Pregnant Molly....separate?

[DarkShadow435]

I have a male and a female black molly. I have reason to believe that the female molly is pregnant. She's getting quite large. First question is should i take her out and put her into a breeder? Secondly, should i separate the babies (when she has them) from her and put them in a seperate tank once their born?


I guess what i'm asking is what i should do. I've only been keeping fish since december. I'm no pro at this, but i dont want the babies to die. Please help!!!!

 

[kpintheshed]

u could get a net breeder it floats at the top of the main tank. u put the the female in when it looks massive and soon it will have all the babies. then u take the mother out and u can leave the babies in the net breeder. but if u have another empty tank you can put them in there. the babies will not need a filter but will need a heater maybe plants but no gravel or sand. take the water out of the main tank and put it in the tank for the babies ( so u know the water is safe).

the babies eat crushed flake food, liquifry food and baby brime shrimp when they grow quite big.

 

[theotheragentm]

The fry will not need a filter as their bioload is so low, but that is not to say water changes should not be done regularly still.

 

[DarkShadow435]

Does my molly look pregnant in the picture? I know its hard to tell, but her belly is abit bigger than my other male molly.

What size tank should i use for the fry? would a 5.5 gal work?

Will she eat the fry if it is left too long?

 

[kpintheshed]

i would say its pregnant. that size that is big enough. you could put the blck molly in the 5.5 gal tank and when she gives birth u can just take the female out, or eventually she will eat them.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Yes, it looks pregnant.

u could get a net breeder it floats at the top of the main tank. u put the the female in when it looks massive and soon it will have all the babies. then u take the mother out and u can leave the babies in the net breeder

Breeder nets/traps often stress the mom out and she might abort. It's best to put her in a separate tank a couple of days before so she won't be too stressed and the babies will be safe. Or, if you think your tank is safe enough, you could let her give birth there and later transfer the babies to a breeder net/trap or to a separate tank.

but no gravel or sand

You can put gravel or sand, or leave it bare-bottomed. It's all up to you. Some people prefer sand, some gravel, some bare-bottomed.

 

[DarkShadow435]

ok, i'm going to run out tomorrow to get some gravel and a 5.5 gal tank for my fishie babies.

I'll probably put the mother in there until she has her fry, then put her back in my 10 gal, and keep the fry in the 5.5 gal tank.


Is there anything i should get to sustain the fry? meds? tonics?

 

[mommyof2bettas]

just clean water will help them grow.

 

[kpintheshed]

well i did also talk about another tank? and say when it gets massive u put it in

and most people dont get sand of gravel because they tend to berrie or squish through the gaps of gravel and get stuck. also if its blank just the glass its easier for the fry to eat some food left over if they are still hungary, and easier to clean.

plants help the fry hid. but if u use gravel don't put to much

 

[theotheragentm]

If you read this in time, 10 gallons are the best bang for the buck as they are the smallest tank that is manufactured in huge quantities. Anything smaller than a 10 gallon will cost just as much, around $10. Yes, it does take up more space, but if you have it, a larger tank is always better as the water parameters are easier to hold with large bodies of water.

 

[DarkShadow435]

i dont have the space for a 10 gal tank. I will probably take the molly out soon and put it in the 5.5 gal once i have it all set.

 

[DarkShadow435]

ok. Here's what i did. I talked to the guy at my LFS. He said to put as much stuff in the tank as possible and just let nature take it's course. He said not to do anything special, other than load the tank with places where the fry can hide and be safe. I purchased Penn-Plax Baby Hide-Out. He said this was my best bet. He also said not to crush up their food. They dont have their food cut up for them in the wild, so why do it here?

I think this would be the best, so i'm following.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

I believe it's harder for them to eat if the food isn't crushed up.
It's ok if you get lots of hiding places instead of the tank. I have no idea what Penn-Plax baby hide-out is, but to make sure most of the fry survive you need lots of plants, (real are best but fake are ok too), caves, marbles, pebbles, really, you have to fill your tank with hiding places.

 

[DarkShadow435]

Ok, well, i looked in my tank about 5 minutes ago, and i found BABIES!!! they were hiding in my air line-hider. (It's a fake plant covering for airline to make it inconspicuous. There are only about four of them. How long does it take for the mother to give birth to all. How many should i expect?

 

[mommyof2bettas]

well, they give birth to up to 50 babies, sometimes more. They can take up to 24 hours to give birth to all fry. If your tank doesn't have good protection, I'd say you might only find a couple more babies, unless she has more to come or the tank has nice hiding places.