I know this sounds dumb, but my Black Molly just had babbies...?

Question

I have had fish for years both salt and fresh. I have a male and female in my salt tank and I was watching the birthing (Mind you I have noticed she was pregie since early Januray and I was begining to worry she was so large I thought she was going to expload) Any way she is still giving birth....22 babbies and she is still going Is this normal? Maybe I should start raising black mollies. I cannot find anywhere on the net the MAXIMUM amout they have. The most I have seen is 11. Any breeders out there interested in a very fertal fish! LOL

Answer 1

22 isn't bad at all. There have been records of broods as large as 100, but those are very rare indeed.

MM

Answer 2

Baby Mollies, exciting and kind of weird at the same time huh? In my past broods of mollies i generaly get anywhere from 20-30 fry so your well within your limits. Most livebearers produce the same amounts and it could be that yours has produced more but they mother or father may have gotten to them. In case you need any help in the new world of raising them here is a great process for caring for your new fry that I followed myself.

Ok the first step that you need to take is to get the fry away from the adults. It is a sure thing that they will not survive if they are left together since the mother is more apt to eat them after pregnancy since she has an increased appatite.

Generaly the best way to go about this is to look for a cheap 10 gallon tank. You can pick up a tank like this for about $10 and it makes a world of difference. I sudgest this since this will not be a single occasion of babies....you have more to come!!! If it will take a couple days for you to be able to get this tank just make sure to take the babies and place them in a seperate fish bowl or even a jar (safer than being with the adults at this point) The only accesories you will want for this new tank is a small heater, some tank gravel and some fake plants for the fry to rest on. Typicaly it is best to set this tank up in advance to allow time for the tank to cycle but in this instance i would say to add about 50% water from the existing tank and the rest new walter that you can treat to remove the chlorine. This will in turn also help with a water change in your current tank. The main reason i chose not to go with a breeder net is when the water level drops in your tank they are left in more shallow water with all of the waste they have left from the previous days in the breeder net. This can cause an unhealthy enviornment for small fry.

Ok, so once you have the tank for the fry all set up....what now?

First and foremost is water changes, you should do at least a 25% water change every week to ensure their health. This will also assist the fry in growing to their proper size a lot faster! As far as feeding you can go out and purchage fry food from your local fish store but in all seriousness...take some regular tropical fish flake and rub it between your fingers until you cant break it down any smaller. You will find that its about the same thing as buying fry food so save yourself the $. The fry need to be fed small amounts about 2 times a day and when they reach about half of the size of your adults you can concentrate less on breaking down the food as fine, they will be able to eat larger pieces. Dont be discouraged if you happen to loose a couple of fry along they way, this is a learning lesson and livebearers such as mollies will surely give many more opportunities to learn.

Answer 3

Oh my gosh! You've just experienced the wonderful world of Mollies!

Mollies can crank out children like a production line! If you don't keep the males and females separated, you're going to have a tankful! lol

I'm not sure exactly what the record is, but I do know from past experience that you will have more Mollies than you could shake a stick at unless you keep the pairs from loving on one another.

I don't think there are any breeders out there who are shorthanded on Mollies, but best wishes to you! LOL!!!

Answer 4

you are able to set up the three gallon as a well being midsection tank as quickly as you have suited filtration and warmth. in simple terms fill it a million/2 finished with water out of your 10 gallon. Fill something of ways with faucet water taken care of with a water conditioner inclusive of rigidity Coat. upload some gravel, and a few flowers and decorations from the ten-gallon. this could stay away from the ammonia spike of an uncycled tank. That being suggested, it quite is quite useful to take some issues into attention to maintain this from taking place sooner or later. a million. Ten gallon tanks are too small for many fish, (consisting of mollies) overstocked or too small of tanks convey approximately rigidity, which in turn motives ailments inclusive of ick. 2. Mollies are actual brackish water fish, (although they are many times bought as freshwater fish) and so do not frequently stay very long in the freshwater tank. 3. Your perfect protection to any tank issue is to locate a high quality fish keep on your section, (not a puppy keep, yet one which sells purely fish) and to seek for suggestion from them on tank length, fish compatibility and stocking allowance. sturdy luck!

Answer 5

It is perfectly normal for these type of fish give birth to that many babies and more. There are allot of other live bearing fish out there that do the same thing. It is sort of natures way to make sure that the species survive. I hope this helps you out.
Here is a web site for you to look at if you want.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2089

Answer 6

Well, as far as I can remember from my experiences with black mollies they usually have 8-10. I have heard of them having up to 34 before.

Answer 7

Totally normal. Livebearers are capable of producing close to 100 fry in one shot. But usually it is closer to 30-50 for me.

Answer 8

I saw a post about someone whom got around 40 babies and hten 2 weeks later the same female had another 20. >.>''

Answer 9

Its time to start a temporary business on ebay my friend!

Answer 10

I don't know, but you're funny!
your fish was pregnant and getting big eh.

fish lay eggs and then SOME fish will keep the eggs in their mouths but whatever....

most only have 8....but it depends on their water condition an the amount of sunlight they have and heat..