Pregnant fish??? Advice - With pictures.

[Craig_1987]

Hi all. Can anyone please help me and tell me if you think my gold dust molly is pregnant.

If so, when would I expect the birthing process to begin?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[fluttermoth]

It's pretty safe to assume that all female livebearers are pregnant, all the time, unless they're very, very sick or old.

When she's within a day or two of giving birth, she'll what's called 'square off'; that is her belly will develop a distinct boxy shape.

Female livebearers don't need any special care; just good food and clean water. I have to say your tank looks very bare. Not only are bare tanks stressful for adult fish, if you want some fry to survive you'll need some places for them to hide away from the adults, who will eat them. Fine leaved, live plants are best.

 

[Craig_1987]

Ok. Thanks for the advice.

Her belly just seems to be getting bigger and bigger and wasn't sure when to expect anything to happen. If it would be days or weeks.

I'll keep an eye on her.

 

[fluttermoth]

The average gestation period for livebearers is about 30 days, but it depends on temperature and the age of the fish and, of course, you don't normally have any indication of when the pregnancy started.

Mature females will get very, very large; people often think they're literally about to pop. A molly can easily have 50 or 60 fry in one brood, so it's not surprising, really, that they get so fat!

You can make a note of the date she gives birth this time and use that as a guide for when the next litter might be due though