Something's Fishy  wrote in message
news:d6116756.0307172101.7772ee2a{at}posting.google.com...
> I have a 75 gallon plant tank with guppies, black mollies, and sword
> tails.  The female black molly will bear live babies soon and need
> advice on how to best ensure survival of the fry.
>
> Years ago (we won't mention how many)I had a breeding tank that fit
> into the larger tank.  The tank had two chambers.  One for the
> pregnant mother and the other for the fry.  When the fry were born
> they would sink out down through a slot and end up in the fry chamber,
> where the mother could not get to them. It was quite effective as I
> successfully bred numerous swords and mollies.
>
> Apparently this type of system is no longer available (or at least the
> kid at the local pet store doesn't know of it).  My wife purchased a
> fishnet breeder tank which is similar to the system that I described
> except it doesn't keep the fry and mom seperated.  Is this the current
> state of the hobby?  In other words, do I need to worry about mama
> molly eating her young or not?  Or are we better off allowing her to
> have her fry in the aquarium, where they can find refuge in the
> plants?
>
> Thanks in advance to anyone that can shed a little light on this one.
>
> Small Fry

Unless you are wanting to save every baby, just let Nature run its course.
Mollies, as a rule, do poorly when moved to special nursery containers,
especially if too small, and she is close to her delivery date.  You say it
is a plant tank, so there should be adequate cover for some fry.  If
maximizing fry count is your objective, she would need to be isolated in at
least a 5 gallon aquarium within a week of having delivered the current
batch of fry.  Then, she can go through a stress-free gestation.

Jim
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