Molly experts needed!!

[KhloeM]

hi everyone, so i've never bred fish before, but i was told by a molly breeder that i probably had all male mollies. however, i noticed that one of my mollies, dusty, (gold dust molly ... i know it's cheesy) has "blown up" a bit in the stomach area. i thought that dusty was male but i might be mistaken?? can anyone tell me if my molly is pregnant? sorry, the photos i have are not good quality at all but i'll try to get better ones!


Khloe

 

[KhloeM]

here's a few more pictures to help


Khloe

 

[dcutl002]

LOL! If i am looking at the pictures correctly...mind you I wear bifocals, Dusty is Dustina!

 

[KhloeM]

LOL! If i am looking at the pictures correctly...mind you I wear bifocals, Dusty is Dustina!

hahaha i laughed pretty hard at that it also looks like there's another pregnant molly in my tank! not quite sure what to do because i've never raised fry before (besides my betta) and i'm extremely nervous! also, i don't want to keep having them get pregnant because i know some people call them breeding machines! i only have a ten gallon, so it'd probably be a problem right?

 

[SpaceFish42]

I made a divider to separate my male and female guppies.

 

[dcutl002]

Well, call around to find a LFS that will buy or trade your fish. Petsmart will not. But, I used to barter Guppies for fish equipment.

 

[KhloeM]

I made a divider to separate my male and female guppies.

oh that's really smart! how did you make it if you don't mind me asking? i know i can buy one, i'd just need to find one that'll fit my tank. only problem is, if you look at my other post, i need help sexing my mollies because i honestly have no idea what gender they are...


Khloe

 

[KhloeM]

Well, call around to find a LFS that will buy or trade your fish. Petsmart will not. But, I used to barter Guppies for fish equipment.

i think my lfs that i get my fish from would take them because i've returned many fish to them that were chasing or if i had a lone schooling fish due to deaths of the others. hopefully they won't mind, but i will need to separate the males and females in the future if i don't want them to breed i guess.


Khloe

 

[SpaceFish42]

It is made of plastic needlepoint/craft mesh supported by the rigid plastic spines that come with those clear report covers. Here is a picture of it.
And this is the beginning of a smaller one.
Overall, it cost about $2.50 to make.

 

[dcutl002]

The males have slender pelvic fins and the females have wider pelvic fin.


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[KhloeM]

It is made of plastic needlepoint/craft mesh supported by the rigid plastic spines that come with those clear report covers. Here is a picture of it. View attachment 264938
And this is the beginning of a smaller one. View attachment 264939
Overall, it cost about $2.50 to make.

wow, that's awesome! thank you soo much! i'll definitely look into that if i decide i don't want to raise fry again


Khloe

 

[livefishguy124]

really you should make sure you have a 1 male to 2 females for livebearers, and just let them breed you may come out with a few little ones (2-5) but it wont make much difference, and those mollies will die one day, so make sure you have a batch comeing

 

[KhloeM]

thanks for all of the replies, i have a quick question so i think i've identified one of my mollies to be male and the other four to be female. so i just got the male yesterday, but i don't want to get rid of him he hasn't chased any of them so far, but will he definitely mate with them?


Khloe

 

[livefishguy124]

well keep him and all of them, a 4 to 1 ratio is great they will all be happy, and if you see a little chasing don't worry its in their nature

 

[KhloeM]

well keep him and all of them, a 4 to 1 ratio is great they will all be happy, and if you see a little chasing don't worry its in their nature

thanks! so would he still breed with one of them or..? sorry i truly am a beginner with mollies


Khloe

 

[FreshSaltGirl]

It's almost 100% guaranteed to have at least one pregnant molly whenever males and female are kept together, that's just the way livebearers are. And no worries, baby mollies are extremely easy to raise. In fact, that's one of the ways I fund my aquarium hobby, by having a spare 10 gallon tank filled with baby mollies. I sell off batches of them when they've matured. Anyway, you've got nothing to be concerned about. 4 to 1 is a great female to male ratio, it lessens the stress on the females. if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

 

[KhloeM]

It's almost 100% guaranteed to have at least one pregnant molly whenever males and female are kept together, that's just the way livebearers are. And no worries, baby mollies are extremely easy to raise. In fact, that's one of the ways I fund my aquarium hobby, by having a spare 10 gallon tank filled with baby mollies. I sell off batches of them when they've matured. Anyway, you've got nothing to be concerned about. 4 to 1 is a great female to male ratio, it lessens the stress on the females. if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

thanks soo much! this really helped me to be less stressed about the whole fry situation. i went to my lfs today to return two of the males i got, but a sign on the door said closed due to weather. (of course! lol) but, i'm going first thing tomorrow to return them and exchange them for at least one other female so i have at least 4 females for my one lyretail male. hopefully since i'll have this number of females and the male i have is super calm and pretty shy for now, they won't breed like crazy haha! anyways thanks again, i really appreciate it!


Khloe

 

[FreshSaltGirl]

You're very welcome I'm sure all will go well. Your male lyretail molly sounds like a sweetheart! Good luck with everything and have fun