Pregnant Baby? :o

[Meggie :)]

Hey everyone! I have 4 balloon mollies in my tank...none of them full grown...there is one that is about the length of one, but just still isn't full size adult yet and then there are three that are like half that size (because they were born later). Wellllll, I JUST noticed that my oldest one has developed his genopodium...I don't know how long he has had it, but it can't have been very long because I kept checking all the time (because I was hoping he was female)...I guess somewhere along the line I stopped checking because I figured he was a female because I thought that if he was male he would have developed his genopodium already...boy was I wrong...

Well it looks like on of my younger ones is actually pregnant (and if I'm not wrong) ready to drop soon... I don't know how old they are, but I think that the younger ones are at least 4 or 5 months old if not more...But they are still pretty small actually....I know that there is a chance that the babies won't make it because she is so young, but I want to do all I can...

Here are some pictures...do any of you have some input on this and some suggestions of what I should do?

For size:

The big one is the male:

She is the one on the right:

The one on the left (but i think the one on the right might be pregnant too):

I'm really sorry about the bad pix...my camara isn't very good:

 

[5teady_2012]

Livebearers can start having fry from 8 weeks old, they tend to not have many and the fry dont do to well the majority of the time if thier mother is very young, but the one in your picture, going by the last pic, does look pregnant, and pretty far on, but also its over fed, the front end of the belly is dropped well below the back end.

 

[Meggie :)]

Overfed? Hmm that's weird cause I really don't feed that much...but I will start feeding them a bit less, thank you!

 

[Man of fish]

Yes I killed 2 of my fry from overfeeding so I'd try to avoid it. Poor guys bellies popped after death at least. they were weighted down and couldn't swim then when they died their bellies popped open

 

[OldMan47]

Meggie, it is entirely possible for your fish to be reproducing at very young ages.
A male who has a gonopodium will be certain to try to use it, which I can well understand as a male of an entirely different species. As others have already told you a male poeciliid will try his best to reproduce at as little as 8 weeks old. The little guy does not recognize that he is not yet a mature male. From his perspective, he is among receptive females and wants to satisfy their needs. Please do not hold that against him. I can only wish that us mammals had such an easy way of determining a suitable mate.

 

[Meggie :)]

Haha thank you so much! I just don't want the pregnant(?) baby to die or anything that's all I'm worried about! Because if by some miracle the babies do make it I have places to give them...

and Man of Fish thanks for the heads up! Sorry for your loss

 

[OldMan47]

A female will not produce many fry her first time out, especially if she is not a full adult size. It is nature's way of preserving the female for future drops.