Mollie About To 'pop'

[martin_jones]

Our female black mollie is very big and I think about to give birth.

Today, she was resting on a stone at the bottom of the aquarium. Is this normal? I've not seen her do this before. Is she due or has she just eaten too much?

One of the clown loaches was bothering her, and she kept moving away and then settling again.

For the interim, I have put her in a breeder net with some plants. Is this the right thing to have done as I've heard it can stress them too much sometimes, but she was getting pestered in the main tank.

How can you tell when black mollie fry is imminent?

Martin

 

[Annastasia]

They will sometimes do that when they are about to give birth. Though, it could also be a sign of a problem. Just keep an eye on her, for any problems.

Breeder nets are stressful. I wouldn't keep her in there more then a day or two, after that, take her out. You can raise the babies in there for a couple weeks, though.

It's hard to say, since every fish varies. Usually they "square off" in the stomach a bit, hide, stay in one place, chase other fish away, or something along those lines. Some fish do all of those, some fish don't really do any. So it's hard to say. Sorry.

 

[martin_jones]

I took her out of the net this morning and she seems back to normal (if somewhat large). I'll just wait and see...

Thanks

M