Black Molly help

[JMsFishies]

Hi! So I just started a 10 gallon tank (suuuuper beginner). I Bought some swordtails & 2 black mollies (1 male & 1 female). I've been reading up on the mollies & noticed that the female's behavior is that of a pregnant Molly thats due soon, but her belly isn't huge. She's been hiding in between leaves of one of the plants near the heater & hardly eating. The male is also by her side & shooing away any fish that cone near. Can anyone please explain. Thanks in advance!

 

[saltwatertogo]

how long has it been setup? it sound like your mollies are going to be parents

 

[JMsFishies]

The tank with water & plants has been up for 5 days. The fish have been in for 2. Is it possible jc
I
Z

 

[JMsFishies]

Ooops! Is it possible that she's in the beginning of pregnancy? I've been looking up pictures & she's small compared to those pregnant ones.

 

[saltwatertogo]

all you can do is keep an eye on her.

good luck

Fishman

 

[Shetland James]

She might be quite stressed if you only let the tank run for 3 days before putting them in.

 

[OhNeil1969]

I have to agree with Shetland. I'm relatively new to the hobby but I have 6 mollies in my 29 gallon tank (1 has already bred). It sounds like your tank has not properly cycled (not enough good bacteria). You should test your water for high ammonia/nitrite levels. Also you don't mention what your water source for the tank is. If it's untreated tap water it may have chlorine which is deadly to fish. I have also found that if your water quality (ph, temp, etc) is significantly different from the LFS water and you just "dump" the new fish into the tank they will experience a shock that can sometimes be fatal.

 

[OhNeil1969]

Just reread my post and realized that it's REALLY hard for "1" molly to breed :?. Just thought I'd update so no one will think I'm crazy .

 

[catfishcrazy8]

my mollies

im a major noob fish as i only recently have been allowed/interested enough to even have my own fish. and even then i didnt listen lol!
i like cat fish more than anything but i have two mollies. the male is balck. i have noticed that he wont stop chasing all the fish in the tank. his head just under teh other fishes belly. finnaly my grandmother, whose house i have to keep my fish in cus i have LOTS of cats lol, and me tottaly got fed up with him chasing goldfish and thats just anyoying to me and bought him a female. but he didnt chase her. well at first. but he STILL chases the goldfish. and the the two poor glass catfish seem tramatized half the time hideing behind a rock and hardly leaving each oters side.
i have to say that if mollies get large when pregnat then mine might be. though no matter what i do my grandma never listens when it comes to feeding the fish. mabey i should buy her a manual for feeding fish? any way i think i have gone way off topic. but i dont know if my two mollies being in a tank of goldfish would stunt them for breeding or stimulate them or anything. and i do kinda have lots of tanks as im one five animal loving kids whod go outside and catch a grasshopper and itd be our pet. lol so i have tons of tiny tanks hiding. somewhere. i need to find them... so if they do end up breeding i might be okay. im sorry for typing all this. i have a problem with that... i hope its not a bother but im an incredibly stupid person sometimes and end up killing things so uh advice might be good lolthnx for doing such an awsome thread... lol like im an uter noob

 

[OhNeil1969]

Hey catfishcrazy8;

Welcome to Aquarium Advice. First thing I want to say is that your are not stupid. Right now you just don't have a lot of information and that's OK. At one point in time even the most knowledgable person on this site was in your shoes.

There are a couple of problems I see that need to addressed. First, are you sure you have mollies with goldfish? In general, tropical fish and goldfish are not good tank mates. One, the goldfish need different water parameters than tropical fish. Secondly, to the best of my knowledge, goldfish will attack and eventually kill tropical fish. The other problem I see is that male mollies will need more than 1 female to curb aggression. Usually, you would like to see 3 to 4 females for every male, sometimes you can get away with just 2 females per male. I suggest you start your own thread where you can get advice from a lot of different people. No one is going to judge you, we're all here to help and learn. Leave me a message if you start your own thread and I'll be glad to follow it.

 

[Cloverdale]

Possibilities

Hi there. I am pretty new to this all too (going on 3 weeks with fish) and also bought mollies for my first try. Here's the thing - I picked them based on color, and really got a good look at them when we got home. Per my understanding and less than expert eye - they are all females.

Today, 3 weeks later I have about 18 fry and probably two more litters (what do you call a spawning of fry?) on the way. I read somewhere that if a male and a female molly are in the same tank you can consider them bred - so my ladies came home already knocked up!!

My suggestions - do lots and lots of research online, although this can almost cause more confusion because almost everyone has something different to say. I just made sure I had good plants, bought baby grass and hoped for the best. They will be a week old Sunday and are doing great!

Good Luck!

 

[catfishcrazy8]

k

i dont know just how soon that will be as today a relative has died and so its not gonna be the most able to happen.... im still rather shaken but thats it.
and yes there are loke 5 goldfiish two mollies two glass catfish an alge eater. i dont know how long that will last but oh well. i mean we have hiding places and we have some major bullies and all of that stuff. but i dont know just how much ill even be able to do today or for awhile..

and uh how do i star my own thingy mobabor

 

[catfishcrazy8]

are you going to put any up for sale? and what color are they? and can you tell us about how you cared for the fish befor finding the fry. and how you did everything you did to prepare the tank? im like a major breeding fan and is one of the things i plan on being when i grow up. better to learn young then learn when ur sopossed to be teaching.