Path: utzoo!hoptoad!amdcad!amdahl!ames!hc!ut-sally!husc6!yale!hanks
From: hanks@yale.UUCP (Steve Hanks)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria
Subject: Mollies, and plants (unrelated questions)
Message-ID: <22021@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 26 Jan 88 20:29:46 GMT
Organization: Yale University, New Haven, CT
Lines: 28

We have a very pedestrian but happy aquarium, containing
some Platties, some Mollies, some Guppies, some Plants, 
some Rocks.....

We have just a couple of problems that we could use some 
help with.  First of all the Mollies don't seem to be 
growing as well as the rest of the fish.  In fact out of a
crop of 10 to 15 babies born about three months ago only
four have survived, and they are none too big.  (This is in 
marked contrast to the Platties born at about the same 
time, most of which survived and are now full grown.) 
In fact most of the Mollies just seemed to waste away
and die horrible deaths, though there was nothing visibly
wrong with them.  The rest of the fish in the aquarium 
(including a full-grown Mollie) seem very happy indeed.
Any idea as to what might be keeping the babies small 
and sickly?

Second question:  though most of our plants are thriving,
we have one kind of reddish plant (rotella something...?)
that has lost all its lower leaves but still seems to be
growing OK on top.  We suspect that the fish may be munching
on the leaves.  Any ideas on how to fix this problem?  
(Feeding the fish more is out of the question....they eat
like little aquatic pigs as it is.)

Many thanks,
Steve.