Pregnant Mollie

[DB2593]

Hi i put my heavily pregnant Dalmatian molly in my breeding tank last night because it's been 6 weeks since she last give birth and her belly seemed square and she was being herassed by the males, I went to check on her this morning, there was no babies but she only looks half as big as she did last night, help anyone? Or at least can anyone explain what's happened?? Thanks

 

[Neptune54]

There's two explanations that fit this scenario: 1) they got sucked in by the filter 2) the mother ate them. Both seem to be equally likely. Hope this helps.

 

[DB2593]

I was thinking that but it is a plastic breeding trap where the babies fall through to a different compartment

 

[Neptune54]

Ah. I thought you meant a whole other tank. In that case, the fry may have gone through the small holes in the trap. Yes, they're that tiny! You might want to take a look outside the trap for any survivors, and if you put more plants in, they'll have a higher chance of growing up into adults.

 

[DB2593]

It could possibly be that, but I have used that breeding trap with other mollies in the past and it has never failed before, but then again my gouramis do have the habit of nibbling on the bottom of the breeding trap haha

 

[Neptune54]

One person said that their fry just swam right back up the trap and into the mother's mouth! I bet those gouramis are looking for a snack!