Lump on my Molly fish

[jellybellyfish]

Hi all, I have a pet balloon molly which I think is pregnant, but it was a lump protruding from the front of her chest. Is this anything to be concerned about? Or just her stomach getting larger in the pregnancy?

 

[GaryE]

I'll start by saying 99.9% of new aquarists don't know why a balloon is shaped as it is. The fish has a serious spinal deformity, cultivated by fish farms because it sells well. So she is squaring off, as breeders say - it's a shape seen not long before she drops her fry. With her severe scoliosis, the shape is kind of wonky.

Personally, and this is just a stranger on the internet talking, I wouldn't raise the fry as they will have the same genetic disease. A lot of female balloon mollies die giving birth, or soon after. I hope she's one of the lucky ones.

 

[jellybellyfish]

Hey Gary,
Thanks so much for letting me know.
She has given birth before so this is her second batch (or maybe more in the pet shop before I bought her) but the first time she did not seem to have this lump? Is that normal?

 

[GaryE]

The square shape is a sign of an impending drop. Since she survived the first one, her body may have adapted a bit and you see it more. The first batch is often a small one.

 

[emeraldking]

Well, not all females will have this squared off shape before dropping fry. Once it starts to get squared off, it means that she's used her max gestation period (which is longer than the average gestation period).
It looks more worse when a balloon molly (same goes for the balloon guppy and balloon platy) will square off because of the already cramped shaped body. Like most serious livebearer lovers, I dislike the such balloon livebearers when it comes to their shape and health issues.