Pregant Mollie hints

[jonall]

I have a mollie which i am sure is pregnant, I am looking for some sort of signs she may be ready to birth but am finding it really hard.

She is a a dalmation mollie and its very hard to see if there is a gravid spot.

This would be her second batch of fry in just over a month if its happening, the first one kind of caught me by surprise , i thouht she may be pregnant but was just never too sure having no experience of this - 7 of the fry survived and are in a breeder net (around 3 weeks old)

Similaities i am seeing is pretty much her size & she looks like she is spending much more time in the caves and plants that decorate the tank.

The male mollie which i am sure is the father is being pretty protective circling her and herding off the other males in the tank by getting between them and raising his dorsal fin and swiping with his tail as they come close but he does also look like he is trying to mate still with her - Is this normal ?

Ideally i would like to transfer her into a 2nd breeder net till she births as I remember how difficult it was to catch the first batch of fry before the other fish did, I will then transfer the fry into the current breeder net with the other fry. I only have one tank. Will this be a problem with the older fry

 

[pondfreak4365]

hi Jonall,
Mollies usually give birth every 45 to 60 days. My dalmation female looks like a blimp when she's at the end of the pregnancy. I usually notice the males trying to 'sniff' her rather than mate just before she drops. The female spends a lot of time trying to hide from the males. I would advise against placing her in a breeding net too soon, it will just stress her. The newborn fry should be fine with the older ones, but you should try to get a seperate 10 gallon or so setup for the fry, they cannot grow too much in a breeder net. It will work for a short time, but is only a temporary home.