Surprise new baby

[samt1]

Hi Guys, right, I have had my tank up and running since late March, all gone very well, few hiccups along the way but nothing to major, I had Guppy's the bread lie you would imagine, they went to a new home and 3 babies that got left behind has grown up into males. 1 Molly died, when I replaced it I was told the one left in my tank was female and they gave me a new female (but could' guarantee she wasn't pregnant, this was a good 2 months ago). So I have been in the mind set that no more breeding should go on as the rest of the crew seem to be hard to breed even if you know what your doing, so to my amazement last night I see a baby swimming around, no idea what this could be as none of the fish have looked pregnant to me, they may be more I haven't noticed yet.
You got any clue's, tips to how I can identify this little dude?

Fluval Roma 90 (22 gallon)
Living in there are:
1 Clown Plec
2 Zebra Loaches
2 Dalmation Mollys (Females, so I was led to believe)
2 Dwarf Gourami's
6 Neon Tetra's
3 Guppys (male, that has survived from my baby invasion, the rest went to a new home)

Thanks in advance for any help
Regards
Sam.

 

[JoeBob]

If you could post a pic, somebody should be able to help you identify.

 

[samt1]

Yeah I'm going to try and do that tonight, nightmare trying to take pics cos no matter how many times you ask them to stay still they just won't listen!

 

[Aron]

They do cross breed, although it is rare apparently, resulting in 'gollies'. Especially male guppies will try and breed with anything and considering you have no male mollies, the females may have let the males breed with them. I think I have a few in my tank as I have never owned a male Molly for over a year yet all my females appear pregnant.

 

[toddnbecka]

Female livebearers can/will store enough sperm from a single mating to produce several broods of fry. Most likely she's emptied out now, but it's not a certainty.
On another note, zebra loaches are social fish, best kept in groups of 5 or more. Your 2 would be much happier with some more of their own species to interact with if you have stocking space.

 

[samt1]

Thanks for the comments, I will keep an eye on the baby and see what he turns out to be.

With regard to the Zebra Loaches I have been thinking about adding a few more but not sure on space, my tank is a 90 litre (20-22 gallon), but I am upgrading the internal filter to and external Fluval 205 filter, all my fish are quite small so I think I can add a few more but may leave it until I have the new filter up and running.

 

[GuppyLover]

They do cross breed, although it is rare apparently, resulting in 'gollies'. Especially male guppies will try and breed with anything and considering you have no male mollies, the females may have let the males breed with them. I think I have a few in my tank as I have never owned a male Molly for over a year yet all my females appear pregnant.

I very highly doubt its a Muppy/Gollie, the chances are very slim. I'd say its a Molly, one of the females could have stored.

 

[Aron]

Yeh you are probably right. Was just saying it was a possibility, most poecilidaes can cross-breed. You wouldn't want that anyway because I hear they are infertile?

 

[toddnbecka]

Ah, I missed the tank size when I read the first post. Given good filtration (the fluval 205 will certainly help) and regular maintenance/water changes you should be able to fit a few more loaches in there. None of your fish are territorial, though the clown pleco will produce quite a bit of waste for such a small and usually unseen fish.
Only thing that strikes me about the stocking is the mix of neons and livebearers. Neons are blackwater (very soft/acidic) Amazon basin fish, while livebearers do best in hard, alkaline water. The other fish are somewhere between those in terms of preference/adaptability.

 

[samt1]

Hi Guys I tried to get a picture and the best way to do it was video the little dude and do a screen shot so I have attached it, hope it's good enought for someone to identify.

 

[Aron]

Yes looks pretty much like a Molly.

 

[samt1]

Yes looks pretty much like a Molly.

Thanks for that mate, I will keep an eye on him/her and see