Frequent Aquarium Questions

• I have a pair of rosy barbs. They have bred before and I was able to save one of the fry, thats all I could catch. Anyway she is full of eggs again and has been for about six months and still appears to be getting bigger. I was wondering how to get her to spread the eggs? Does she need to be quarantined?
  
  
• I had a Molly that had babies and I was curious if I bought it pregnant or not. How long are fish usually pregnant?
  
  
• Recently I discovered that one of my fish had babies. I believe that it was my Platy. What the best way is to care for the babies?
  
  
• How long is it between when the fish is first pregnant until when it is ready to have its babies?
  
  
• How long does a Betta fish live?
  
  
• I recently noticed a funny-looking fish in my aquarium. I have not bought any more fish and was wondering if maybe one of my fish had babies without me knowing. All I have in the tank is a Plecostomus and two Silver Sharks. Can anyone help me find pictures of baby fish so I can identify waht this is?
  
  
• I have three Discus. Two have paired off and laid eggs several times. The eggs turn white one by one until they are all dead. Is it safe to assume the eggs are even fertile? Could fungus be attacking the eggs? Could you suggest some method of treatment or must I move them to an empty sterile aquarium?
  
  
• How do I know if my fish is going to have babies?
  
  
• I just got 3 new fish in my five gallon aquarium. Two black mollys (one male and one female) and one clown loach. I would like to know if I can leave the clown loach in the tank if the 2 mollys have babies?
  
  
• I have a trio of painted tetras. How do I know which is male or female? how can I breed them? They are in a 10 gallon aquarium with a plecostomus and 2 skunk botias.
  
  

• I have a pair of rosy barbs. They have bred before and I was able to save one of the fry, thats all I could catch. Anyway she is full of eggs again and has been for about six months and still appears to be getting bigger. I was wondering how to get her to spread the eggs? Does she need to be quarantined?
  
  If you really want to get serious about breeding Rosy Barbs, you should isolate the pair in their own aquarium. Egglaying fish do not fertilize internally, so if the male is not present to fertilize the eggs when they are laid, they will be sterile.
  
  To get them to breed, add some Java Moss to the tank. They like to lay their eggs in bushy plants. Then feed them both with frozen foods for a few weeks. Provided they are in a clean aquarium and get plenty of goodies for food, most Barbs will breed about once a month. The fact that your female has not laid her eggs and is getting bigger indicates that she is probably egg-bound. That means there is a blockage that is preventing the eggs from being laid. Try adding one teaspoon per ten gallons of Epsom salt to the water. If she doesn't let the eggs go soon, the condition could be the end of her.
  
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• I had a Molly that had babies and I was curious if I bought it pregnant or not. How long are fish usually pregnant?
  
  Only livebearing fish get "pregnant" though as these fish do not have a true uterus, we prefer to call it "gravid" rather than pregnant. Most species of fish lay eggs. Gestation periods vary from 28 to 114 days. Most of the live-bearing species sold for aquariums such as Mollies, Platies, guppies and Swordtails typically gestate for about 28 to 34 days. In some species, the female may store the male's sperm in several membrane sacs, so it is possible for her fertilize more than one batch of eggs without a male present. It is quite possible your Molly was already gravid when you bought her.
  
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• Recently I discovered that one of my fish had babies. I believe that it was my Platy. What the best way is to care for the babies?
  
  Platys and other live-bearing tooth carps such as Guppys, Mollys and Swordtails are easy to breed and raise. The main problem is in keeping the parents and other fish from eating the babies (called fry). You can buy a breeding net or plastic rearing chamber that you hang in the aquarium to separate the fry from the main tank. You can also simply add lots of fine-leaved plastic or live plants to the tank to give the fry places to hide. Baby livebearers will eat any finely-ground fish food.
  
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• How long is it between when the fish is first pregnant until when it is ready to have its babies?
  
  If you are refering to livebearing fish, the gestation period ranges from 28 days to 36 days, depending on the species.
  
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• How long does a Betta fish live?
  
  They live a year to two years typically, but we know of several that have lived much longer.
  
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• I recently noticed a funny-looking fish in my aquarium. I have not bought any more fish and was wondering if maybe one of my fish had babies without me knowing. All I have in the tank is a Plecostomus and two Silver Sharks. Can anyone help me find pictures of baby fish so I can identify waht this is?
  
  The fish you have are egg-layers, so it is doubtful they are the source, but it is possible the "sharks" bred and one of the babies survived. It is also possible that the fish came in with some plants or something else you bought out of a store aquarium. As far as larval and fry photos go, the best source would be a book on breeding fish which covers the species in your tank.
  
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• I have three Discus. Two have paired off and laid eggs several times. The eggs turn white one by one until they are all dead. Is it safe to assume the eggs are even fertile? Could fungus be attacking the eggs? Could you suggest some method of treatment or must I move them to an empty sterile aquarium?
  
  This is not fungus. When Discus (or any other Cichlid) eggs turn white, they are not fertile. This can happen with new breeding pairs but there are other causes. Occasionally, two females will go through the motions of breeding when there is not a mature male present, and naturally, this results in infertile eggs. Some of the new Discus hybrids have been so in-bred, that some males of these strains are infertile. Discus that were artificially enhanced with growth hormones, can also become infertile. It may simply be that the male is not mature enough to fertilize the eggs, but he is going through the motions. Give them more time. By the way, to successfully breed Discus, the mated pair should always be kept separate from a community tank.
  
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• How do I know if my fish is going to have babies?
  
  It really depends on the fish. Only live-bearing fish have "babies." These include fish like Guppies, Platies and Swordtails. Females of these species develop a dark gravid spot at the base of their abdomen when they are ready to deliver young and their abdomen gets very fat with the devloping fry.
  
  All other fish are egg-layers. The female lays eggs and the male fertilizes the eggs. There are many different breeding strategies and behaviors for many different species of fish. If the fish you have are egg-layers, it would be best to get a book that describes their particular breeding method to learn more.
  
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• I just got 3 new fish in my five gallon aquarium. Two black mollys (one male and one female) and one clown loach. I would like to know if I can leave the clown loach in the tank if the 2 mollys have babies?
  
  You should be able to leave the clown loach in the tank. They usually do not try to eat small fish.
  
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• I have a trio of painted tetras. How do I know which is male or female? how can I breed them? They are in a 10 gallon aquarium with a plecostomus and 2 skunk botias.
  
  We're sorry to have to inform you that those "painted" tetras will probably not live long enough for you to attempt breeding them. The painted coloration is from a dye that was injected under the skin. It is a carcinogin and most injected fish do not live very long. If they do live, the dye will eventually wear off and the fish will lose that painted color.
  
  Good aquarium stores do not sell "painted" fish. Injecting fish with dyes usually causes the fish to die a slow death from cancer.
  
  The fish are either albino black skirt tetras, Gymnocorymbus ternet; or glass fish, Chandra ranga. If they are glass fish, the majority of the body will be clear. These fish are actually a brackish water species and are not easy to breed, particularly in a 10 gallon tank. Black Skirt Tetras may be bred in a 10 gallon tank, but not with any other fish in the tank. Your Botias for example will eat all the eggs before they hatch. If you want to get serious about breeding fish, our advice is to get a book on the subject; be prepared to set up a tank for the species to be bred by themselves; and finally . . . find another aquarium store if youy can. Serious hobbyists boycott "painted" fish and so should you.
  
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