live bearing fish mollies and platies?

Question

Ok I havee a few questions:

1. My first live bearer to give birth was last Thursday. (She is a mickeymouse platie) Ever since she gave birth she seems to not be feeling well. Her top fin has stayed low most of the time like shes not feeling well still or upset. Her color seems a tiny bit off but I am not sure. Maybe a tiny bit blotchy. She hides more then the others. But she dose come out.

2. My black mollie had 17 babies yesturday. Since my first gave birth in the community tank before I figured it out I am not sure how many she had. Ive only found about 7. (some proubly got eaten) But this is my question: I've read they usaully have more like 30-40. I put her back in the community this morning thinking shes had all shes going to have. Is it common to hold some and have a few more in the next days?

3. how do you get the babies out of those net breeding boxes with out squshing them? 4. it seems they poop alot right before birth. Is this a coincadance or a signal?

Answer 1

Hi Little Bitty 1,

Congrats on the baby fish!

Your female platy is probably ok, just still stressed from giving birth. The best thing for her at this point is a private tank with lots of hiding places to recover in. If you can't give her a private tank you could still add a few extra hiding places to the community tank and that might help her feel safe too.

It can take several hours up to a day for a female to have all the babies, but usually they do have them all fairly quickly. THe 30-40 you read about is an average, but they can have many more or a lot less. It depends on lots of factors and is nothing to worry about. If she is a yound fish it would be common and expected for her to have fewer babies the first few times.

THe net breeding boxes are not really a good idea. You can use one if you don't have any other options, but the best thing to do is have a seperate tank for the mom to have the babies in. She will feel safer and the babies will be much safer. A small tank, like a 5 gallon would be perfect. Just be sure to add lots and lots of hiding places.

You can use knitting yard to make great hiding places for babies. Wrap the yard around a large book about 20 times and tie another piece around the bundle at the bottom. Then cut the strands across the top and you have a little bundle of strands. Boil this to get the dye out and to soften it up before you add it to the tank. You can tie it to a piece of styrofoam to make it float or to something heavuy and safe for a tank to make it sink. Make several and add them to your baby tank and they will be much safer.

Good luck with your fish!

Answer 2

The platie is probably just recovering from the birth, its quite hard on them. Shes likely to perk up in a couple of days.
The number of fry a molly can produce is pretty variable, depending on age and size. If she produces in the community tank they are likely to get eaten unless it has hiding places for them (which I'm sure you know already). They can produce over a couple of days.
I prefer a rigid hatchery, it has a V shaped slotted bottom so the fry can get away from the mum and be safe.
I cant say Ive noticed the pooping a lot before birth...I'll keep an eye on mine to see if it happens. :D

Answer 3

My molly had about 17 babies on Wednesday. She had a few in the community tank and then I moved her to a big bowl to have the rest, and had to get the babies out before she could eat them. It was also her first time having babies, that I know of, lol. They can have babies every month or so if water temp, etc is right.

Answer 4

i'm going with platties. they arrive in all varieties - flame (orange and pink), sunburst (yellow and orange), mickey mouse (countless colorations with a black "mickey mouse" define close to the tail), galaxy (orange and white with black speckles), severe fin (larger dorsal fin), wag tail (has all-black tail), etc., etc., and in reds, oranges, yellows, whites, blacks, or maybe a bluish shade. Plus, they at the instant are not fussy approximately water high quality or temperature and could breed on the drop of a hat. All you prefer is a male and a woman (ideally a pair of each - yet you've gotten greater women than adult males and the sexes are ordinary to tell aside because of the fact that adult males have a smaller, particularly triangular formed anal fin than women do - women' anal fins are variety of fuller and squared off) and you will initiate having infants approximately as quickly as a month or so. in the event that they do no longer initiate breeding interior 3-6 months of being prepare, particularly circumstances a partial water substitute will set off breeding habit. they are so fertile, different activities will interbreed with one yet another (like a dalmation with a pineapple, a sunset w/ a wag tail, etc.). in addition they'll interbreed with swordtails!

Answer 5

magicman is right on!!

now, if the babies are in the breeding net already, then you want to hold the net underwater so that they can swim out of it. it may take a while, but dont lay it down because they can get squashed in the folds of the net.

the poo think right before she has them probaly isn't a coincedence, it's more like she's pushing to get the babies out, and she pushes the poo out too. it's normal.

congrats on the babies!!!