Pregnant Mollies And Net Traps..?

[molly_mom]

Hi! I have 4 female Mollies and 2 male Mollies. 2 of the females are Dalmation Mollies and the other two females are Black Mollies. Both the males are Dalmation Mollies. One of the female Dalmation Mollies is pregnant ( she was when I bought her ), so I bought a net trap for when she has her babies. I just noticed one of the female Black Mollies is pregnant. Since my Dalmation Molly is farther along than the Black Molly, could I put the Dalmation in the net trap and let her have her babies, take her out and leave the babies, Then when the Black Molly is about to have hers can I put her in there and let her have hers? Would the Black Molly eat the Dalmation Molly's babies or would she think they were hers? Does that make sense? Thanks.

 

[molly_mom]

I'm going to try to get pictures of the pregnant girls..

 

[Annastasia]

Don't put any of them in the trap. Mollies are too big for those kinds of things, and it can greatly stress them out to be in there, especially when you're not sure when they'll be giving birth. Stick some plants in the tank, and let them give birth there...chances are some fry will survive. Or if you plan on raising a lot of batches, look into a fry tank.

 

[molly_mom]

Don't put any of them in the trap. Mollies are too big for those kinds of things, and it can greatly stress them out to be in there, especially when you're not sure when they'll be giving birth. Stick some plants in the tank, and let them give birth there...chances are some fry will survive. Or if you plan on raising a lot of batches, look into a fry tank.

The one Dalmation Molly that is pregnant is VERY small compared to the other females, she should be fine. I do have a fry tank, but I don't think it would be ready for the babies by the time they're born. I'm still confused with the whole fishless cycling thing, and I want a lot of babies to survive, so..

 

[Annastasia]

Any fish in a trap is going to be stressed out, it's part of the deal. If you want to risk it...OK, just be aware she could abort, have birthing difficulties, or even die, if she gets very stressed out.

Fishless cycling is quite simple. It's basically the same as cycling with fish, only you use something else to make the ammonia. Ammonia from hardware stores/supermarkets works, putting some fish food in there to rot works too. Anything that will produce ammonia. There's a lot of good pinned topics/FAQs on this, so search around for those.

Another option, if you have an already set-up tank, is to clone it. Do you have a filter for the new tank? If so, just run it in the main tank for a week or so, and you'll be good. It will pick up a good amount of beneficial bacteria by doing that. Just keep an eye on the water stats afterwards, just to be safe.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Would the Black Molly eat the Dalmation Molly's babies or would she think they were hers? Does that make sense? Thanks.

Afraid she would be just as likely to eat her own babies, livebearers have no recognition of their own fry.

 

[molly_mom]

Any fish in a trap is going to be stressed out, it's part of the deal. If you want to risk it...OK, just be aware she could abort, have birthing difficulties, or even die, if she gets very stressed out.

Fishless cycling is quite simple. It's basically the same as cycling with fish, only you use something else to make the ammonia. Ammonia from hardware stores/supermarkets works, putting some fish food in there to rot works too. Anything that will produce ammonia. There's a lot of good pinned topics/FAQs on this, so search around for those.

Another option, if you have an already set-up tank, is to clone it. Do you have a filter for the new tank? If so, just run it in the main tank for a week or so, and you'll be good. It will pick up a good amount of beneficial bacteria by doing that. Just keep an eye on the water stats afterwards, just to be safe.

Okay, I'll look around for more information about it. It still wouldn't be ready for the babies in time though, doesn't it take like... 3 - 8 weeks to cycle? I'm not going to let her have them in the main tank, it would be pointless, the would be eaten or sucked into the filter.

 

[Annastasia]

If you clone it from the main tank, it would be in 1-2 weeks.

They won't necessarily be eaten in the main tank if you provide them with plants, especially floating ones. And you can easily make the filter fry-safe, just put pantyhose or a breeder net over it.

 

[molly_mom]

If you clone it from the main tank, it would be in 1-2 weeks.

Ugh, I must be soo stupid. I don't understand any of the cycling stuff..I don't even think the local fish store sells testing strips..

What kind of plants? I have some java moss and some other kind of plants..it's long and has leaves all over it...? lol

 

[Annastasia]

Okay, cloning is basically what I said. Sticking the filter from the new tank in the main tank for a bit, or using filter media from the main tank in the new one. A lot of the beneficial bacteria in the tank (which is what you're trying to get when cycling) lies on the filter. If you use media from your established tank, you basically bypassed cycling because you have all the bacteria right there. If you run the new filter in the main tank, it also picks up the beneficial bacteria.

Java Moss, Hornwort, Water Sprite....anything floating and/or thick is great.

 

[molly_mom]

Okay, cloning is basically what I said. Sticking the filter from the new tank in the main tank for a bit, or using filter media from the main tank in the new one. A lot of the beneficial bacteria in the tank (which is what you're trying to get when cycling) lies on the filter. If you use media from your established tank, you basically bypassed cycling because you have all the bacteria right there. If you run the new filter in the main tank, it also picks up the beneficial bacteria.

Java Moss, Hornwort, Water Sprite....anything floating and/or thick is great.

Okay, never mind. Thanks anyways.

 

[Stone Warior]

Heres a simple solution:
1. Get a 10 gallon tank with filter ect ect
2. Steal 10 gallons from the main tank and some gravel from the main tank
3. wait 2 days its ready for fish

 

[molly_mom]

Heres a simple solution:
1. Get a 10 gallon tank with filter ect ect
2. Steal 10 gallons from the main tank and some gravel from the main tank
3. wait 2 days its ready for fish

LOL! That's an excellent idea, but the problem is that my main tank is only 10 gallons.

 

[froweey]

yes the molly is likely to eat the fry(young) ....... because mollies have low aknowledge .... i have some questions to my female platy is hiding from the other fish and she looks pregnuat do u think she is about to drop her young>>>>>>>>> please help me!!!!!!!!!!!! email me at wrekless.sound@sbcglobal.net

 

[molly_mom]

So, my female is having her babies in the main tank. How will I feed the fry? I know to crush the food up, but how will they get to it? Thanks.