How many times in a day shall i feed my 6 months old black moly fishes?

[sam augustin]

my black molly fishes are just 6 months old but still they are only 3/4 of an inch so i dont know how much am i suppose to food them and how many times. i have kept them in my 60 litres aquarium and i have 10 of them. please tell me how many times in a day i should feed them so they grow up well?

[iZinedane]

twice a day would do

[sam augustin]

my baby mollies are 4 to 6 months old and they have not even become 1 inch so i would like to know what am i missing or what am i doing wrong. please read this data and tell me what is wrong or missing

aquarium size- 60 litres( 15 gallon)
temperature- 30 to 32 c
number of fishes- 10(black molly fries)
feeding times- 3 times each day
food which i feed them- blood worms and flakes
water change- once in a month

i have not got any filter in my aquarium and i have not kept any live plants,sand or stones. there are no other fishes with my black mollies in the aquarium.

if you think i am doing anything wrong anything which i can do more than please tell so that my fishes grow faster.thank you

[thrakuarium]

Water parameters themselves would be helpful to us. Ammonia,nitrite,nitrate readings etc. You said you dont have a filter in the tank. What is oxygenating the water? You should have some form of filtration/oxygenation for your tank. Water change once a month? I suggest weekly water changes of at least 25%.
With those fish being 4-6 months old they should be in a secorated tank by now. Substrate, plants (live or fake) , rocks and cavelike structures will make the fish feel more at home and provide hiding areas so they feel safer. A happy fish is more likely to thrive and grow.

The filtration and water changes should be addressed now. The decorations should be addressed soon. good luck with your tank.

[Lady Hobbs]

Mollys are rather hogs and can easily get constipated from eating too much. I have no idea of why your fish are remaining small. Make sure they get a good flake food (or pellet) and not some cheapy kind. I would be very careful with those bloodworms, too. They should only be given once or twice a week. Feeding them too much and they will start refusing other foods.

Water changes should be more often than once a month no matter what your water parmaters read. Fish pee in that water 24/7.

Some fish just grow slow then shoot up all at once, it seems.

[robnepper]

Your fish are now growing probperly because they are not thriving. Being alive is not the same as thriving. You need to provide a source of oxygen for them be it an air driven sponge filter, an HOB, plants or daily water changes. In a dedicated fry tank of 15 gal. with 10 mollies, I would say a water change every second day would be sufficient if you get a filter. Daily if not. Although not filtering the tank seems rediculous to me.

A water change not only bring fresh oxygen to the water, it replaces some necessary elements that fish need to thrive, and removes excess fish waste. A water change will also remove certain hormones that fish release into the water, which will stunt their growth if not diluted or removed. The hormones are a natural safety mechanism for them as they serve to control populations in the wild by telling the fish that there are to many of them in that area.

I am fairly surprised they have lived as long as they have in their current conditions. I think you need to get some filtration, some horn wort maybe, a test kit that will give Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite levels, drop your heat a couple degrees and hope for the best.

[Shelz]

I agree with all the factors mentioned above. I'm also wondering if warmth would play a small role in it also? You didnt mention a heater. Am I right in saying that they will grow slower in colder water? I think the main factor here would be how clean the water is and the quality of food though. Just my thoughts. :22:

[Little Embers]

Welcome Sam :ssmile:

Thank you for supplying that information, but by now I am probably just going over what other members have already said, but can you also tell us if you have cycled the tank and if you are testing for Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate at all and what the Ph is?

I would definitely suggest getting a filter for the tank and do more frequent partial water changes 2-3 times a week until you can get a filter. The water can become toxic with ammonia very rapidly if you are only changing the water once a month (how much water are you changing BTW and are you syphoning the gravel?), particularly if you are feeding 3 times a day, fry do need to be fed frequently, but you may be overfeeding and this can lead to high ammonia levels as well, which is deadly to fish and robnepper already mentioned the other reasons why water changes are so important.

As mentioned, I also think the temperature is rather high and would turn it down to 25-26* Celsius. There is less oxygen in warmer water and without a filter to aerate the water, there would be even less oxygen for the fish. Even with a filter, the temperature is high and when changing the temp. it needs to be done slowly (lowering it by 1* at a time) so as not to cause shock to the fish.

If the fry are having any trouble eating (you mentioned something along those lines in your other similar threads), they may still be too small for bloodworms, or may have trouble digesting them (are you giving them live, frozen or freeze dried worms?), so I would suggest feeding them crushed up flakes, baby brine shrimp (live or frozen) and you can buy special fry food for them. Diet, temperature, water quality all play a part in how fast fry grow.

[Jaster]

I have about 20 molly fry in a 10 gallon and they are doing fine. I'm learning they are slow growers sometimes. The key is good water, lighting, and quality food. So like everyone else, I'm going to say your first issue is no filter. You must have something in there. Even if it's just a sponge filter.

[Gayle]

Twice a day, morning and evening.

[Algenco]

2 posts same question, they have been merged

[sam augustin]

well i am so much thankful to all of you. i have gained so much after coming here. i live in new delhi india. my city has the most extreme climate . in winter the temperature is around 5 o6 and in summers it is not less than 39 in days. my aquarium water temperature in summers is 30 or 31 without any equipment. so i cannot reduce it as it is natural. in winters i manage it with my heater. from now on i will change the water of my tank each week as i dont have a fry tank but only one main tank of 15 gallon. i think from now on i will put a filter in my aquarium and about the food. the food which i am givng is of premium quality. i give the them chopped pellets and now onwards i will give very less of bloodworms. if i am missing anything now please tell me. thanks a lot.