For Those Who Have Bred Mollies...

[Mayu]

besides the bulbous belly, what are signs she's ready to give birth?

lately, my pregger female is doing this weird swim where she is shaking her head like she's saying "no" and I notice she doesn't swim as feverishly as she use to pre-pregnancy. is that a clue that it's "soon"?

 

[OldMan47]

No, that is a clue that your water quality has degraded. Test for nitrites and ammonia levels using a liquid type test kit and do an immediate large water change. You should also check your pH since mollies in general like hard water with a pH over 7.5.

 

[Mayu]

No, that is a clue that your water quality has degraded. Test for nitrites and ammonia levels using a liquid type test kit and do an immediate large water change. You should also check your pH since mollies in general like hard water with a pH over 7.5.

um, my water levels are perfect, I just tested them yesterday before posting this question...

and she's the only one swimming weird. She's not swimming head up, she's not taking a nose dive, she's eating normally, she just sometimes will look like she's shaking her head no... and she's not swimming as much. Since she's the only one whose doing this, she is pregnant, and the water levels are good, I wonder if this is pre-birthing behavior.

 

[OldMan47]

How hard is your water and what is the pH? It doesn't have to be poisonous to affect a molly wrong.

 

[hughessomefish]

oldman47 is right it is most likely the Ph is low I have 3 mollys in a 29 Gallo ph is 7.8 just tested it right now

 

[Mayu]

I did the test two times now, and came up with the same results I got yesterday.

nitrates are 0
nitrites are 0
hardness is 50
alkalinity is 120
and pH is 7.2

that's safe, safe, moderate, ideal, ideal.

She's eating great, she still swims, just not as much, she's a little bigger now, and she's doing that weird "no" thing when she's swimming in place... but when she does swim, she's swimming normal.

I looked at all the fish, no one has ick, no one has fin rot, no one has dropsy, so I have no explination

 

[Mayu]

ok the behavior has stopped. She isn't swimming around weird anymore, she's just swimming like normal. It must have just been a fluke or something.

 

[OldMan47]

The 50 ppm of hardness is quite soft for a molly to thrive. Do you have other fish in the tank? If it is just mollies, I would suggest that the GH be raised, along with the pH, by putting some crushed coral in the filter flow. If you have other fish, that would not be such a great idea for many of them.

 

[Mayu]

The 50 ppm of hardness is quite soft for a molly to thrive. Do you have other fish in the tank? If it is just mollies, I would suggest that the GH be raised, along with the pH, by putting some crushed coral in the filter flow. If you have other fish, that would not be such a great idea for many of them.

I have 3 mollies (two now, I'll explain in a bit.), 3 black neon tetras, and 6 x-ray bellies. All are doing well, except for momma molly.

I had to head out of town for 2 days. lets just say a heater came loose, my mom, who was watching the tank hooked it back up in the wrong spot, momma molly swam behind it, got stuck, got burned, and didn't survive the wounds. So I'm down one momma fish, and up one feeling guilty mom. lol.

She knew how excited I was about my first fry experience... so When I came home, I found she had gotten me a 30 gallon tank some lady had posted in the paper that they were selling for cheap, spent 6 hours cleaning it up (cause it was in bad shape. it was caked with salt from being a salt water tank and was yellowish from sitting in the garage so long.), and got me a gift certificate to the petstore to buy fish when it's finished cycling.

I really wasn't that mad about it, it was an accident... but hey, I won't tell her that. Got me a 30 gallon tank for free.

 

[shi24137]

what type of test kit are you using? it sounds like the dip sticks and they tend to be off a bit. your readings could be wrong if that is the kit you are using.