My Molly clearly looks pregnant... right?

[Rundies]

So, I’ve had this little girl for about a month, and she’s clearly gotten bigger. Every “fish person” I talk to says “well, she might be pregnant” please tell me I’m not crazy... she’s pregnant, right?

 

[Colin_T]

If she has been in an aquarium with a male, then she is pregnant.

Female livebearers can carry up to 6 sperm packets from breeding with males and they use 1 sperm packet to fertilise each batch of eggs. The gestation period (from the time she fertilises the eggs to when she gives birth to free swimming babies) is about 1 month. After which she will fertilise another batch of eggs using another sperm packet. This allows female livebearers to produce young about once a month for up to 6 months without any males being present.

 

[Rundies]

Well, when I got her, they said she was in a tank with 2 other females... I also have 3 Guppies (which they told me were female but they are actually male I later found out). Can they crossbreed? I’ve read conflicting stories.

Obviously she could have been with another male Molly at any point in time before I got her. I went to a not-so-knowledgeable store. I just want to make sure I’m prepared for babies if she is!


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[Colin_T]

Mollies and guppies do not cross breed.

You should assume she is pregnant and add lots of plants to the tank. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) is the best plant for livebearers. It normally grows on the surface but can also be grown in the substrate where it grows into a lovely light green shrub.

If you don't have any live plants then add a heap of artificial plants to provide her with shelter when she goes into labour, and to give the fry somewhere to hide when they are born.

It is preferable not to move pregnant fish because you can stress them and even damage the unborn fry. If you have to move pregnant females, carefully catch them in a net and then use a plastic container to scoop the female and net up in some tank water. Move her (in the net in the bucket of water) to a new tank and then pour her into the new tank.

Do not put the female into a tank with males until at least 1 week after she has given birth otherwise the male/s will stress her out.

Try not to move the female for at least 1 week after she has given birth so she can heal up. If you have to move the female after she has given birth, use the method above for moving pregnant females.

Most female livebearers do not eat their young if the female is well fed and there are plants in the tank, but will eat them when they are confined to a small breeding trap.

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Increase feeding to 3-5 times per day and continue feeding like this for 1-2 weeks after she has given birth.

Do regular water changes and gravel cleans to keep the tank clean. Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.

Get a breeding net to hang in the tank and you can use a small plastic container to scoop the babies out of the main tank and put them in the breeding net. Have a bit of plant in the breeding net for the babies.

Feed the babies on finely crushed flake or powdered fry food. If you can feed them newly hatched brineshrimp and microworms, it will help them a lot.

The following link has information about culturing live foods including hatching brineshrimp eggs.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/back-to-basics-when-breeding-fish.448304/

 

[FishGuest5123]

She certainly looks pregnant to me. Not quite squared off on the bottom yet but should be close. Good luck!