i've got the big other fish, in other tanks for now, the baby mollies are all in one tank, how long is it till they grow big enough, so that the other fish won't eat them? and how do you tell a boy molly from a girl? actually just a boy......i kno one of them is a girl........but i've got 3 others.....i need to find the boys and take them away!! :) thanx...
2007-06-11 11:05:30 · 12 answers · asked by quadqueen93 1 in Pets ➔ Fish
Sounds like you have several questions really, but the young Mollies will be large enough to go in with the adults when they are too big to fit in the adults mouths. Usually that's about 6-7 weeks.
To tell a male from female is really easy.
This is a male molly:
http://www.exiledplanet.org/images/fish/black_molly.jpg
This is a female:
http://www.bbayaquariums.com/black-molly.jpg
Look at the difference in the last fin on the bottom of the fish. The male's is pointed while the females looks like a normal fin.
You can usually tell the young one's apart by the time they are 6-8 weeks old, sometimes a little longer.
If you don't want to have more baby mollys it's really the females you need to remove and take away, not the males. The females you have are already pregnant again and even if you remove the males they will have babies for months.
MM
2007-06-11 12:27:14 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A female molly will have babies every 30 days after only one spawn, so even if you take away the male, you will still get babies for a while at least. There's a way you can tell the males from the females by the fin that is underneath their bodies. The females have a fan shaped fin and the males' fin is more like a closed fan, more pointy. Some of those little babies are pretty fast and if they have places to hide in like plants and rocks and stuff they may not all get eaten. When you feed the tank, crush some of the flakes up into almost a powder for the babies to eat.
2007-06-11 18:19:27 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have done the right thing by separating them. You will have to wait several weeks until they will be big enough to go in the tank with your other fish. You basically have to let them grow till they are too big to fit in the mouths of the other fish. Could be 4 weeks to get that big.
When Mollies are first born they all look like girls but after a few months they will mature and the males will develop the more pointy shaped anal fin. Then you will know which are male and which are female.
2007-06-11 19:33:30 · answer #3 · answered by Dustinius 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had to laugh! I have the same problem if you call them that. We got a school of 3 mollies.. the law here said the pet stores only can sell one sex.. glad (or should I say) to say that we have over 25 fishes since the first 3... yeah, some do die...some do live.. thats all we have in our tank.. I never could tell between boys and girls.. now I learn something.. I dont have the best answer here..
2007-06-11 19:17:08 · answer #4 · answered by sunnyw 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have to worry about the girl fish too! All fish are competitive and if they are bigger they will eat the babies, even the mommy fish! You need to get a baby fish net, they have them at any aqarium store. They hang on the side in the water but they can't get out and the big fish can't get to them. You can put them back with the big fish when they are bigger and less threatened by the big fish. Hope I helped and by the way do it quick b/c the big fish have probablly already started their feast, they act quick! Sorry to say it like that, just want you to know so you can get to the store ASAP!!!
2007-06-11 18:13:06 · answer #5 · answered by sosadrebecca 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
most pet stores sell breeder nets or boxes that you can put the babies in to protect them from other fish. The mollies may eat their own as well. it takes them a couple of months to grow. the males have a gonopodum. a long thin fin on their underside. they sometimes stick it up, like an erection.
2007-06-11 18:18:03 · answer #6 · answered by no no 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Either purchase a small breeder enclosure for your tank or seperate the baby mollies from the other fish.
2007-06-11 18:08:54 · answer #7 · answered by hardcoredlw 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
What are the bigger fish? Other mollies?
They sell dividers for the tank. Here's a bunch of them:
http://www.nextag.com/fish-tank-divider/search-html
2007-06-11 18:09:00 · answer #8 · answered by FaerieWhings 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
u shld put the 3 babies in a seperate tank or bowl
awwwwwww cute baby fish =]
2007-06-11 18:13:18 · answer #9 · answered by Alaura 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you need to get a floating net that is made just for baby fish you can get them at petsmart or petco( where the pets go)lol.
2007-06-11 19:06:12 · answer #10 · answered by someone 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋