Breeding mollies and patties?

Question

OK, I know that mollies and patties can't mate.

I have a 55G with a ton of mollies and patties. I know about the male to female (I can tell the difference) ratio and that's what I've kept them. What I want to know is that can any type of molly mate with any other type of molly (ex: a balloon molly mate with a sailfin molly)? Or do they have to stay with their own type? Same question about patties.

Another question: How do I tell when I need to put the pregnant moms in breeder containers (the one you can buy at any pet store)? And how long are they pregnant for?

** I tried looking this up but I could not find any websites that I liked. I just want simple answers ... hehe. Thanks! **

Answer 1

Gestation periods can vary, but generally 28 to 30 days is about right. Can vary with temperate, nutrition,water conditions, etc.
Moving females around when they are near delivery time is a bad idea and putting them in those nasty little breeder enclosures for long periods of time also will kill them. A female should not be moved any later than two weeks before her time to "drop". After this amount of time you stand to damage both the female and the fry by moving.
Finally, any Platy can inter-breed with any other Platy (or Sword-tail for that matter) and any Molly can inter-breed with any Molly. In other words,Mollies is Mollies,and Platies is Platies.

Answer 2

Yes Molley's Breed With Outer Molly's, Same With Platys. If You Have A 55 Gallon Tank With Lots Of Hiding Spots Thers No Net For The Breeding Net, The Fry Are Great At Hiding. Just Keep You Set-up A Couple Weeks And Start To Look Carefully For Fry Cause You Cant Stop Livebrears From Breeding .Good Luck

Answer 3

I heard people say that you could breed balloon mollies with sailfin mollies. Put the moms in the breeder containers when the stomach is really big or when you see the gravid spot. Mine were pregnant for about a month or two.