My Pregnant Molly.... Dead Fry?

Question

I just yesterday setup my Aquarium... i have 5 fish to start with (male and female black molly, male and female guppy, and one zebra fish).

After buying the female molly i realised it lwas pregant. after leaving it in the tank for the day i watched how became very unsocial and agressive to the male molly. So today i went and purchased a breeder unit, stuck her in.

well i was going to ask whether it was the right time to put her in, but as i was typing up all this she's droped 7 babys so far which look very much dead o.O?! im now keeping a close eye on her.

any suggestions as to whats happened?

pictures (mintues before birth)..
http://i12.tinypic.com/47v5zz7.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/4gfhbhy.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/2uy2cme.jpg

during birth...
http://i12.tinypic.com/29eq6qb.jpg
http://i12.tinypic.com/29zobuw.jpg
http://i16.tinypic.com/2vxh91h.jpg

thanks in advance... xxx

another 3 have dropped... all alive :) hoping the rest come out good and well too

thanks for the advice zoe, i have 3 live babys so far.

and yes i did set everything up yesterday, but i did the tank early in the morning left it untill the evening and then added the fish. since then i have been changing 20% of the water regularly. :)

up2 9 live babys now ^_^

all is well xXx

35+ alive babys now :)

thanks for all the help xXx

Answer 1

All mollies from the petstore are pregnant, usually. They are very promiscuous and if there are any males within smelling distance, expect babies!

Anyway, the move probably stressed her and she aborted the babies before they were ready.
OR, they may still be alive. Sometimes fry (baby fish) just lie on the floor for a while (more than an hour, sometimes) before they are ready to swim. Give them time. They don't start swimming or moving by the end of the day today, they are dead, but you'll have more in 1 month.

However, I have a few bits of advice to give you.
First, male guppies and male mollies are very amorous. They will pester a lone female, so it is best to get two females for every male. Zebra danios are schooling fish, and a lone fish will be shy, reclusive and unhappy. They need to be in schools of 5 or more, so please get some friends for him.

Also, you say you set up the tank and put the fish in yesterday. Did you cycle your tank?
In the wild, and in established tanks, there are nitrifying bacteria that break down toxic ammonia from fish waste and excess food into less toxic nitrates. In a brand new tank, these bacteria don't exist, so any fish in the tank will produce ammonia, which, not being broken down by bacteria, will kill or weaken the fish. So, it is vital to cycle your tank.
There are a few methods that you can improve things for your fish. Do you have access to an established tank? These bacteria live in the gravel and in the filter cartridge, so if you can get some from another tank, you can put the bacteria right into your tank (don't let the gravel or filter cartridge dry out).
Another way is to get Bio-Spira. It is the actual live bacteria in a little pouch, and your tank will instantly be ready for fish.http://fishstoretn.com/bio_spira.html
Please note that products like Cycle are the dead bacteria, and therefore completely useless.

Other methods, which include putting a source of ammonia in the tank and letting the bacteria build up on its own, or putting a fish in and letting the fish produce ammonia (which borders on animal cruelty, because the fish will suffer from the ammonia in the tank), take 2 to 6 weeks before your tank is ready. If you rush that, any fish you buy may die, so try one of the instant methods I mentioned above (bio-spira or gravel from another tank). Otherwise, it will take 2 to 6 because before your fish are safe. You may lose some in that time. Please do 20-30% water changes every few days to keep the toxic ammonia and nitrite levels down. In a few weeks, once the cycle if complete, you can do water changes on a weekly basis.

Answer 2

complicated stuff. try searching at a search engine. just that will help!