I think one of my southern Mollies are pregnant....?

Question

She is a red Mollie, that has a big belly, that is orange. Is she pregnant? (I know she is a she and there is one male in the tank) If she is pregnant how should i take care of her? How should i take care of the newborn fish?

Answer 1

You've received some good advice but no-one mentioned how bad it is to move the female just before she gives birth,female live-bearers should not be netted within two weeks of birthing. As your experience with the individual types of fish grows, you will be better able to judge if or when the females should be moved. The best indicator of the approaching birth is the "gravid spot",the area above the females vent that becomes more translucent as the fry develop. Especially watch for the eye spots of the fry to become visible in the gravid spot. If you can see the eye spots it's probably too late to move her. Lots of floating plants in the tank should allow most of the fry to survive. As far as care goes,careful water changes that don't "spook" the fish too badly,and a diet with a little plant matter in it should be all they require. The gestation period varies a little with temps,but should be about 28 to 30 days. It will probably help to mark a calendar to keep track of the birth cycle. As to the fry, they will be able to eat finely crushed flake food and if you added a couple of bunches of floating plants(Anacharis or Water Wisteria or one of the other commonly available types)there will probably be "micro stuff" on the plants,that they can eat.----Hope all goes well,good luck.-----PeeTee

Answer 2

If there is a male in the tank, then she is most certainly pregnant. The easiest and best way to care for her (and the fry when they come) is to just plant the tank heavily. The adults will eat the fry (babies) until they get big enough that they can no longer fit in their mouths. But if the fry can hide, then the adults will not be able to eat them. Another alternative is to get a breeding net and put the female in it before she gives birth. This is difficult, seeing as you don't know how pregnant she is.

There are a variety of foods you can feed the fry, from crushed up flake food, to special fry food to smaller types of frozen food (daphnia, baby brine shrimp, etc). Hope this helps!

Also, as a side note, mollies and many other livebearers can store sperm for up to three pregnancies once separated from a male, so be aware of this if you try to separate them to prevent further breeding.

Answer 3

Mollies have babies ALOT. So unless you plan on buying large tanks and new tanks I say let nature do it's job.

I would just provide some good hiding places for the fry. When they are born some will be eaten by mom and dad (and other fish who are in the tank) but you will most likely have some that will survive. They will continue to have babies - so I wouldn't be so worried about saving each one.

It may sound heartless to some - but believe me, when you have 50+ fish in a tank that is quickly becoming over crowded it's going to be hard to get rid of them.

And since they breed so easily and fast - I doubt you'll find a fish store that will take them, let alone buy them.


So my best reccommendation is to let them be.
If you gravel clean your tank though, do it now before she gives birth. It's very hard to do it with little fry hiding because they will get sucked up. They grow pretty quickly. They will hang out toward the bottom, so maybe buy some sinking pellets for them to nibble on.

Answer 4

My fish were pregnant before and it was real simple to take care of them. Just put the mother in a large glass fish bowl by herself until she has the fish. You should clean the tank very little (because she is pregnant and won't want to be handled) but clean it about every other week. When the fish hatch, and they are bigger, put them in the original tank. Clean and feed them the way you usually would.

Answer 5

Put her in a breeding net. And after she has had the babies, remove her.
I have read that once a Molly breeds, then she can get pregnant over and over.