breeding mollies?

I think I may have a prego black molly fish. I just got three of them a few days ago, and Mark says "oh, my brother used to keep those fish, and THAT one is preggo!" She is not a "balloon molly" before you ask.. :)
So has anyone ever bre these? I had an extra 10-g tank (sadly my puffer fish bit the dust.) So I put her and two others in there.. not sure 100% on their sexes but I am Googling that now.

The adults will sometimes eat the babies. Put lots of vegetation in there for the babies to hide in and they should do just fine.
Mollies are very easy fish. Congrats
Wolfy

sexing mollies is relitivly simple. the ones with the non fanned anal fin is a boy and the ones with fanned anal fin is a girl. ... hope this helps!

Love,
Amare

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I think I may have a prego black molly fish. I just got three of them a few days ago, and Mark says "oh, my brother used to keep those fish, and THAT one is preggo!" She is not a "balloon molly" before you ask.. :)
So has anyone ever bre these? I had an extra 10-g tank (sadly my puffer fish bit the dust.) So I put her and two others in there.. not sure 100% on their sexes but I am Googling that now.

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Mollies are almost as bad as guppies lol.To help you determine the sex of them its simple.The male will have like a small "stick" (trying to be family freindly here) that sets just below his belly,females are missing this "stick".When i bred my livebearers i used a net like box that attatches to the lip of the tank and still sets in the same fish tank.I placed some live plants(fish tank types) and removed mom as soon as i saw the babies.Or you can keep mom in the 10 gal you have just place some plants or such for babies can hide as mom will eat them.I hope this helps ya :)

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Originally Posted by RoyalGuardian

sexing mollies is relitivly simple. the ones with the non fanned anal fin is a boy and the ones with fanned anal fin is a girl. ... hope this helps!

Love,
Amare

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Huh? :confused:

I bred mollies for 3 years successfully. Dalmation and "mickey mouse" mollies are my personal fave. Also Males are longer while the girls are more short and fat... lol.

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Originally Posted by RoyalGuardian

I bred mollies for 3 years successfully. Dalmation and "mickey mouse" mollies are my personal fave. Also Males are longer while the girls are more short and fat... lol.

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Not being rude here but do you mean Mickey mouse platties by chance? I could be wrong but i have never seen nor heard of mickey mouse mollies:confused: .

Oops!!! Its been some time. But I know what I'm talking about with the fanned and non fanned anal fins... its true I tells ye!

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Originally Posted by RoyalGuardian

Oops!!! Its been some time. But I know what I'm talking about with the fanned and non fanned anal fins... its true I tells ye!

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No problem :) .I started thinking after i responded with the "huh" post and you are correct about the fins in that area,just add the "stick" lol.I am used to snakes not having "fins" if you will lol :8:

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Originally Posted by joepythons

No problem :) .I started thinking after i responded with the "huh" post and you are correct about the fins in that area,just add the "stick" lol.I am used to snakes not having "fins" if you will lol :8:

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Yup yup.. I understand :D ... lol stick... :8:

thanks! I hope that they do breed; my friend sells a lot at her store, and she would definately buy them off of me.. I am going to hafta check and see what sexes they are.

If I remember right. if you can leave the light off for a few hours a day I think that starts the mating process... Its been a really really long time since I bred them but there is one definate thing i can tell you. Once your pregnant female molly is ready to give birth it will start swimming at the bottem. sometimes even resting there. this starts maybe 2 to 4 hours before the little babies arrive. Sometimes the babies come two at a time and that is perfectly fine. they are really really tiny and if I remember right they have lots of babies.. 28 came from my molly's last litter. a great way to give the babies the best chance at survival is to go to the store and purchase a Beta tank around $12 but make sure it has an airator in it... I cant remember what they eat so I would suggest google..

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Originally Posted by RoyalGuardian

If I remember right. if you can leave the light off for a few hours a day I think that starts the mating process... Its been a really really long time since I bred them but there is one definate thing i can tell you. Once your pregnant female molly is ready to give birth it will start swimming at the bottem. sometimes even resting there. this starts maybe 2 to 4 hours before the little babies arrive. Sometimes the babies come two at a time and that is perfectly fine. they are really really tiny and if I remember right they have lots of babies.. 28 came from my molly's last litter. a great way to give the babies the best chance at survival is to go to the store and purchase a Beta tank around $12 but make sure it has an airator in it... I cant remember what they eat so I would suggest google..

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You are correct about the female going to the bottom just before giving birth.When i raised them i used small amount of egg yolk boiled(easter egg like) or small amounts of fish food grinded up between my fingers(almost powderly).Do not buy the plastic container(rearing tank) that floats in the tank as it will turn upside down and cause the babies to get out.I found out the hard way :(

If you don't seperate the mom, then absolutely stuff the top of the tank with fake palnts and when it looks full, add some more. The more cover for the babies to hide, the better. Also if you have a power filter that is pretty powerful, you might want to use a smaller one for a couple of days around the birth. The other occupants (including mom) will eat the babies if there isn't LOTS of cover. ;)

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I think I may have a prego black molly fish. I just got three of them a few days ago, and Mark says "oh, my brother used to keep those fish, and THAT one is preggo!" She is not a "balloon molly" before you ask.. :)
So has anyone ever bre these? I had an extra 10-g tank (sadly my puffer fish bit the dust.) So I put her and two others in there.. not sure 100% on their sexes but I am Googling that now.

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As a kid I used to breed those or more like they use to breed in my tank.

One thing I would do is watch out the female closely when you see her sending most of her time at the bottom it usually means she is ready.

The easier way to do it you can buy a 3 way breeding system http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781406&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253 4374302030097&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=101341 98673332917&bmUID=1169522816638&itemNo=0&Ntt=breeding&In=Fish&previousText=breed ing&N=2023693 it will separate the female from other fishes and the babies from other fish and their mum.

or when you see the female spend a lot of time at the bottom take her out and place her in a bowl with the water a little warmer then the one in her tank that will induce her, and she should have the babies pretty quickly, take them right out and put them in a small container or separate tank until big enough to be placed in the main tank.

You can also leave the female in your tank and let it be but chance are not many offspring will survive.

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

As a kid I used to breed those or more like they use to breed in my tank.

One thing I would do is watch out the female closely when you see her sending most of her time at the bottom it usually means she is ready.

The easier way to do it you can buy a 3 way breeding system http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_detail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524441781406&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=253 4374302030097&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=2534374302023693&CONTENT%3C%3Ecnt_id=101341 98673332917&bmUID=1169522816638&itemNo=0&Ntt=breeding&In=Fish&previousText=breed ing&N=2023693 it will separate the female from other fishes and the babies from other fish and their mum.

or when you see the female spend a lot of time at the bottom take her out and place her in a bowl with the water a little warmer then the one in her tank that will induce her, and she should have the babies pretty quickly, take them right out and put them in a small container or separate tank until big enough to be placed in the main tank.

You can also leave the female in your tank and let it be but chance are not many offspring will survive.

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That 3 way breeding system is junk.Its the thing i was talking about that will turn over a release the babies into the tank.It happens when the air under the sides escapes.I used the net one lots of times with no problems.Not being rude to yourself here :)

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Originally Posted by joepythons

That 3 way breeding system is junk.Its the thing i was talking about that will turn over a release the babies into the tank.It happens when the air under the sides escapes.I used the net one lots of times with no problems.Not being rude to yourself here :)

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Oh well back in my country the one I uses were great breeding systems, thought the one over here would be the same :(

I third that the floating baby fish tanks are not a good idea... they are a disater waiting to happen

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Originally Posted by GA_Ball_Pythons

Oh well back in my country the one I uses were great breeding systems, thought the one over here would be the same :(

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Sadly they try to "chip" corners here to save a penny:( .Everything is plastic anymore and its junk from the start.

I can just take the parents out and replace them back into the 55g tropical tank and let the future babies have the 10g. I only seperated them to give them more of a chance of not being eaten, and so the mollies have a better chance of breeding in a less-large tank. I think a pic is on order.. :)

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Originally Posted by Ginevive

I can just take the parents out and replace them back into the 55g tropical tank and let the future babies have the 10g. I only seperated them to give them more of a chance of not being eaten, and so the mollies have a better chance of breeding in a less-large tank. I think a pic is on order.. :)

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You really do not have to place the male in the 10g tank unless you really want to.The male will have zero problems finding the females for mating time,just picture the area in the wild they live in.Plus for some reason they are just like rabbits lol.

My boyfriend had a couple Mollys in his tank... now he has about 15. :P

lol; I can't wait for them to breed. :D