My mollie is pregnant and I was just wondering if anyone knew how long they are pregnant for. When I bought her she was pregnant, which I found out when I got her home. I have had my mollie for just over a week now.
2006-08-11 03:14:56 · 4 answers · asked by Pinkflower 5 in Pets ➔ Fish
Mollies are livebearers that typically drop (give birth) every 21-28 days if your tank conditions are to their liking. From every one sexual encounter, she could give birth up to six times (they are capable of storing sperm). So even if you don't have a male in the tank, be prepared for more babies. Expect 12-30 babies from each drop.
You will need to separate the fry (babies) from the mother if you want them all to survive, or else the mother will eat them. Your best way to do this would be to set a breeder box in your tank and put your mother molly in there to give birth.
You know your molly is about to give birth when she looks like she's going to pop, and she starts swimming up and down the sides of your tank. She may also become quite lethargic and hang out at the bottom. A day or two before she's due to give birth, she may even stop eating.
Good luck with your babies!
2006-08-11 06:44:33 · answer #1 · answered by birdistasty 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I know this much- since you bought the molly- you really don't know exactly how long she has been pregnant. A molly can mate one time and keep the fertilized eggs within her. They birth live babies and can do this once a month for up to six month with just one mating. Here is a suggestion- make sure to feed her really good foods besides her flakes such as blood worms. Do a 20% water change a day and increase the water tempt a little each day until it is 82 degrees- I would suggest that you get a hatchery that you can place in the tank especially if there are other fish in the tank because not she will but the other fish will eat the babies. If you are going to need to find homes for the new babies once they are about one inch long you can find a home for them. Ask family and friends-especially ones with children since Mollies are really easy to take care of-if they would be intrested in one of the babies. Another solution would be to ask a local pet store if they would be intrested in taking the babies once they are big enough. They will most likely for store credit. I know that mine does that. With this store credit it kinda allows the fish to earn their keep by helping out with the cost of food and things like that. Wish you luck if you have anymore questions please feel free to ask.
2006-08-11 03:38:51 · answer #2 · answered by pacifia1977 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
im guessing about 20 days
2006-08-11 03:51:14 · answer #3 · answered by NoBody 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋
20 days...longer if they are stressed and the enviroment is not right.
2006-08-11 03:19:01 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋