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Latest Animal Stories on Livebearing Aquarium Fish (350)

Mary - 2008-12-06
My name is mary, I am 11. All my fish are dead. I do not no what killed them, my tank's ph is perfect, my temp is right but my mom bought the food and it is cheap. Can someone help.

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Bob - 2010-03-14
Hi Mary, sorry about your fish. Without knowing much about your fish tank I can give only basic information. All fish need several things to live. The ph and temp are important and also other things like the quality of water and how they are fed. If you start again here are some ideas I use in my classroom. First, plan for only a few fish to start and use a tank at least ten gallons. If you use gravel then wash it first in a big bowl to get rid of any dust before you put it in the tank. Let the water sit with the air stone or filter running for at least a day so the temperature will be right. Put your fish in the water letting them get used to the water by leaving them in the bag for at least fifteen minutes. Before you let them loose put a little bit of food in the tank. Only feed them what they will eat in a few minutes! More fish have been killed by food fouling the water than by starvation. (my opinion)

Good luck and remember to take out some water each week and change it with water that has been sitting for a day or so. Good Luck and see if your library has a fish book with more good ideas.
none for safety - 2010-04-20
It may be because one of you fish is aggressive and could kill others so be careful what kind you get.
sarah bynum - 2010-06-13
Have you tested at the pet shop? I just lost 6 gold fish because of too much ammonia.
jacey am 12 - 2010-08-10
Know what that's like. Where did you get your fish some fish sellers sell you sick fish.

JJdude - 2010-07-20
I have 75 guppies and I just love them!

Stevie J - 2010-01-30
The white film could be Ick.
Female's get EXTREMELY stressed when carrying fry and if they are the only Female for the Male, even once pregnant, he will literally chase her to death by still trying to mate. I have found Platy's to be the worst for this situation and the 3 Females I had got pregnant, and then stressed out and died from what looked to be Ick (white film anywhere on the body, particularly fins and mouth)Two of my female Swordtails have also died from this same stress.
Other fish such as Gourami's will notice the change in the Females Biological Structure (having fry inside does create a different smell in the breeds)and will also chase the pregnant female knowing she has 'food' in the fry.
I have a female platty and swordtail now pregnant, no ick, I treated the water with an Ick treatment BEFORE they got pregnant, not during.

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Chris - 2010-02-17
This also happened to one of my female Swordtail... I was looking all over to try and find out what was wrong with her. I presume you can purchase Ick treatment from most aquariam fish stores.
Sean - 2010-05-24
Ick shows as small white spots that are easily mistaken for as bubbles. I made this mistake and lost two lovely clown loaches, which are extremely prone to the ick parasite. Closely monitor the spots to see if they change to determine whether or not they are bubbles or cysts. Ick cannot survive in water above 83 degrees Fahrenheit, coppertone is my choice for parasite treatment of most varieties but a white film sounds like velvet disease. What should you do...GET COPPERTONE!
Paul Pedigo - 2010-07-07
Ick usually is white cysts along the sides and the fins of multiple species of fish. The most prone to ick is the black moor goldfish. I personally use Ick Away from wardley. It works wonders if you need to eradicate ick. White film sounds like velvet to me. But velvet usually uses the same color as the fish.

Christopher Ashby - 2010-04-19
Hi was wondering how to tell that my female is pregnant?

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Caitlin Perello - 2010-06-02
If your female swordfish is coming straight toward you (be patient, it eventually will), and it looks pregnant at that time, then it is probably pregnant. A black spot in its abdomen doesn't actually mean anything; it can't be the babies' eyes because there are many babies at once, not just a few.
Paul Pedigo - 2010-07-07
Christopher, a female that is pregnant is really FAT and will have a black spot near her anal fin. Hope this helps.

Anonymous - 2009-10-24
I have two Platies, Moonfish. They keep on having babies. They mate with others of their same kind and I have more than 20 babies, except one, which has grown.

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vistoria - 2010-03-14
If you don't want your platys having more babies then I wlould get another tank and put the females in separate tanks where the males can't get to them.

from animal expert victoria m allen davis.
Olivia - 2010-06-16
You can also gt a tank divider to separate the males and females to prevent from breeding again. I've done this and my female platy has giving birth much earlier than she used to be..

Paige Felbaum - 2004-04-06
I think this is a very wonderful fish. They come in all different colors and will breed easily. But if you are like me and breed your fish these are a good fish to start on. The fry are kind of hard to take care of but if you know how to do it they will probably live. They are very easy to take care of and live a while. My oldest one is almost 7 months now in a heated aquarium around 75 F and fed twice a day. He lives with a mollie, african dwarf frog, female guppy, tiger barb, red platy and 5 jumbo neon tetras.(in a 10 gallon tank)

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Debbie - 2010-03-16
My female swordtails tail had a white spot on it she was pregnant, after she had the babies it went away and she is doing fine I use bottled spring water.. but I have a hard time having the babies live... they die on me. I have them in a separate little tank and feed them the flake food... how do I take care of the babies and keep them living so I can breed them?
Caitlin Perello - 2010-06-02
I think you might want to get a bigger tank for all of those, especially with a frog in there. In my ten-gallon tank, I have a pair of swordtails (the female I believe to be pregnant), and my marble angelfish.

kemos - 2010-05-26
Dear all my gubbies fry .. are about 1 week old, how can I tell their gender by this stage?

And anyone have a picture of molies pubble fish pregnent I think mine is too big now.. but want to see a pregnant one so I can tell.

none for safety - 2010-04-20
I'm going to tell you why guppies are cool, they only need five gallons and get along perfectly with each other and with other fish. Also they're just plain cool because they come in so many colors I can't tell you so if you're getting your first fish get a guppy.

Am - 2010-04-08
We have 3 female dalmatian mollies and a betta in a 10 Gallon. The larger of the dalmatians is extremely aggressive to the others, but seems to leave the betta alone. She never leaves the other two alone. Should I add a male or two? or what do you suggest to calm her down?

Wayne - 2010-04-01
I am new to keeping fish and have two Gold Mollies, two Danios, a catfish, 3 Plato's, 4 Gourami's, a Cherry Barb, 3 Neon Tetra's and 3 Glow Tetra's. My question is concerning the Mollies. I get the impression, though I have NO experience, that the female is pregnant. The male keeps nudging her under her large belly. Do I need to place her in a birthing cage to save the fry when they are born?

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