Is my mollie pregnant?

[Zagz]

I have had this mollie for about 3 weeks, I think she is pregnant. What do you think? Sorry about the blue tint, I was messing with the camera settings, I really have to read the manual on the camera. [acronym:462d22f664="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:462d22f664].

[mr86mister]

there is a possibility, look close enough to see her abdomen, if its far enough along you might be able to see eyes, or there will be a black dot on her body right at the top tip of her anal fin....just wait and see and if you suddenly have a whole bunch of little mollies around you will know....but if you dont want them....scoop them up when they are young and either put them in a seperate tank or try to sell them to your [acronym:07df804ebf="Local Fish Store"]lfs[/acronym:07df804ebf].......send more updated pics when you can w/in the next week or two to show us how she is progressing....good luck!

[zilla870]

not to be a downer to you but if she gives birth during the night more then likely your nice little predator angelfish will eat them if not well fed. and just a question do you know your overstock on your tank when everyone get full grown. what are your plans on that. i just asking not telling . i dont know your exp level. Good luck with the little lady, maybe get a breeder tank that you can put in your tank to keep the babies and her safe.

[Zagz]

I had purchased a breeder tank just in case she was pregnant. I still don't see any black spots or anything, guess time will tell for sure.

I realize that my fish are going to get bigger, I plan on purchasing another tank within the next few months. Angel and her little sis will go in there for sure, the others I will spend some time researching and make a decision. I will most likely transfer the ADF's too. I do appreciate the question because I am fairly new to this and like most people that start out with fish, no one advised me about cycling or how to do it. It was a learn as you go process with a lot of hearbreak for me. I think fish tanks should be sold with a warning label on them that you shoud not add fish immediately and directions on what cycling is and how to do it. It sure would save a lot of fish!

[zilla870]

yes it would. but how would the store make money." oh sure you can put fish in there now. $$$$$$. oh they died. let me test your water. oh try these fish. $$$$$$"

Well there are 2 rules people go by on stocking tank.

1st rule: 1 in per gallon. so your max is 29 ins of fish

2nd rule: is surface area. LxW= total / 12 = total inches of fishs that is for [acronym:f8df657b9f="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:f8df657b9f] tropical. there is a different rule for coldwater.

[Toirtis]

She does look like she could well be gravid...that breeding trap was a good purchase, you may well need it soon.

[Zagz]

Will a pregnant mollie start to act different when she is close to giving birth? Or will she just drop the fry while swimming around with no difference in behavior? My mollie is hiding behind some plants, there are two other mollies sticking close beside her. She is normally very active swimming at the front of the tank, she seems find other than hiding near the back of the tank, kind of in the darkness. My breeder tank is a floating tank that has a V in it for the fry to fall into, so mama won't eat her fry and then you can remove mama and keep the fry in the tank to get bigger without being eaten. I'm thinking time has come to put her into the breeder tank. I just don't want to do it too soon as it seems kinda cruel to confine her unnecessarily, when she is used to swimming around a bigger tank.

[Toirtis]

Sometimes their activity is different. I would pop her into the breeder just to be on the safe side.

[TomK2]

be wary of the breeding net "stress". The mom can get very stressed if put in to soon, and either die or miscarry if left in too long too. I killed a couple of swordtails trying the floating plastic breeding trap. perhaps the nets are better? I used a divided 10 [acronym:4cfbe1ba91="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:4cfbe1ba91] tank for platy with great results.

[Zagz]

I've been worried about putting her in a breeder tank too soon. Should I put her in my 5 [acronym:07031020d0="Gallon"]gal[/acronym:07031020d0] that I typically use as a [acronym:07031020d0="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:07031020d0] tank? Won't she eat her own fry?