Mollie Wont Get Pregnant

[matty_022001]

I have a fully grown female mollie and 2 fully grown male mollies, both have had a go on her and she just isnt gettin pregnant, she gets fat but thats it........ can anyone explain to me why this is happenin, she has been in a breeding trap now for 2 weeks ever since she got done by one of the males and she hasnt dropped anythin, so if anyone can gimmie some info on this i would be very grateful,

 

[OldMan47]

It takes at least 4 weeks for a female molly to go from first breeding to dropping fry in the 25C temperature range. My own experience is that my female molly drops fry about every 6 weeks. I personally do not put any molly into a breeding trap because it causes too much stress for my fish. On the other hand, a female molly is often a gentle parent and doers not bother her fry. My current breeding female looks like this a few hours after dropping fry.

No that is not a short term survival for the fry, they look like this 4 1/2 weeks later with her still in the tank with them.

 

[matty_022001]

i understand what you are sayin about not putting your mollie in a breeding trap but ive got angels with my mollies so when she does eventually drop fry the angels will eat them if she isnt on a breeding trap, and my mollie looks the spitting image of yours lol

 

[OldMan47]

I put mine into a 10 gallon which is where they were when I took the picture. That female usually lives with 5 inch angels too.

 

[Aequora]

She could be reabsorbing her fry like my one female guppy does. When she gets huge and I put her in the box, she'll freak out and reabsorb the fry. Try waiting until she looks like she's going to pop and then moving her into a smaller tank to birth. Then you not only have all your fry and a resting tank for the female after dropping, but you have all the fry in a grow out tank and don't have to chase them around or let them fend against those hungry angels.

 

[gremlin]

just wait

 

[Ben M]

traps freak them out, i just leave them in the tank, and when i see babies i catch them in a net and put them in a trap. i usually find them around the edge of the top of the tank, early in the morning.

 

[matchstickman47]

mine gave birth the week i got them ... lol

i dont use a trap ... i just let it be ... do you ever see the males nipping at her anal area?

 

[matty_022001]

yea my black male nips at her and then gives her abit lol she is really fat at the moment so i think she might be ppregnant, ive got a 60L tank ready to be set up so when thats done then i think i might just have mollies in it so they will breed and then when the fry are big enough ill put em in with the angels etc, thanks for everyone for givin me advice on this subject you have helped loads

 

[LittleMick]

Hey OldMan47, I swear there is some deja vu going on with these breeding posts, lol. I do love that Molly you have there, and your fry look exactly like my baby Tuxedo Platys when they first enter the world.

Hi matty, I just leave mine to natural selection, I don't bother with breeding traps seperate tanks, and my live bearers just won't stop, at one time I had 20 Platy fry and 10 Mollies. Now, I haven't got any aggressive fish in my community tank so I couldn't vouch for how long they would survive, but my fry tend to linger about the base of plants and if a bigger fish comes near they just delve into the plants leaves. I'll be after getting some Angels so I'll soon know if I need a quarentine tank, lol.

Also, you said you have 1 female and 2 males? She may be too stressed out as well, with 2 males arguing over her. I was always advised to try and go for a minimum of an even split between sexes. I have 3 female Platys and 3 males, I also have 5 female Mollies and 1 male Molly. Now, my Platys breed like rabbits, so in future I will stick with 5 female and 1 male. My mollies seem to do ok with that. In fact because of the uneven split all my females seem to search for the affections of the male, poor sod, he must be well tired, lol.


Mick

 

[OldMan47]

Commercial breeders often use a 5 to 1 ratio because they are not trying to watch their fish. In fish where there is a difference in the sexes, the males often look better so the hobby breeder usually has more males than a commercial breeder might. Think about how gorgeous a nice sailfin male molly is compared to his drab mate. There is a reason people keep more males than they really need for good breeding.

 

[LittleMick]

That's true. My male Sailfin Moly looks brilliant. In the short time I have had my tank, I have had the experience of having births from 2 different ratios. As a hobbyist (not breeder) I think I worry about the stress it might put on the lone female. Now if I was to breed I would go for an even split, as I have done with my Platys.

QUESTION - OldMan how many Mollies have you got and whats the sex ratio? That's a lot of babies you have in them images you have shown.

 

[LittleMick]

That's true. My male Sailfin Moly looks brilliant. In the short time I have had my tank, I have had the experience of having births from 2 different ratios. As a hobbyist (not breeder) I think I worry about the stress it might put on the lone female. Now if I was to breed I would go for an even split, as I have done with my Platys.

QUESTION - OldMan how many Mollies have you got and whats the sex ratio? That's a lot of babies you have in them images you have shown.

 

[LittleMick]

That's true. My male Sailfin Moly looks brilliant. In the short time I have had my tank, I have had the experience of having births from 2 different ratios. As a hobbyist (not breeder) I think I worry about the stress it might put on the lone female. Now if I was to breed I would go for an even split, as I have done with my Platys.

QUESTION - OldMan how many Mollies have you got and whats the sex ratio? That's a lot of babies you have in them images you have shown.

 

[OldMan47]

Triple post LittleMick. I have exactly one breeding female but she drops fry in large numbers. This week she delivered another 35 that she is still sharing a 55 gallon with. I probably have over 90 mollies of various ages but can no way afford to keep more than one breeding female at a time, the rest must be moved on as they mature. Right now I am in the process of trying to select the best that I have for the next generation breeder because my old female, the one that dropped fry this week, is getting on in age and may not last much longer. I am not ready to breed in commercial quantities or I would keep a few more females for my nice male.