OK, here's my funny short story.
I once only had (1) algae eater in my 50 gallon aquarium and a couple of my friends asked me why I did not have any other fish in my tank.
So I decided to buy me some Mollies (2) white ones and (1) orange one.
Anyway, they were doing just fine, minding their own business when I noticed 16 new babies swimming near the gravel 2 weeks later. OK, so fast forward to today... it's been about 2 months since I bought the parents and now I have 40+ baby Mollies in my fish tank. Yikes!!! :(
I know they are live-bearers, but now I am getting scared as to what to do with the babies. I asked our local pet shop if they would buy them from me, but they said no, due to store policies.
I will try to give some of them away to some friends, but I am afraid, my "very happy fish" will be giving birth to even more babies.
Does anyone know if "fish" can be fixed?? LOL :-) Or does anyone have a solution besides getting rid of the momma/poppas??
2007-01-25 04:36:53 · 8 answers · asked by crimsongraycoug 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
lol aren't they great?? !!! lol
first of all, it's great that you have a tank that size for them, and its great that they're multiplying, because that means they're healthy, and so is your tank.
if you want to keep them all, you should at least get a separator for the tank, it's just a sheet of glass or plastic, or a screen that you can slide down the center of the tank to keep the mamas and the papas apart. get a breeder net for the little babies and once they get big enough that they won't get eaten, you can put them back with the others.
once you can tell the males from the females, then you can separate them. I'm not sure what age mollies are sexually mature, so you might want to look that up, because once they hit that age, you'll need to separate the babies too.
50 gallons, you should have enough room for a while, but i'd give away at least 10 or 15 of them once they're big enough, if you can. go to www.craigslist.org and go to the one in your area, you can post them with rehoming fees of a buck a fish, and you can find them good homes. where are you? i'll take some!!! :)
good luck, hope that helps, and have fun being a grandparent!!! LOL
2007-01-25 05:00:58 · answer #1 · answered by Silver Thunderbird 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
NO you can not fix your fish. But hey its a thought. I breed guppies and they are the same in the breeding ways of a molly. I have tried breeding mollies and I just don't think they liked me. LOL
I would say that you should go to you pet store and ask them for a Oscar. BUT to an Oscar your mollies are what we call feeder fish. You will no longer have any mollies and hey Oscars are cool.
Man I wish you could send some to me. I would gladly take 2 females and a male off you hands. But enless you know what you are doing that is not safe.
Or you can get a new tank and put males in one and females in the other. That is as you would say fixing the fish.
I have to say this sorry....
People you need to read up on fish before you buy them. Learn about the fish that you are about to buy. Find out if they breed and if they do how fast and how often. Or just make sure you get only male or only female.
2007-01-25 05:10:40 · answer #2 · answered by purplebutterflyhippie04 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, fish can not be fixed. Well, I'm sure they could be, but do you want to pay for the micro-surgery performed by a license veterinary-scuba diver? ;)
If you want them to stop having babies, you have to get rid of either the male, or the females. If you have both, they will readily reproduce. You could also get some other fish. The molly parents will eat the babies but not enough. In a 50 gallon tank, you could room for some other fish. Get 3 angelfish and a school of cardinal or rummy-nosed tetras. They'll keep the baby population in check.
As for the babies you have now, you can try to find a local petstore, as opposed to a chain like petsmart. Most large chains cannot accept fish from the public, but some small chains will. They probably won't buy them from you, but they might take them for free. You could also try giving them away as feeder fish to some other hobbiest in your area.
2007-01-25 04:54:12 · answer #3 · answered by Zoe 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Mollies will stop giving birth in old age. However, younger specimens can store sperm and use it whenever a male isn't readily available. Four months isn't a horribly long time for a molly to go without fertilizing eggs, though there is no way of knowing how old it was when you purchased it.
2016-05-23 22:36:19 · answer #4 · answered by Marjorie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It doesn't always work, but you could try leaving your lights on 24 hrs. a day. This sometimes causes them to become sterile. Be careful and watch for algae blooms due to the increased lighting period. You could also put an ad in the local paper for "free Mollies" most ads that are listed as "free or to give away" are listed free by the newspaper.
2007-01-25 06:39:02 · answer #5 · answered by angieg1123 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you carnt as you say fix fish.You wont stop them breedingYou could get a larger tank and keep chiclids that you could feed your mollies too.you have a orange mollie?never seen one of those.
2007-01-25 04:56:51 · answer #6 · answered by david p 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
buy a fish that will eat your moolies but not you planteater and when it done eating you can sell it or keep it dont get an oscar
2007-01-25 05:30:11 · answer #7 · answered by niko d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You could donate them to my oscars and flower horn, they would love to eat your molly fry.
2007-01-25 05:04:34 · answer #8 · answered by Kari R 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋