Any advice on livebearer babies?

[sarah5775]

Ok, I am a total newbie. These are probably very stupid questions.

I want to breed my mollies and platys. I have three female platys (one male) and two female mollies (one pregnant) and I need advice on how to maximize the babys' chances. My one molly dropped a couple of weeks ago late one night and I was hoping that a few babies were hiding in the plants but none showed. The few times before that I put the pregnant fish in the breeder net and they miscarried. So that didnt' work.

Is there any way to tell exactly when a female molly or platy is going to give birth? Do they always do it at night? If I can catch them in the act I can scoop some fry into the breeding trap and save them (I know keeping fry in a breeding trap isn't the best but I am going to get a fry tank after Christmas - too much Xmas shopping to do now to afford one!)

I have a ton of java moss, and its all clumped on one side of the tank. I would say between a sixth and a fifth of the 29 gallon tank is full of java moss. Should I change its position- either let it float or anchor it down on the bottom spread out? Would some fry maybe be able to hide so I could scoop them out later? I also have two plastic petco 'baby saver' bushy plants, one floating and one anchored to the bottom.

So is there anything I can do? I have all these friends who want fish, and a lfs ready to give me credit for them, and no babies!

BTW- my other fish:

5 blackskirt tetras (longfin)
5 neon tetras
4 ottos
4 gold barbs
then the 4 platys and 2 mollies.

Thanks.

 

[bs6749]

Maybe buy a tank divider for your 29 gallon tank and put the mom in the "fifth or sixth" part of the tank that is covered with java moss. Do not have any other fish in there with her (on that side) and look whenever you pass the tank to see if you can see any of the babies. I think it is the natural instinct for the babies to swim downward for cover, so spread that moss out to maximize their cover. Then when you see some in the moss, you know it is time to take the mom out. Leave the divider up until the babies are large enough to be let loose so to speak.

I think the female will show a gravid spot right before (day or 2?) she is ready to give birth. Others that have more experience with livebearers than I do should be of more help.

 

[pobdave]

Also watch for the mother hovering in one position,in a top corner or under the filter-generally away from the rest of the other fish.I find normally my mollies do this just as they are about to drop.DONT try and move the fish to another tank whilst in that state as it could easily miscarry!

Easiest way I find to save fry is to place loads of floating weeds in the tank-they will all gather within it's safety and can easily be scooped out if you wish.

 

[Zagz]

The mother will have her gravid spot, also she will square off at the backside when she is close to giving birth. Definately don't move her at this stage. Lots of plants and hiding spots will increase the chance of your fry surviving. Mollies tend to eat their own fry a lot I have noticed. Guppy fry tend to survive very well, or at least they do in my tank! LOL

 

[jbarr]

IME, not with mollys or platies, mind you, but IME with goodeids (Xenotaca Eiseni) and fancy guppies, the gravid spot will show long before they give birth. My X.Eiseni showed a gravid spot for at least a week before she finally squared off, and gave birth a day or so later.

One thing you can do to ensure fry survival, get a tank divider.
In the future you could get a dedicated breeder tank. Or just not have any overly aggresive/hungry species.

 

[sarah5775]

I got a divider, took it out of the box and it was full of little holes. The fry could just swim right out. So that didn't work. I have a five gallon with my betta in it, and I'm going to convert that into a fy tank. I just need to get my hands on a sponge filter. Lonewolfblue posted where I can get one online, but I am going to try calling around to other lfs first. Hopefully I will get the fry tank up and running by the time another fish is ready to give birth.

BTW, I'm planning on getting rid of the barbs. Will that give any fry in the main tank a better chance?

 

[Billsgate]

Maybe you can try and sow a piece of nylon sock over the divider so the fry can't swim through? Or maybe better for water circulation a piece of mesh. I've also noticed duckweed can help your fry survive, I think they are less visible between all the duckweed roots and will less likely be eaten. Don't blame me if you're scooping out handfulls of duckweed after a month though
Gl!