My molly is overweight

karlagiorla

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Hello all. My molly has been overweight for a month now. I don't think she is pregnant because as I have said she has been like this for more than a month. She does eat a lot though. She is pooping normally as well. Is she just fat? I will include pics for reference
 
Here is the pic
 

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is it a balloon molly?

Was just wondering the same thing. I've never had a balloon molly, but have other mollies, and this looks like images I've seen of balloon mollies, that sort of shortened neck and tail, along with the balloon belly of course! It doesn't look at all like a 'normal' molly that's gravid or bloated.

OP, how long have you had the fish? Be mindful about feeding too, mollies are little piggies and will eat relentlessly, plus graze all day on algae and anything they find in the tank.
 
Was just wondering the same thing. I've never had a balloon molly, but have other mollies, and this looks like images I've seen of balloon mollies, that sort of shortened neck and tail, along with the balloon belly of course! It doesn't look at all like a 'normal' molly that's gravid or bloated.

OP, how long have you had the fish? Be mindful about feeding too, mollies are little piggies and will eat relentlessly, plus graze all day on algae and anything they find in the tank.
I have had it for about 3 months now I think. But only noticed her getting bigger and bigger for the last month or so
 
I have had it for about 3 months now I think. But only noticed her getting bigger and bigger for the last month or so
You have yourself a normal balloon molly. They do look like that.
balloon molly.jpg

If she's been anywhere near a male, including while she was in the tank she was bred in, or at the store you got her from, she could well be gravid as well. They can store sperm from the males for months, some have said even for up to a year. It also doesn't mean anything that she's been like that for over a month, they don't always use stored sperm right away, and it's hard to tell in the early stages when mollies are gravid, and it's even harder when it's a balloon molly, since they are already so round! Plus fish can look bloated after eating, or if they've been overfed.

Just make sure you're not over feeding them, and keep an eye out in the tank for tiny fry, just in case! When newborn, they tend to head for the surface, especially if there are floating plants and cover, or they try to hide down in the substrate.

Adult mollies will happily eat their babies though, so you might have fry born, and not even realise it, as the adults catch them all before you see them. Providing a lot of dense plant cover, including floating plants, and keeping the tank well fed without overfeeding, will give fry a better chance of avoiding being eaten.
 

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