???

[ctruz1110]

hi. my name is citrus and i'm from malaysia. i have some problem with my livebearers. i have 5 mollies, 6 platies and a swordtail. 1) recently one of my molly gave birth to 10 fryes. most of them couldnt develop properly. why?now only 3 survive. and their mom died. 2) i have 2 male platies and 4 females. both guys kept on chasing the same gal. i took her out because her body turns dark and i'm afraid this will affect her pregnancy (she is pregnant). after few days, i put her back into the tank cos i think she is quite lonely and afraid she will die, (most of my mommy fish died after i removed them to give birth). but both guys start chasing her again. what can i do? flush them away?? lol. 3) i've heard that feeding frozen bloodworms and algae flakes could make them healthier, but my water STINKS. do i need to change ALL the water everyday? 4) when does baby swordtail start growing long tail? 5) do i need to separate my children fish and baby fish? please help. *sorry for bad english grammar*

[Zerileous]

the smell is most likely ammonia, which is toxic to your fish. Try changing 50% or more of the water daily to remove the toxins. If you change all of the water at once, you will cause serious harm to the colonies of bacteria that process ammonia and other fish-waste byproducts into less harmful chemicals.

in order to better help you figure this out, can you give some details about your tank (size, age, etc) and filter?

The number one tool in keeping a healthy aquarium is a firm knowledge of the applied biology. No so much the technical jargon, just a working understanding of how the tank functions as a semi-sustainable ecosystem. An excellent start is the Free Aquarium Ebook in the menu to the left.

Feed the fish less, only as much food as can be eaten in a few minutes. Also, feeding only every other day is a good way to cut down on waste load in this situation.

As for the horny platties, isolation is possibly a good idea, however females of all kinds have been fending off sexual advances for quite a while, I wouldn't worry about it. Most likely, the frey are being eaten while very young. Most of the fish you listed will do that. If you wish to successfully breed them, you must isolate the female in a separate (and established) tank until she births, and then remove her back to the main tank. However appalling, such cannibalism is perfectly normal and natural, and unless you are specifically into breeding and have the resources and experience to do so, I would recommend against trying anything. A lucky few will survive anyway.

Lastly, never release a live fish. If there is no other option, fish may be euthanised and then disposed of. Flushing fish is akin to releasing them into the wild, and they can survive in the sewers for a long time. Please do not remove fish from your tank in this way.

ps your swordtail will eventually grow out.
and one last piece of advice: in aquariums, nothing good happens fast.

[Incredulous_Ed]

One thing you should do first: read the beginners ebook. Lots of good info there.

1. Where did the mom give birth? the fry were most likely eaten.
2. Buy a tank divider so the mommy fish can rest peacefully on one side while the males are on the other side.
3.The only thing you should be feeding is very small amounts of flake food every three or four days. If your water stinks like that, it's mostly likely in the cycling process. You should buy a test kit and regularly monitor the ammonia, nitrate, and nitrire levels. If the ammonia or nitrites get too high, change half the water and remember to use a dechlorinator when adding new, fresh water.
4. Male swordtails develop their tails like that usually in several months, but for some it may take lomger.
5. If you want your fry to survive, then seperate the fry from the larger fish, because they will get eaten unless they are too big.

[ctruz1110]

i broke the jar that i used to fit those fish as i've mention above while changing water. luckily nothing happens to all my fishes. so, yesterday i bought a 10g undergravel filter tank. but planning to buy a heater. and i'm going to put lots of plants soon. if i use diy co2, will it harm my fish??

[ChurchofAdam]

Platies, swordtails and mollies are tropical fish; They probably won't do well without a heater unless your room temperature is pretty high. I think they're usually kept somewhere between 74 to 82 degrees fahrenheit. I keep my platies and swordtails at 80 to help ward off disease.

I seem to remember reading somewhere that the fry need heat to survive. Also, they are more sensitive to poor water conditions than adults and will have development issues if you have significant levels of ammonia or nitrite.

[troy]

You probably moved your fish too late. That can explain why all the mother fish are dying and why most of the fry can't develop.