How close?

[AlexandraDanielle21]

Hey guys. I hate these threads too, but I really need help figuring out this Molly. How close is she to popping? I really want to keep the fry so I need to know when I should move her!! Thanks so much in advance. She is still eating and staying with the group by the way...

 

[Ian086]

Hey. It is always tricky guessing but I would say about 4-5days. She looks pretty square in the first picture. If she is still eating then your a few days away. With my livebearers, they usually stop eating about 3 days before they give birth.....

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

Hey. It is always tricky guessing but I would say about 4-5days. She looks pretty square in the first picture. If she is still eating then your a few days away. With my livebearers, they usually stop eating about 3 days before they give birth.....

Thanks so much!! I have a fry tank set up and I am super excited!! This is my first batch of fry

 

[Ian086]

Are you just gonna let her have them freely in the fry tank or use a breeder box??

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

Are you just gonna let her have them freely in the fry tank or use a breeder box??

I purchased a breeder box. I think that I'll use it just because she will never pass up a chance to eat. If she does give birth when I'm not there I want to be sure that the fry will survive.

 

[Ian086]

I would use the fry tank to let her have the fry in. Just put some fake plants in it, bunched tightly in the corner. The fry will hide out there. Even float some for extra protection. In my experience, it's nearly impossible to save ALL the fry but you will probably only lose a few this way. They usually, but not always, give birth late at night. If you check the fry tank every morning, you will see when she has had them, so you can then remove her. She won't be able to eat too many of them by the time you notice. She will be considerably smaller as soon as she has them....
This is the signs I look for when she is ready to be moved to the fry tank.
-She becomes very lethargic
-She stops eating.
-Starts hanging around the top/bottom of the tank.
-Stays close to the heater.
-Her anal area will start to swell/bulge and will open slightly(dilate).
Make sure you cover the filter intake pipe with a prefilter sponge or some NEW cheap pantyhose. It stops the fry getting sucked into the filter. When you move her into the fry tank, try and keep the lights off. This will keep stress to a minimum. If she feels stressed, she can hold off the birth or may even abort. I keep my fry tank at 80c, this helps the fry grow faster....

 

[patrickriley2010]

But a breeder box it has cracks for the fry to hide under from the mom

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

I would use the fry tank to let her have the fry in. Just put some fake plants in it, bunched tightly in the corner. The fry will hide out there. Even float some for extra protection. In my experience, it's nearly impossible to save ALL the fry but you will probably only lose a few this way. They usually, but not always, give birth late at night. If you check the fry tank every morning, you will see when she has had them, so you can then remove her. She won't be able to eat too many of them by the time you notice. She will be considerably smaller as soon as she has them....
This is the signs I look for when she is ready to be moved to the fry tank.
-She becomes very lethargic
-She stops eating.
-Starts hanging around the top/bottom of the tank.
-Stays close to the heater.
-Her anal area will start to swell/bulge and will open slightly(dilate).
Make sure you cover the filter intake pipe with a prefilter sponge or some NEW cheap pantyhose. It stops the fry getting sucked into the filter. When you move her into the fry tank, try and keep the lights off. This will keep stress to a minimum. If she feels stressed, she can hold off the birth or may even abort. I keep my fry tank at 80c, this helps the fry grow faster....

Thanks so much. I have some plants that I can move around in there and ill cover the filter intake. So from the pictures do you think she still has a day or two before I should move her? Or should I move her now so she adjusts to the tank?

 

[Ian086]

Thanks so much. I have some plants that I can move around in there and ill cover the filter intake. So from the pictures do you think she still has a day or two before I should move her? Or should I move her now so she adjusts to the tank?

You could move her now, if you want. I find she usually stops eating from about 2 days before she gives birth. As long as the fry tank's water is good, temperatures match, she will be fine. I would move her late in the evening and then leave the lights off for the rest of the night.....

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

You could move her now, if you want. I find she usually stops eating from about 2 days before she gives birth. As long as the fry tank's water is good, temperatures match, she will be fine. I would move her late in the evening and then leave the lights off for the rest of the night.....

It's probably better if I leave her... Right? I do not want to stress her out too early or cause her to abort. I'll keep a close eye on her and see how she looks tomorrow. I think I'll move her tomorrow night. I'm really not sure. What would you do?

 

[Ian086]

It's probably better if I leave her... Right? I do not want to stress her out too early or cause her to abort. I'll keep a close eye on her and see how she looks tomorrow. I think I'll move her tomorrow night. I'm really not sure. What would you do?

Yeah, leave her until tomorrow night. She will get slightly stressed whenever you move her but nothing to worry about. I do it all the time with my females and have never had any issues doing it this way. I move her, in the evening, offer some food and then switched the lights off for the rest of the night. I find they like the peace and quiet of having their own tank, away from the males!!!....

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

Yeah, leave her until tomorrow night. She will get slightly stressed whenever you move her but nothing to worry about. I do it all the time with my females and have never had any issues doing it this way. I move her, in the evening, offer some food and then switched the lights off for the rest of the night. I find they like the peace and quiet of having their own tank, away from the males!!!....

You don't know how much I appreciate your help. Thank you

 

[Ian086]

You don't know how much I appreciate your help. Thank you

No problem, your welcome!!!
Let me know how you get on and if you need any more help just give me a shout or PM me. Good luck

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

No problem, your welcome!!!
Let me know how you get on and if you need any more help just give me a shout or PM me. Good luck

Here's an update:

She stayed in the fry tank for three days without giving birth. Se stopped eating, which I took as a food sign, but when I got home today she had lost a fair amount of her bulge. She still looks pregnant, and I know that she didn't give birth. She looks like she still needs weeks before he's ready, but I don't understand. I put her back in the main tank and she immediately swam over to the male. It's cute, he was more stressed than she was when she was gone. I don't know where to go from here so i guess that I'll just wait and see how she looks in a few weeks. Thanks for all the help. I'll keep the fry tank going in hopes that I'll need to use it.

 

[Ian086]

Here's an update:

She stayed in the fry tank for three days without giving birth. Se stopped eating, which I took as a food sign, but when I got home today she had lost a fair amount of her bulge. She still looks pregnant, and I know that she didn't give birth. She looks like she still needs weeks before he's ready, but I don't understand. I put her back in the main tank and she immediately swam over to the male. It's cute, he was more stressed than she was when she was gone. I don't know where to go from here so i guess that I'll just wait and see how she looks in a few weeks. Thanks for all the help. I'll keep the fry tank going in hopes that I'll need to use it.

If she lost a fair bit of her bulge overnight, there's a good chance that she did give birth then. Maybe she ate the fry. If it's her first birth, she might have had only around 10. They have bigger batches of fry as they mature. Personally I would have left her a bit longer in the fry tank. There is no right or wrong way really, you'll get the hang of it as you get more experienced. The male was just missing his girlfriend!!!.
Remember, to keep the fry tank cycled, you need to have fish in it. The BB need food. When I have no fry in my fry tank, which is seldom, I keep a few guppies in it....

 

[AlexandraDanielle21]

If she lost a fair bit of her bulge overnight, there's a good chance that she did give birth then. Maybe she ate the fry. If it's her first birth, she might have had only around 10. They have bigger batches of fry as they mature. Personally I would have left her a bit longer in the fry tank. There is no right or wrong way really, you'll get the hang of it as you get more experienced. The male was just missing his girlfriend!!!.
Remember, to keep the fry tank cycled, you need to have fish in it. The BB need food. When I have no fry in my fry tank, which is seldom, I keep a few guppies in it....

Thanks. I'll keep looking and ill see if I can find any fry. I might add a few guppies or possibly move the pair of platys into the other tank. Thanks