Is My Molly Pregnant?

[waynelle]

Hope someone can help. We bought 2 Black Mollies a couple of days ago, 1 male and 1 female. The male is fine, settled in very well. But the female just seems to hide away all the time, we struggle to find her most of the time, she doesn't even come out for food. think we've only seen her swim around about 3 times, every other time, we've always had to look for her and found her hiding somewhere.

Is this a sign she could be pregnant? If not, what else could be wrong if anything? We are new to this so haven't really got a clue about anything like that so thought we'd est ask

We have a 64L tank, the fish we have is listed below. Hope someone can help, thanks

 

[LittleMick]

While I am only a beginner myself, I was told to buy at least 2 female to every male, as the male has a habit of harassing the female, so she may be hiding from him, you should maybe get another female. When I bought my Mollies I bought 1 male and 5 females.
But maybe someone else with a little more experiemce than I has a better exlanation.


Mick

 

[waynelle]

While I am only a beginner myself, I was told to buy at least 2 female to every male, as the male has a habit of harassing the female, so she may be hiding from him, you should maybe get another female. When I bought my Mollies I bought 1 male and 5 females.
But maybe someone else with a little more experiemce than I has a better exlanation.


Mick

Thanks for your reply. From what we can see, he doesn't even bother with her, he just swims about and minds his own business but you may still be right. We will get another female and hopefully that will make her feel a bit more settled.

Thanks

 

[OldMan47]

A molly in a tank that small is not at her best. She may or may not be hiding from the male, that varies a lot with the male's personality, but a small tank is a poor choice for a female molly. In general terms, I would agree with LittleMick but in a small tank I an afraid that it will make things worse. I have seen a female molly absolutely rule a small tank like that and take no trouble from any other fish. I think it is because they feel crowded in a small tank. In a 55 gallon or larger tank, even in a 29 gallon, which is 30 inches long, they are often a very peaceful member of the community, but not in a small tank.

 

[waynelle]

A molly in a tank that small is not at her best. She may or may not be hiding from the male, that varies a lot with the male's personality, but a small tank is a poor choice for a female molly. In general terms, I would agree with LittleMick but in a small tank I an afraid that it will make things worse. I have seen a female molly absolutely rule a small tank like that and take no trouble from any other fish. I think it is because they feel crowded in a small tank. In a 55 gallon or larger tank, even in a 29 gallon, which is 30 inches long, they are often a very peaceful member of the community, but not in a small tank.

Oh ok, thanks for that. That's why I like to double check everything as you get conflicting info all the time from different shops. Everyone's opinion differs so much when it comes to what is best for fish thats what I love about these forums, so many experts!

Do you think thats the main problem here? as the tank is still very much empty really, she has loads of space if she wants it, she just chooses to hide under plants etc...

thanks again

 

[OldMan47]

My first guess is that you have a male that might be dominant in a larger tank but is being a bit of a pain in the small tank.