Pregnant Mollies

[Allix]

I've got 2 mollies, who have become very fat the last 2 weeks. I've had them for about 2 and a half weeks, and suspected that they were pregnant as they have got VERY podgy very quickly.

They male keeps chasing them and munching by their (where the babies come out)

How long do mollies gestate for? and why does the male keep hanging round the females? Ive been told he will eat the babies as soon as they come out

 

[fishguy18]

welll.....mollies usually take a good 3-4 weeks to have their babies.

It has been said that when a female is ready to give birth she secretes a horomone that alerts other fish around her...and possible why the male has been following her....by the sounds of things and my experience i would say it woulndt be much longer for some little babies

 

[Allix]

Oh god ... what do i need to do when she has them? I dont have another tank at the moment , a guy at my lfs just told me to leave the fry in there and the male will eat them, but i would kinda like to keep 1 or 2...

 

[Annastasia]

If you want to keep a few, I'd reccomend getting a breeder net. Then you can feed the fry separately in there, to make sure they get food. You can feed them Liquifry or Hikari First Bites for the first few weeks, then move onto very finely crushed flakes. Sometimes I'll even give mine finely crushed freeze-dried Bloodworms or Brine Shrimp.

Good luck!

 

[Allix]

I've bought another tank that i will be getting at the middle of next month, would the fry be ok in a net? It could be another 6 weeks before the new tank is cycled and ready for fish, how long does it take the fry to get to a 'safe' size so they can go back in the with other fish?

 

[Annastasia]

Yes, they'll be fine in a net.
I'm not sure exactly how long it takes, but generally it's just whenever they can't fit in the other fishes' mouths, or maybe a little longer after that.

 

[Norway]

Many other livebearers are more likely to eat their fry than the mollies.
With a tank with a lot of plants in it you should probably get to keep very many...

I usually do.