Mollies!

Hi!!!
I have a 25 gallon (or 30..) tank .... 3 male mollies, 3 female mollies.. I think one female is pregnant. I DO want babies, so I'm anxious to see what is going to happen. I don't know if this is a balloon molly or if she is pregnant.. attaching a photo, kind of blurry, but hoping someone can help me determine.
I want my other females pregnant and give birth..
can someone tell me average price (in canadian dollars) of a breeding net???
Here's a picture!

err the pic is kinda small. it probly is as u have males. the ratio should be 3 females to one male, so u shouldnt have that many but its ok. i know a bredder net i got in the US was 4$ so maybe 5$ canadian?

The picture is too small for me to get a good look . . . but if she's been with males, she is probably pregnant. Good luck, and if you can get a larger picture, it would be helpful.

Guppy Mommy said:

The picture is too small for me to get a good look . . . but if she's been with males, she is probably pregnant. Good luck, and if you can get a larger picture, it would be helpful.

Click to expand...

Hello, here is a bigger picture... sorry it was too small.
Thanks for the help.. (when I got her, she was fat.. but she seems a bit rounder now)

its still hard to tell, but behind her belly do u see a black spot? if so its a gravid spot which is supposedly the babies eyes, and that is a good way to know if its pregnant or not.

She's pregnant. If they're in with males, they most likely are. However, you may see some issues with her giving birth or aborting her fry because of the tank situation. It's recommended to have 2-3 females per male, because male Livebearers are mating machines, and will continuely try to mate with the females, therefore stressing them out. With 2-3 females per male, each female gets a break, which reduces the stress on them.

Breeding nets/traps are also not the best idea for Mollies. Mollies are large fish as Livebearers go, and it can be very stressful on them to be in there. I would recommend you just use the breeder net to put the fry in after she has given birth, and let her give birth in the tank. If you have plants (especially floating) and other hiding places, you should get some surviving fry. If you're serious about keeping and raising the fry, I'd recommend you look into a seperate breeding/fry tank. There's a pinned topic on fry tanks at the top of the Livebearer forum.

Have you checked out the other pinned topics and FAQs at all? There's a lot of good information in there, including a topic about the conditions Mollies should be kept in. Good luck!

Thank you...
I dont seem to see a black spot behind her belly but I will keep an eye on that. I will also look into a few more things about it.. I thought I read the most I could, but man... there is always more info out there than you would ever imagine. I do have a lot of plants in there, but no floating ones.
I am seirous about keeping a couple fry, which would result in larger tank or whatnot, but if not the petstore is going to take them. I am so interested in seeing the birth and seeing the fry... keeping my fingers crossed.
The males, once I put the females in, were mating with all the females for quite awihle. After two days, they haven't seemed to have mated at all. I watch the tank, seeing as its in perfect view when I am on the couch, and I don't see them mate anymore.
I have one large silver molly who was doing most of the "work"... and even he has stopped.
Do they have certain mating times... ?
Thanks so far for the help!

Most Mollies won't show gravid spots. It's still there, of course, since that's where they store the fry/have parts of their reproductive system/store sperm and eggs/etc.

They don't really have mating times, but if all the females are pregnant, a male might take a break for a while. He'll be back trying to mate soon, don't worry. Hence why it's suggested you have 2-3 females per male.

Good luck!

B) Thank you for your help

I think i MIGHT see a gravid spot.. seems to me that there are two black dots below and behind her belly but I guess we will see. I just second guessing myself that I will never see any babies in the tank Guess I am just too anxious!!

Will keep you posted, thank you so far!