Balloon Mollies

[Dizzi-Lizzi]

I recently purchased two balloon mollies, I have read how to determine genders, but I have a black one and it's dorsal and anal fins are constantly down so I can't see the shape of them. And due to it being black, I can't tell if it has a "Pregnancy spot" so... Can anyone help?

 

[Ludwig Venter]

I recently purchased two balloon mollies, I have read how to determine genders, but I have a black one and it's dorsal and anal fins are constantly down so I can't see the shape of them. And due to it being black, I can't tell if it has a "Pregnancy spot" so... Can anyone help?

Hi Lizzi..... and welcome to the forum...... Your mollies are live bearers and to tell gender in therm is quite different than with cichlids and Gouramies....

The male has a prominent spikey fin at the ventrals (called a gonopodium) wheras the female's ventral fin is rounded and looks like that of any other fish.....As for the "Gravid spot" yes.... you wil not see it in a female black Mollie due to the colouration of the fish..... however.....if you do identify a female by means of the ventral fin..... you can be sure that she will have a gravid spot...

If you could post some pictures of your fish..... wecan maybe help tell you which are the males or females.

 

[Dizzi-Lizzi]

I don't have a camera with a quick enough shutter speed, haha. Little flippers are too quick. And it always keeps it's fins against it's body, I've never once been able to see the shape of them

 

[Fishy friend2]

A males genopodium looks quite like it is justa scrunched up fin against his body, so whine you say he has it close to his body, then that automatically suggests to me that it is a male

 

[Dizzi-Lizzi]

but the white one has rather prominent fins and does't have the spot. Should I assume they are both male?

Also, the white one poos ALOT. They're really long too. I couldn't believe it could fit that much in! Is that normal??

 

[Ludwig Venter]

Look at the link below..... this will show you how to determine the gender of your livebearers


http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/330763-livebearer-gender-determination/

 

[Dizzi-Lizzi]

on my phone atm. Thanks though, will look later.