Interested In Buying And Breeding Mollies.

[fish_tank0311]

Hi all, i was interested in getting some mollies, and breeding them, and would like to know some stuff about them. I know im being lazy a bit by not just googling it, but this is more interesting i guess. Some questions.

1. How do u tell the difference in male and female mollies.

2. How many males/females are ideal for some noobie breeding (just for fun, and to make some pocket money)

3. How big does the tank need to be.

4. Do i even need a seperate breeding tank?

5. If not, what tankmates.

6. What food?

7. How many come out of the belly of a female after 1 mate.

8. How do they get pregnant and release the fry.

9. Ummm..... How long does it take from square 1, with a pair, until the fry are swimming around, (a timeline with everything that happens in the breeding cycle would be nice).

10. In general, how hardy are mollies, and molly fry, and what is the live/death ratio of fry like.

And any other general knowledge needed for breeding them would also be nice.

Thanks!!!!

 

[VaegaVic]

Hi all, i was interested in getting some mollies, and breeding them, and would like to know some stuff about them. I know im being lazy a bit by not just googling it, but this is more interesting i guess. Some questions.

1. How do u tell the difference in male and female mollies.
Same as all livebearers, gonopodiums, females have a normal anal fin, males have a fish penis. There are pictures in the sticky topic.


2. How many males/females are ideal for some noobie breeding (just for fun, and to make some pocket money)
Ideally, 1M:3F, get a range of colours to create different colours, or the same colour to intensify the colour.

3. How big does the tank need to be.
Ideally, 50L would be a good starting point, any bigger could accomodate more mollies, any smaller would provide less hidey spaces for the fry.

4. Do i even need a seperate breeding tank?
Always a good idea to seperate the fry when you can, as they can easily be eaten by the parents.

5. If not, what tankmates.
Anything tiny or peaceful, corys make ideal tank mates and cleaners.

6. What food?
Any 100% balanced food will do, however, you'll need to feed the babies on either crushed flake or liquifry. Bloodworms also help get mollies into breeding condition easier.

7. How many come out of the belly of a female after 1 mate.
Livebearers can store sperm for up to 6 matings, so you could end up with about 600 fry from one male, obviously double and triple if you have 2 mollies, 3 mollies etc.

8. How do they get pregnant and release the fry.
..same way everything else does..penis..sperm..egg..babies.

9. Ummm..... How long does it take from square 1, with a pair, until the fry are swimming around, (a timeline with everything that happens in the breeding cycle would be nice).

Roughly about a month a batch, give or take a few days, depending on size of the females etc.
1) Dad sees mum
2) Dad gets randy
3) Mum gets preggers
4) Mum gives birth.


First 3 can happen in about a day or 2, the rest is just gestation.

10. In general, how hardy are mollies, and molly fry, and what is the live/death ratio of fry like.

Generally, mollies are rather hardy, however generations of inbreeding to achieve specific colours (like all other fish..) have weakened the species. Molly fry are also resilient, but they do need some sort of protection, or ideally a separate tank.

And any other general knowledge needed for breeding them would also be nice.

Thanks!!!!

It's very easy to breed mollies, you just need a male and female and some water, they'll do the rest.
All you have to do is pick the colours and protect the babies once they are born.
Mollies to do better in brackish water conditions as that's originally where the species is found, however this is not really required any more, but they will still have better chances of survival.


Hope that helps

 

[OldMan47]

The best that I can do for a molly enthusiast is to refer you to my molly pregnancy thread. It is located in my signature area and is called My Molly's progress. It is not intended to answer all of your questions but to give you an idea of how to judge your own molly's progress.

 

[fish_tank0311]

Thanks alot Vaega. I feel lika expert now. hehe

 

[FWFishLover]

Hi all, i was interested in getting some mollies, and breeding them, and would like to know some stuff about them. I know im being lazy a bit by not just googling it, but this is more interesting i guess. Some questions.

1. How do u tell the difference in male and female mollies.
Female anal fins are rounded/male anal fins are more pointed andthey have a "thing" between the anal fins
2. How many males/females are ideal for some noobie breeding (just for fun, and to make some pocket money)
follow A 1 Male: 3 Female Ratio only sell to people that can properly house these fish for their sake
3. How big does the tank need to be.
The Molly Minimum varies i'd refer you to liveaquaria.com for further information. and for a big community tank just get a 55g
4. Do i even need a seperate breeding tank?
YES YES AND YES!! you will not need one for mating as that will always happen in the main ALOT and the 2nd tank will be for fry to be birthed in and grow up in until they are big enough to go in the main tank and not get eaten or harrassed. Every 60-70 days the female will give birth to 10-60 young that are already approximately one-half inch long.
5. If not, what tankmates.
if you plan on breeding mollies then just do mollies no tankmates of other species
6. What food?
The Molly is omnivorous and requires algae. Provide these fish with an algae-based flake food, as well as freeze-dried bloodworms, tubifex, and brine shrimp
7. How many come out of the belly of a female after 1 mate.
varies by age (adults can have 20-40/young mollies may have 1-6)
8. How do they get pregnant and release the fry.
they mate and when they give birth they do it just like a human giving birth to live swimming fry
9. Ummm..... How long does it take from square 1, with a pair, until the fry are swimming around, (a timeline with everything that happens in the breeding cycle would be nice).
like a month and a half until fry drop/and speaking of cycles you will need to cycle your filter WITHOUT fish in your tank for averaging 2 and a half months
10. In general, how hardy are mollies, and molly fry, and what is the live/death ratio of fry like.

And any other general knowledge needed for breeding them would also be nice.
mollies like a harder pH of 7.8 usually and love strongly planted tanks with plants like java ferns and Sagittaria, Vallisneria and Anubias
Thanks!!!!

 

[VaegaVic]

Thanks alot Vaega. I feel lika expert now. hehe

Anytime.
Shame you're so far away as I might have been able to give a home for any interesting colour babies.