Too many Babies!! WHat will eat them?

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

I have a (4 month old) 70g reef tank with 2 mollies, 2 bangai cardinals, 1 scooter blenny (temporarily), and a coral banded shrimp. My dad also has a 40g freshwater tank where he experiments with trying to breed all kinds of freshwater fish. I will soon be moving the mollies into a freshwater tank, but the problem is that me and my dad have way too many baby fish!

There are probably 25 baby mollies in the saltwater tank (I have already moved half to freshwater, as well as our 20g brackish tank) and we must have nearly 150 baby guppies in our other assorted tanks.

As awful as it sounds, what reef-compatible marine fish can I get that would love eating these babies as tasty snacks? It must be small enough for a 70g tank, and ideally colorful/attractive. Any ideas?

Thank you!!!!

Aquaph8 · Mar 26, 2013

I'm surprised the Cardinals aren't eating them.

ritter6788 · Mar 26, 2013

Aquaph8 said:
I'm surprised the Cardinals aren't eating them.

Me too. Mine will eat anything live it can fit in it's mouth.

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

Well I just got them and they are fairly small. Also, the mollies in the tank have grown a little bit. So you think they would eat some newly born guppies?

Aquaph8 · Mar 26, 2013

Maybe, cardinals have some big mouths and I know they will eat their own young.

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

Ok thanks, well if anyone has any good ideas for more stocking options that would help with this problem, thatd be great, because I want to add more fish soon. Thinking of: Clown pair, yellow tang, 6line, and maybe a watchmen-pistol duo. Ive heard CB shrimp can kill other shrimp, but I have also heard of many tanks that haven't had this problem

fragmatic · Mar 26, 2013

WAIT .... back up the truck!.... we can have mollies in a reef tank???? guppies???? Teach me more... if so this is a big piece of the puzzle I'm working on.

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

If you adjust them slowly, mollies and guppies can both live in saltwater, though mollies work much better. When I moved my mollies to saltwater- from freshwater- they looked MUCH healthier and were MUCH more lively. To be honest, they are the healthiest looking mollies I have ever owned. Plus they are breeding well. I have only put guppies in my brackish tank so I am not 100% sure on full saltwater.

fragmatic · Mar 26, 2013

Elabrate on "adjust slowly".... as in detailed instructions! thanx

EDIT: this could be a huge boost to the ecology I am working to achieve.

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

Using the drip technique, I did it in 4 hours, although 8 hours is suggested. They are very hardy fish. I hope this works for you!

fragmatic · Mar 26, 2013

................... WOW .................. oh.... yes, it well!!!!

fragmatic · Mar 26, 2013

Which mollies seem to do best?

Trentondrummer33 · Mar 26, 2013

When I had my lion fish I had to acclimate feeder guppies I used the drip method for 5-6 hrs and then they were good to go

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Rikerbear · Mar 26, 2013

I only did mollie acclimation for about an hour and never lost a one. Their black coloring really goes DEEP black in SW...you would almost swear they were a different fish altogether

reefsandrotts · Mar 26, 2013

you can get a dwarf lionfish,leaf fish frogfish or even a dr.suess soapfish.

Slickwill613 · Mar 26, 2013

reefsandrotts said:
you can get a dwarf lionfish,leaf fish frogfish or even a dr.suess soapfish.

Lol, yeah get a dr. Seuss. Hope the interest rate on the loan is low.

reefstarter · Mar 26, 2013

fragmatic said:
Which mollies seem to do best?

I have used dalmation mollies and have never lost a single one- These sell for $4-$7 at LFS. I agree with Rikerbear: as long as you dont just throw them from fresh to salt, and do some acclimation, they should be fine. Their darks do get darker, and their lights do get lighter. Be prepared if you plan to breed them- you will soon have 40+ baby mollies in your tank that grow rapidly!!!

ohio reefer · Mar 26, 2013

I'd get a dwarf lion, I have one in my reef

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fragmatic · Mar 26, 2013

Now that is interesting and weird. I went to an LFS and came home with 4 female and 1 male mollies. ... .. drum roll... they are dalmation mollies. .. LOL... you just can't make this stuff up.

However, in my haste to acclimate them I made a blunder of which I hope does not bite me. I put them in an empty salt bucket with their water and began a drip of which I continued for .. oh from about 3:30 until 8

M. .. then I returned the water and them back into my system at the display refugium. The blunder, which most of you already caught, was that I poured the mixed water which included the tank water from the fresh water at the LFS into my reef system. This LFS is not one of the ones I consider of A+ rating.

So now I'll wait to see if mother nature punishes me for my transgression.

EDIT: oh BTW they seem perfectly happy in my reef water.... shrug...