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[wifeandmothergracefully]

We bought our Molly two weeks ago from a local shop. We are very new to the hobby and we do not know if our Molly is pregnant.

She was much skinnier two week ago and now she has got dunlap syndrom.

Please look at that following pics, and if you can tell us if she is pregnant. Also if she is pregnant what is it that we need to do in order to keep her and babies safe.

Any help will be highly appreciated. Thanks.


http/i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Taur...10/000_1709.jpg

http/i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Taur...10/000_1704.jpg

http/i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Taur...10/000_1698.jpg

http/i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Taur...10/000_1696.jpg

http/i17.photobucket.com/albums/b61/Taur...10/000_1695.jpg

 

[fish4meplz]

From what ive seen of ur pic (by the way nice fish) it does look big but loik to see if there are any dark spots around the anal fin and if u want to protect the babies u cna icolate here in a breeding pin until birth or keep an eye out for any babies and have a pin ready and collect them then place them in the bin as u go. I've done that with my guppies and its worked well for me but if u collect them as she gives birth u might not be around when she has them im sure that the store that u purchaced them at might carry this its what i used. Petsmart

 

[Weaver]

She certainly looks pregnant .The reality is that if a livebearer is female she is permanently pregnant
I dont know what size tank or set up you have.However mollies are too big to place in a breeding trap or net as they can get very stressed and abort the fry.
Your best option is to let her give birth in the tank.You can then either let the fry fend for themselves--survival of the fittest-or transfer them to a breeding net which will provide protection for a couple of weeks.Ideally you could have a fry tank for growing them on.
If leaving them in the tank their survival depends greatly on conditions in the tank.Most may be eaten by the other inhabitants.To increase chances of survival you should have plenty of plant cover and hiding places for the fry
They can survive happily on tiny crushed fishflake to begin with.They also eat the bits and bobs growing on plants.I find hornwort to be a great plant for providing cover and have a mass of this floating in my livebearer tank
There are a couple of really good articles in the pinned section at the top of the page which should give you more in depth information
One think to think about however if you do save most of the fry is what are you going to do with them.
Some of the livebearer experts will probably be along soon with more information
Good luck

 

[frazoo]

get java moss it will help protect fry.
i bet she is prego

 

[Annastasia]

I'd say she's pregnant. Maybe about 2-3 weeks into it?

Some of the livebearer experts will probably be along soon with more information

Actually Weaver, I think you covered almost all of it!

This is a good link for you to read, WifeandMotherGracefully: Your First Baby Fish

Options for raising them are basically;

1. Leaving them in the main tank. This is called Survival of the Fittest, because you basically don't do anything for them. It's a good way to control fry numbers, because otherwise you will be over-run very quickly.
2. Raising them up a bit in a breeder trap or net.
3. Using a fry tank. This is probably the best option, because you can grow them up longer in there, and you can also move the mother into there before she gives birth so she doesn't have to be stresed by the breeder trap.

Best of luck!

 

[wifeandmothergracefully]

I want to thank you guys for helping like you have.

This is a family hobby (myself, husband and 2 boys) we have come to find out that we didn't use the patience we needed to use in starting our tank. ) We have had our tank 2 wks and was told by that if we use "Tank Buddies" we were good to go. Looking back I see that we weren't and our poor fish are suffering from our lack of knowledge. It's a 20 gallon/community tank we have just about anything and everything in it now. We were concerned last night with the cloudiness of the tank and did some testing and found that our ammonia level is dangerously high. So we have been changing water like crazy and using "ACE" to TRY to rid our tank of it. *sigh*

Everyone light a candle for our fish I think they are going to need it.

 

[wifeandmothergracefully]

I'd say she's pregnant. Maybe about 2-3 weeks into it?

How long will she be pregnant do you think? I read somewhere about a month, do you think this is true?

I know this is going to sound bad but I don't really want to keep them. ) We just simply don't have the room and I didn't know that there was such a thing as "livebearer" fish when we got them. We bought off of impulse. We live in an apt and there just isn't any room.

We bought some Guppies and found out that they are known for breeding (OH DEAR GOD) and to top it off we bought 3 females/5 males.

What are we going to do with all these fish?! LOL

Anyway, again thank you for the help I hope to get to know you guys much better.

WMG

 

[Annastasia]

Usually it's about a month, but Mollies can be pregnant longer, sometimes up to 2 months. I'd say expect fry in 1-4 weeks. Sorry for the broad range, it's just hard to tell when I can't actually see the fish!

It doesn't sound bad, don't worry! We all know how easy it is to get over-run with Livebearers! When she gives birth, try just leaving the fry in the tank. That way, some should survive, but you won't have the numbers. I know it sounds cruel, but it IS what happens in nature.

For the Guppies...I'd take the females back. You need to have 2-3 females per male with Guppies (Any Livebearer, actually) otherwise the females will get very stressed, which can lead to them aborting their fry, having birthing difficulties, or even dying. 5 males will be fine together, though. And you won't have the fry problems.

 

[wifeandmothergracefully]

Do you think that we have a chance of survival with our tank being at such a high ammonia level? We have used the "ACE" serveral times now to no avail.

 

[Annastasia]

The only thing that really gets down ammonia sucessfully is water changes. How many are you doing per day? And what level is the ammonia at?

There may be some that survive. Fry are tougher then you'd think. But keep up with the water changes, once they're born, just in case.

 

[wifeandmothergracefully]

The only thing that really gets down ammonia sucessfully is water changes. How many are you doing per day? And what level is the ammonia at?

There may be some that survive. Fry are tougher then you'd think. But keep up with the water changes, once they're born, just in case.

We have changed it twice in two days (two days ago is when we found out).

The ammonia leval is at 3.0 Hamful according to "Jungle Quick Dip".

 

[Annastasia]

I'd step it up to 25% every few hours or so until it's down. 3.0 is pretty high...

 

[wifeandmothergracefully]

I'd step it up to 25% every few hours or so until it's down. 3.0 is pretty high...

OK, I've been changing water ALL day and I can't seem to get the ammonia level down. It's still at the 3.0. My fish are acting weird I'm sure one b/c I've disrupted their home and another the level of the ammonia. Am I doing something wrong? Why wont it go down? Should I spear them and flush them? They are all on the edge and chasing one another and some are on the side of the glass just swimming up and down they have been doing this all day. I am so discouraged right now.

 

[diademhill]

Unfortunately, some of the "ammonia reducer" chemicals can foul up the test strip results.
Keep doing water changes and buy a two bottle ammonia test kit when you get chance.

What fish have you got in the tank & have you tested for nitrite?

Can you get biospira?

 

[Jue]

Unfortunately, some of the "ammonia reducer" chemicals can foul up the test strip results.
Keep doing water changes and buy a two bottle ammonia test kit when you get chance.

What fish have you got in the tank & have you tested for nitrite?

Can you get biospira?

Sue - When you say about the "ammonia reducer" would you class Stress Zyme or Stress Coat as this? I've been adding Stress Zyme to my new tank for 3 weeks and with 5 guppies in there cycling the tank (very long story), the ammonia level is reading 0. However, I have got bogwood in there and it makes it difficult to read the test properly as the water is discoloured to start with. On the leaflet it just says that if the water colour doesn't change when the chemicals have been added that there is no ammonia in the water. Does this sound right to you?

Thanks
Jue