Planning on crossing livebearers, please help/ give advice

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djtypykuhl

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Oct 13, 2011
Messages
165
Location
Preston county, WV
here is what i've got so far:

males:
1 orange molly
1 red/black swordtail

females:
1 white molly
3 black mollies
1 scarlet platy

these fish are currently in my 30gal setup, and instead of sepperating the ones i want to breed, i'd rather just leave it up to chance. The general agreement is that all livebearers can cross, but it doesn't usually happen. My male orange molly has already crossed with my female scarlet platy, and i'm pretty sure that my swordtail has also done so. (is it possible the the sperm can fuse while in the female and create a 3-breed?) Also, my swordtail doesn't seem interested in the mollies, and i was really hoping that he would go for the black ones. Would i have to seperate them to make it happen?

i have a 10gal setup for the 30babies i have so far. 18calico mollies, born oct.23, 2011. and 12platy crosses, (still not sure about the specific breeds crossed) born oct.30, 2011.

Any and all advice on this matter would be great :)
 
Platies & swordtails- yes.
Platies & mollies- no.
Swordtails & mollies- no.

Platies and swordtails will interbreed because they are in the same family, however, mollies are not in the same category as the platies/swordtails...
 
I have heard about a lot of livebearer crosses happening that "shouldn't" have happened. Its kind of hard to say for sure what exactly can work. Honestly, if you really want to try, I would recommend having all males on species and all females of another. Even then, it might not happen. But, I think that would be your best chance.
Are you sure that the molly/platy cross-bred successfully? Do you have any fry big enough where you can tell that is what happened? Or, did you just see them mate? I suggest getting pictures when you can. :)
Also, no, it is not possible for a 3way cross. I am not going to get into that more in depth. :)
 
the 12 unidentified are big enough to see the following:

about half or a little more have black-tipped fins
two are a solid reddish golden color (they do not have the black tips)
the others varry from light brown with red tint to a very dark red
their shapes also varry a bit, the golden ones look verry similar to a molly, but their fins are too round
the others look like little fat platy babies, and their fins are even taller and rounder
the ones with the black tipped fins seem to be the fattest

another note: if it's not possible for the sperm to fuse, then explain this:
i used to have a male black molly (walmart fish, hense the "used-to") and he went after my female white molly, as did my orange male. when she gave birth, it was to 18 fry that looked mostly orange with some black tied in. i assume when they get older, they will appear more callico.

and another: i plan on only getting female platties and only male swords. it's too late for me to do that with my mollies, but that's ok because they are my favorite anyway:)

one more thing: what the heck is an "LFS" and why do people sell their fish there?
 
Calico is not the result of mutliple fused sperms. It is about gene variable gene expression and gene silencing. Sorry, but it is not the result of multiple sperm fusing. Just because the mom was white does not mean she carried the genes for making ONLY white off-spring. You should do some research into molly genetics and color expression for further details.
Platys and swords do not often need much prompting to interbreed because they are so closely related. Honestly, a lot of the swords you see in stores are already crossed.
LFS= local fish store.
If you can, you should put up some pictures of your fry. :)
 
I agree with absolut. I don't know what the intended goal is in making hybrids, but even if it were possible the odds are even more diminished if they have their own kind to breed with.
 
I'll try to get pictures up as soon as possible, but i dont have a camera, so ill have to get a friend to do it for me :(

apparently there was an unidentified hider in my 29g, i caught it and seperated it to the 10g, i now have 13 unidentifieds. Those little guys know how to stay hidden!
 
platy gave birth again yesterday (11-27-11) 18 babies saved

BIG question!
i've heard many claims of mollies and platies crossing...
It's a fact that platies and swordtails can cross because they are in the same genetic family...
question is, if swordtails are in the same family as platies, and platies are able to cross with mollies, then by applying simple logic, shouldn't mollies and swordtails be able to coss?
 
i have proof! :)
i thought the crosses were platy/swortail, BUT, they are more orange than red and do not have any black in their tailfins. the black-tip top fins are a trait from the mother platy. one is a candy-orange color with black spots on it's side, and i've decided to keep this one. it is 5weeks old as of yesterday, and when it gets big enough, i'll be sure to post a picture or two :)
 
I agree with jeta. Any fish has more genetic variability than it expresses itself. Just because a fish is orange does not mean it is only capable of having orange offspring. I am not saying you do not have a cross, I am just advising you to not jump to conclusions too fast. ;)
Pictures or a video would be great! I saw a really cool video awhile back with what appeared to be rainbow wagtail mollies who seemed to have been mollie/platy crosses. I think it could be possible, but its best to let the evidence speak for itself and not jump too fast to conclusions. Genetics is complicated after all. :) Definitely see if you can borrow a camera though. Pictures would be great!
 
pictures should be available sometime after new year's (i hope)
i plan on getting more platties and some guppies soon
the baby (unidentifieds still aparently) are about 6weeks now
i'll ask my girlfriend if i can borrow her camera and see if she will help me post the pics
like i said before, the platy popped again on nov.27, so i'll have some different sizes going on in the pictures
one of my black molly females looks ready to pop, so i seperated her into my breeding net
i give her ciclid pellets as well as flake food (in hope that if i miss the birth, she will have food available and not eat her own young)
I'm really hoping that my male swordtail fertalized at least one of her eggs (red on black would look really cool)

The adventure continues!... :)
 
just got two more platies yesterday
male: yellow with black stripes on his tail
female: sunburst with black fins

also got live plant bulbs :)
 
i am rehoming my orange sail-fin male molly
(im sick of seeing black and orange mollies and i have a male orange and three female blacks... do the math...)

almost christmas time!
i will be expanding over christmas break, and i cant wait to tell everyone about my new fish after new year's!

merry christmas to all! (or happy holidays!) :)
 
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