Undersexed Mollies

[DWhitehead]

I have two large mollies, both male, one black and one white. I'd had the black one longer, and he tends to bother the white one, nosing around his genital area and anus much of the time. The white one would occasionally fight back, especially at feeding time -- it's a prolific eater.

So a couple of months ago I thought I'd get them some female companionship. We bought two female mollies, one orange and the other dalmatian. The dalmatian one was still quite small, but my daughter liked it. The males showed no interest in the ladies at all. In contrast, for example, when I introduced a female guppy my male couldn't get enough of her. Anyway, the males continued their daily dance but had absolutely no interest in the females.

Eventually the black one started occasionally chasing the dalmatian one around occasionally, and the dalmatian one is fairly fat now -- whether pregnant or just a big eater, I dont know, because I've never observed any mating. Neither male pays any attention at all to the orange one, who occasionally hangs out near the other mollies but that's all.

Do any of you have any guesses as to what may be going on? I thought that all mollies were the same species, so that mating could occur. Or perhaps these two old bachelors are just the Henry Higgins and Colonel Pickering of the molly set, with the young dalmatian as Eliza Doolittle and the orange one as Mrs Pierce? I am a bit surprised, given what I've read about molly amorousness. The white one in particular appears to have no interest in mating.

 

[theotheragentm]

How many females do you have in the tank compared to males? Generally you want three females to every male for the first male, and then two females per male thereafter. This will prevent the females from getting harassed too much most of the time.

It's highly likely your female Molly is pregnant if she has gotten large. Mating is something you may not necessarily see, but it's going on for sure.

How large is the female that is being ignored? Is it possible that it is a male? All Mollies start out looking female until they develop into mature males. The presence of an already mature male may slow down the development process, so the fish will look female for longer.

 

[DWhitehead]

I just have the four mollies. The orange (ignored) one is not small --perhaps two inches long -- nowhere near as big as my males but definitely female.

Sure, I could add more females, but trust me: my females are not getting harassed all the time. That's the whole point; they're not getting harassed at all. The only fish that gets harassed is the big white male one, and he gets harassed by the hyperactive black male. Perhaps the white one is old and no longer keen on mating; maybe his gonopodium is raw from constantly being nibbled by the black one. I don't know. But he doesn't even look at the females unless he's fighting over food.

 

[modaz]

it really doesnt matter how old the female is, the male that doesnt show any attention is still a male and the other one sees him as competition and will continue to do so until you get more females

 

[DWhitehead]

Thanks, Modaz, but are you addressing my question? The question was why neither male seems particularly interested in the orange female.

 

[modaz]

Thanks, Modaz, but are you addressing my question? The question was why neither male seems particularly interested in the orange female.

whoops sorry