How long does it take!!!?

Question

Ok, I got my fish today. I got a dworf, and 2 mollies. I am SURE that my dalmation platy is a boy becuase he has longer fins. I am so have a silver platy. And she dosn't have long fins.

At the pet store, their kind was in the same tank( dalmation, and silver).And now that they are in the new tank, Oreo( dalmation) dosn't do any thing that Snow flake(silver) dosn't do. He follows her around every where, and I have seen him try to get her to flpi, but SnowFlake refuses! I really want them to mate, And I think they have before, beucase the way they are acting!How long does it take for her to let him mate with her?

Snow Flake looks like she is twins with that white one in the picture. But Oreo, he is not all black. His back tail is kind shaped like a U. he looks like this:

http://aquariumfish.net/images_01/dalmatian_lyretail_molly_w270.jpg

Also, I have my tank tempurture at 82-84 degrees. Is that too hot for them to breed with?

Answer 1

Odds are very good she is already pregnant, but they will mate within a day or two. Just because the dalmation has longer fins does not mean it's a boy though. The only way to tell for sure is to look at the small fin on their bellies.

Males have a longer and pointed fin, like the one on this male black molly:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/sbs/livebearer/sbs_molly.jpg

Females have a normal looking fin there. Like the one on this female silver molly:
http://www.fishdeals.com/livebearers/mollies/home.jpg

You should expect babies from her in less than a month.

MM

Answer 2

The fish in the picture is a male.
With livebearers, the way to determine the sexes is the difference between the fins underneath the fish. Females have two sets of triangular fins and the males have one set of triangular fins, but the set nearer the tail is straighter and lie horizontal pointing towards the tail. This is a gonopodium and is used to fertilise the female.
Your temperature is a little high, ideally mollies need a temperature between 68 - 78 'F (20-26'C).
You should keep mollies (and all livebearers) at a ratio of at least one male to two or more females to prevent the male hassling the female (sometimes) to death.
You should have no problem getting them to mate, females are almost always pregnant in the shop if they are kept in mixed tanks. The females can store enough sperm for several batches of fry after mating just once.
Good luck!

Answer 3

...As previously stated by others, overall fin length has zilch to do with platy or molly gender (by the way, that picture you linked was a lyretail molly, not a platy of any sort). Check the shape of the anal fin.
That said, from your description of their interactions, if you do indeed have a male and female, he's probably already impregnated her. Also, hate to burst your bubble, but she wont "let him" mate with her at all. Reproductive activity in mollies is entirely nonconsentual - he pretty much just chases her around, and... yeah. I'm sure you get the point. Basically, they're already at it, you just didn't realize.

Answer 4

As long as the male recognizes the female and vice versa. After they mate, you should put the dwarf in a different tank. Put the pregnant molly in a breeder and let her give birth to the fry.

~ZTM

Answer 5

OK i had fish for a long time an i think the best thing is .too get a good book some fish needs are not the some and you will have baby soon it dis not take long at all .and you may sell them too the pat shop i do that all the time.but get a good book pay the money will not be sorry .some fish are so ez too breed.an fun too

Answer 6

What do you mean about a dalmatian platy having long fins? Which fins?

Answer 7

let them adjust to their new tank. try lowering the temperature a few degrees.

Answer 8

You can't rush mother nature :)