Just Got A New Molly Two Days Ago... Update She Dropped.

well since i missed my swords birthing and didn't really notice it until i saw babies in the tank(tank is 2 weeks old and my first out side of oscars) i have this molly, and she appears ready to go... shes squared off, i see a little white dot on her anus... but i had her in the trap since i purchased her fri night. i purchased her because she was so pregnant and the lfs owner really trusts me, and he wanted me to have her because he knows i would take care of the fry. he said unfortunately he just let's the live bearers give birth in the tanks and lets the survival of the fittest take in or he'd have a million and one live bearer's and no one to sell them to at that rate. so he offered her to me and i obliged. any who, here's a pic of her. i think shes a golden, i didn't even bother to ask because i was to caught up in the honor of his trust. any rate here's her picture, i took her out of the trap for the day but i got nervous and put her back in for lights out just now and took this picture. should she stay there? i can see eyes of babies in side her. please make me feel not guilty about having her in there. i feel really bad. i dont want to leave her in the tank only to have the babies and lose them to being eaten.

No ways Duff.... This female is far from delivering.... (IMO).... in fact, it looks like she delivered not more than a week ago. I'd put her back in the tank and watch her for the next two weeks, and then also try an alternative way of saving the babies.... Mollies stress very easily in breeding traps and can deliver dead fry. (get some hornwort and place it in one corner of the tank (directly below a strong light)

i swear i can see the fry'e eyes though...

i took her out of the trap, but id still like some input. she looks squared off to me and the lfs owner...

i would honestly say another week before she drops
just put her in the trap in a few days time -
never leave her in there for more than 48 hours and add some floating plants to help her feel relaxed cos of being so close to the lights

i think she has at least a week left yet possibly longer, can you get a picture of her from above?
what other fish are in the tank?

lilfishie said:

i think she has at least a week left yet possibly longer, can you get a picture of her from above?
what other fish are in the tank?

Click to expand...

i have a betta that im thinking of removing, 3 black swords, 3 very very small cherry barbs and a em cory id try to get an over head of her but i hate to keep handling her in and out of the trap.

IME mollies tend to have larger fry so they should stand a good chance, as long as plenty of hiding places, plants (floating ones are very good) a decent amount should escape hungry mouths until you see them.

Keep an eye on her appitite they tend to loose it a day or 2 before birth

i tried to get a good pic of her but couldn't but shes been doing this little marathon for a while... maybe that will help determine. and the white spot is biggest and whiter.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPJ7AeY7E4U

you weren't joking marathon bless her, she does look quite big from what i can see but i'd still give her a week or so, if she starts to hide away then she is close

nice molly

Not ready to drop yet... the red line is what 'squared off' looks like, her belly still follows a smooth curve. She may be bigger or smaller than the line indicates but that will be the shape.

thanks laura. she was really square when we got her and she doesnt look it any more, so i let her go... im def seeing that shes going to be at least another week. it could give me time to get a 10 gal on friday for her to have the babies in too.

well i woke up and she was still very plump and her white spot looked much bigger, but i stuck to the advice of you guys and left her out of the breeder trap. when i went to feed the 4 baby swords i have, i glanced in at the main tank and noticed molly mommy looked extremely deflated. like some one popped her... oh lord. i wasn't to happy. figured they all got gobbled up. well i decided to skim around and see if i could find one or two survivors. w/ one rak of the gravel, babies where everywhere! thank god! i got a few, had about 10 or so, i was really happy, but they just kept popping out of the gravel, so i kept going and going... i even managed to find about half a dz more black swordtails as well that where born over a week ago. awesome! when it was all said and done, i had about 40 babies. mostly mollies, and about 9 or 10 swords. here's the thing. the swords that i found today are much much smaller than their "brothers and sisters" i had saved over a week ago. could these in fact be mollies? all the mollies are pink... the ones that are smaller swords, look just like the swords i had already. maybe their growth wasn't as rapid as the ones i saved, due to hiding in the rocks? what are your thoughts? at any rate, here's the pictures of the new little guys, and a video.

notice a couple of the mollies have solid black eyes... whats that all about? are they guna be ok?





and just a nutritive video of today...

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xCboSziwzw


this finally convinced the mrs. that we need to get a 10 gal birthing tank. im not too keen on the whole trap thing. ll just go w/ hornwort floating and lava moss carpet for that tank. that way this wont happen again and i wont stress out my main tank.

what did i learn today... no matter how many signs there are or arent, ya really never can know when a live bearer is going to give birth

Congrats on the fry, mollies are the worst for being unpredictable as they tend to hold onto fry until they feel safe.

the ones with black eyes should be fine, i have had loads of guppies with pure black eyes (some even half black) and they where fine