Are My Black Mollies Pregnant?

[cwm3022]

I bought few mollies last few days and i found that one of my black mollies have a round belly. This is my first time of this. What am i gonna do if the black mollies pregnant?

 

[XFiSh_CichildX]

yea she is pregnant ! what other fish is she in with ?

 

[comocrayfish5]

yes she is pregnant. buy a breeder trap and put her in there when she starts to 'square off' (there are posts-pinned ones- about this)

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Do not put her in a trap. This will stress her out and possibly cause her to miscarry. If you have a spare tank that you can set up for her, move her into in when she starts to square off, preferably 5-10g (10 is best) that way she can birth her fry without being harasses by the others. If you do not have an extra tank and wish to save the fry, either put down lots of plants and java moss, so the fry can hide, or try to catch the fry as you see them and house them in the breeder net TEMPORARILY as it will stunt them if they are in it too long.

 

[the_lock_man]

From the photo, she looks like a balloon molly to me, so you would expect her to have a rounded belly - they have been selectively bred to be that way. The contour from mouth to belly looks more like a balloon than a pregnant standard molly to me. It's too smooth a line - with a pregnant standard molly, it's more of an "S" shape, even before she squares-off. However, it is difficult to tell for certain.

That said, if she, and indeed any of your other female mollies, have been in contact with a male molly (normal or balloon) within the last 6 months, then 99% certain she/they are pregnant. Mollies, like all common livebeaers, breed like rabbits.

Dies is right, don't put them in a trap, it is far too stressful for them, and can cause more problems that it solves.

In a community tank with little plant cover, the chances are that all the fry will be eaten. If you only have mollies in the tank, and you feed well, then some may well survive.

 

[cwm3022]

yea she is pregnant ! what other fish is she in with ?

i have 5 mollies in the tank with some plants and stones. Also with a filter.

From the photo, she looks like a balloon molly to me, so you would expect her to have a rounded belly - they have been selectively bred to be that way. The contour from mouth to belly looks more like a balloon than a pregnant standard molly to me. It's too smooth a line - with a pregnant standard molly, it's more of an "S" shape, even before she squares-off. However, it is difficult to tell for certain.

That said, if she, and indeed any of your other female mollies, have been in contact with a male molly (normal or balloon) within the last 6 months, then 99% certain she/they are pregnant. Mollies, like all common livebeaers, breed like rabbits.

Dies is right, don't put them in a trap, it is far too stressful for them, and can cause more problems that it solves.

In a community tank with little plant cover, the chances are that all the fry will be eaten. If you only have mollies in the tank, and you feed well, then some may well survive.

I am not sure whether is a balloon molly, but she like to hide behind the filter. Thanks for you information.

 

[the_lock_man]

yea she is pregnant ! what other fish is she in with ?

i have 5 mollies in the tank with some plants and stones. Also with a filter.

Any of those 5 males?

 

[cwm3022]

yea she is pregnant ! what other fish is she in with ?

i have 5 mollies in the tank with some plants and stones. Also with a filter.

Any of those 5 males?

Yes, there are 2 males and 3 females. Her anal fin has turned into white color. Is that the gravid spot?

 

[Paradise3]

She looks like a Balloon Molly to me so whether she's pregnant or not... It isn't really certain till she births. I can't help you much further because I don't keep Balloon Mollies, I keep Normal Mollies.

 

[the_lock_man]

yea she is pregnant ! what other fish is she in with ?

i have 5 mollies in the tank with some plants and stones. Also with a filter.

Any of those 5 males?

Yes, there are 2 males and 3 females. Her anal fin has turned into white color. Is that the gravid spot?

No, the gravid spot is a dark spot on the abdomen, however this isn't a particularly good way to tell if a female is pregnant. Given that you have males in your tank, then your 3 females will be pregnant all the time from now on, unless there's something wrong with their internal workings.

 

[cwm3022]

Alright, my black mollies finally give birth to it fry. Now i had separated the fry with my black mollies, but how do i feed the fry? I gave some flakes to it but the fry doesn't eat.

 

[the_lock_man]

Alright, my black mollies finally give birth to it fry. Now i had separated the fry with my black mollies, but how do i feed the fry? I gave some flakes to it but the fry doesn't eat.

You can buy proprietory fry food, but if you grind up the flakes into a very fine powder, they should be fine with that.

 

[Dieses Madchen]

Also if you can find something like Java Moss, the fry will nip at that for food as well. It also may not seem like the fry are eating, but their little tummy are so tiny that they dont need much. Like Lock Man said, grind up fish flakes, and that is good. I personally felt that I couldn't get the fish flakes small enough, so for like $2.50 i found a small package of this stuff called "First Bites" which is basically fish food in power form (very FINE powder!) One little bit on the end of my finger did that trick with that stuff.

How many babies did your molly have?

 

[cwm3022]

Alright, my black mollies finally give birth to it fry. Now i had separated the fry with my black mollies, but how do i feed the fry? I gave some flakes to it but the fry doesn't eat.

You can buy proprietory fry food, but if you grind up the flakes into a very fine powder, they should be fine with that.

I did what you and Dieses Madchen said, and it grows now.

Also if you can find something like Java Moss, the fry will nip at that for food as well. It also may not seem like the fry are eating, but their little tummy are so tiny that they dont need much. Like Lock Man said, grind up fish flakes, and that is good. I personally felt that I couldn't get the fish flakes small enough, so for like $2.50 i found a small package of this stuff called "First Bites" which is basically fish food in power form (very FINE powder!) One little bit on the end of my finger did that trick with that stuff.

How many babies did your molly have?

Thank you for your information and they are growing, at the same time, this black mollies seems like pregnant now. My tank total have 5 babies now.

 

[the_lock_man]

All your females will be having fry every 4-6 weeks from now until they die - or until such time as the males all die (and then they'll keep going for 6 months more)