question, but when you say that you only have a small community tank, how small do you mean? I only ask because I've recently been researching sharks, and you do know that silver sharks can grow to over a foot in length don't you?? I think adults are generally recommended to be kept in a 6 foot tank.
> 
> If you already knew that then fair enough - I just wanted to make sure!


Agreed, also what type of catfish are you referring to? Some species can grow huge.


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## zany_toon (Jan 30, 2009)

Re the other fish in the tank: 
Catfish, depending on the variety, will keep growing and eat whatever fish prevent them from growing - they can get aggressive to when their territorial instincts kick in. Speaking from experience. I had a pim pictus which ate £90 of fish in a few days because it was tring to grow bigger.
As for the silver shark, thay are limited to the space of the tank. As they are a commuity fish they are very unlikely to eat other fish in order to keep growing. I've been keeping them in everything from an 18 to 1 36 inch tank for the last 20 years and my sharks have never exceeded 5 inches. Black sharks are a totally different story. They will act like the catfish and get very territorial.


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## ldavidson84 (Feb 2, 2009)

Hi All, thanks for you advice. The tank i have is 5.7gallon, im worried about the shark now : I only went off the advice from the fish store. Is this too small for him???

Attached is a pic of my guppy, she doesnt look so big in this pic but she look bigger in the tank. Zany_toon or anyone with experience does she look pregnant? if so aprox how far?

Cheers Lea


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

ldavidson84 said:


> Hi All, thanks for you advice. The tank i have is 5.7gallon, im worried about the shark now : I only went off the advice from the fish store. Is this too small for him???


Much, much too small! I may be wrong but I think it may be too small for your mollies as well (which I think can grow to about 4 inches?), and depending on the species of catfish you've got it could be too small for them too 

You definitely need to take the shark back and I'd be inclined to play hell with the staff who advised you 

I'd also add that tetras are a shoaling species and shouldn't be kept in groups of less than 6...


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## ldavidson84 (Feb 2, 2009)

magpie said:


> Much, much too small! I may be wrong but I think it may be too small for your mollies as well (which I think can grow to about 4 inches?), and depending on the species of catfish you've got it could be too small for them too
> 
> You definitely need to take the shark back and I'd be inclined to play hell with the staff who advised you
> 
> I'd also add that tetras are a shoaling species and shouldn't be kept in groups of less than 6...


:crying: oh no!!! I feel terrible, will they be ok until i can get a larger tank??? I told them how big the tank was and that i already had 3 guppies and they advised me on what to get  If i get a bigger tank i could add to the tetras also.


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## magpie (Jan 3, 2009)

It sounds mean to say it but some of the staff in fish shops know practically nothing! 

They should be ok for the moment... just a couple of quick questions though:

I know you already had some guppies in there, but how long has the tank been set up for?
As thats quite a small tank its probably best that you keep an eye on things like ammonia & nitrite - do you have a test kit for those?

If you want to keep the shark you'll have to invest in a big tank. To put it in perspective, I was recently researching to see if my sister could have a shark in her 20 gallon tank (as she wanted one for her little boy), and I was advised that the tank was too small. I'd also add that I've read that silver sharks are infact a shoaling species too, and do better in groups.

Edited to add: Oh, and do you know what kind of catfish you've got?


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