Baby fish in filter!?!?!?

[michaelabellz]

I have two baby clownfish and two male mollies. I was doing my every other day clean up of filter when I noticed a little baby fish (almost tadpole looking) in my filter anyone know what this could be???

 

[michaelabellz]

How he got in the filter is beyond me. He does sorta look like the mollies but the pet store said they were 2 males and I’ve had them for months.

 

[SHNICI]

That look cool, but how it go in the filter no idea, because don't know how look your system.
About what it is, no idea, it look really like tadpole but some fishes look like (is it possible you to got it as a hitchhiker in LR or something, and you say since months you have the fish in the tank (mollies and clownfish), what else you have in, or do you recently add LR (coral with bigger rock under or something?

 

[michaelabellz]

That look cool, but how it go in the filter no idea, because don't know how look your system.
About what it is, no idea, it look really like tadpole but some fishes look like (is it possible you to got it as a hitchhiker in LR or something, and you say since months you have the fish in the tank (mollies and clownfish), what else you have in, or do you recently add LR (coral with bigger rock under or something?

Nope I haven’t added anything recently and those are my only fish. The only thing I can guess is that the fish store accidentally gave me a male and a female molly which is exactly what I didn’t want but that could be the only possibility.

 

[SHNICI]

you can check them easy by this photos : -> Google Images <-

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Could it be a mysis shrimp

 

[Gtinnel]

My guess would be that you dont have two male mollies. Did you happen to notice if one of the mollies looked pregnant at any point?

 

[SHNICI]

My guess would be that you dont have two male mollies. Did you happen to notice if one of the mollies looked pregnant at any point?

if don't check the difference between them (about the anal fins), there is almost no way to get them, I use to have mollies males and females equal fat from good feeding

 

[Gtinnel]

I use to have mollies males and females equal fat from good feeding

Its been a few decades ago since I've had mollies so I'm not very familiar with them but I would think that if one was noticeably large and then gave birth and became smaller it would be obvious.

I do remember my mollies giving birth once and the fry looked similar to the picture.

The only thing I can guess is that the fish store accidentally gave me a male and a female molly which is exactly what I didn’t want

Just curious why not want them giving birth? I'm sure the fry will just become food for any fish in the tank including the mollies themselves

 

[SHNICI]

Its been a few decades ago since I've had mollies so I'm not very familiar with them but I would think that if one was noticeably large and then gave birth and became smaller it would be obvious.

I do remember my mollies giving birth once and the fry looked similar to the picture.


Just curious why not want them giving birth? I'm sure the fry will just become food for any fish in the tank including the mollies themselves

That's right, but when you don't look at it after it drop them all, next 1-2 feeds will fill it up almost like before.
And honestly when the fry is eaten (which is normal if they don't find where to hide) the female will be almost the same on size (she found only one in the filter , the rest are eaten already probably from the female and the rest),

 

[Gtinnel]

That's right, but when you don't look at it after it drop them all, next 1-2 feeds will fill it up almost like before.

Makes sense. Also, from the link you posted it doesn't look like it is hard to tell the gender anyway.

 

[Tired]

That's a molly fry, I can almost guarantee it. It's definitely a baby fish, and clownfish babies don't survive long enough to look fish-like in home aquaria.

The one other possibility is that it's a very small fish that came in on something awhile ago. But that seems pretty unlikely. It's definitely not a tadpole, tadpoles don't last long in saltwater and also don't have a tail fin in the shape that this guy has.

Either way, get a mesh breeder box to put it in. You hang the box on the side of the tank, inside the water, and put the baby in it to keep it safe. Feed it crushed-up pellet or flake food until it gets bigger, and then we'll know for sure.

 

[SHNICI]

Makes sense. Also, from the link you posted it doesn't look like it is hard to tell the gender anyway.

it's really easy if you know it, it's the same with all live birth giving (not eggs dropping) fish, like most FW: Guppies
, Mollies, Platies ....

 

[itselenababe]

It almost looks like a baby mandarin!

I had mollies as a kid that bread like crazy and they don’t look anything like that. Neither do clownfish from what I’ve seen online

Get a breeder box for in the tank and put it in there! Also post updates!! It’s so cute

Get rotifiers too if you can, they’re live in the fridges in fish stores (with the copepods)

 

[itselenababe]

If you look on google there’s more pics if this looks similar. If not a mandarin maybe some other kind of goby, but I could also be completely wrong

 

[garbled]

I've kept mollies in freshwater, and eventually had the exact same thing happen. Found a bunch in the HOB filter. One even got quite large in there before I noticed him.

Mollies breed like crazy, and the fry have high survivability if your tank has lots of hiding places.

 

[Tired]

Still looks like a molly at a slightly odd angle to me. Not quite newborn, but a baby.

 

[SHNICI]

It almost looks like a baby mandarin!

I had mollies as a kid that bread like crazy and they don’t look anything like that. Neither do clownfish from what I’ve seen online

Get a breeder box for in the tank and put it in there! Also post updates!! It’s so cute

Get rotifiers too if you can, they’re live in the fridges in fish stores (with the copepods)

I guess at the beginning, but she don't mention to have mandarin (I ask if it's come as a hitchhiker), but also she don't add anything recently, also the mandarin fish is bottom fish (very unusual to go up and in the overflow box, also they are usually picky and what food is going to eat there?

Still looks like a molly at a slightly odd angle to me. Not quite newborn, but a baby.

I think the same, had many during the years of FW tanks and it look like them

 

[michaelabellz]

Its been a few decades ago since I've had mollies so I'm not very familiar with them but I would think that if one was noticeably large and then gave birth and became smaller it would be obvious.

I do remember my mollies giving birth once and the fry looked similar to the picture.


Just curious why not want them giving birth? I'm sure the fry will just become food for any fish in the tank including the mollies themselves

Honestly I just have a very big heart when it comes to marine life it’s a good thing but also a bad thing because I know it’s the circle of life but if I see baby mollies in my tank and know they’re more than likely gonna get eaten I’m going to want to help them. Because it’s not like they have eggs the babies come out swimming.

 

[SHNICI]

Honestly I just have a very big heart when it comes to marine life it’s a good thing but also a bad thing because I know it’s the circle of life but if I see baby mollies in my tank and know they’re more than likely gonna get eaten I’m going to want to help them. Because it’s not like they have eggs the babies come out swimming.

I was like you, in a moment I end up with 5+ smaller tanks to can keep newborn and the smaller fish (from different stages and growth) uneaten and to have them safe but got too busy with maintaining all properly and the lack of time told me "you have to follow the circle of life"and I just left them on them own, reduce all to the main tank and stop separating them. Honestly it's completely normal because in no-time you will enter with huge number of mollies and that can put you in a trouble with the feeding and keeping stable water parameters.