molly breeding

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SicklySweet

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 16, 2003
Messages
37
Location
Washington, DC
Last night before i went to bed, my two pregnant silver mollies were huge. This morning I woke up and they are much slimmer, back to normal size. It still almost looks like I can see a dark spot behind their gills (sign of a pregnant molly), but I could just be seeing things. I was eagerly awaiting this day, and I have some floating plants that the fry could hide in, as well as a rooted plant that extends up to the floating plant. I don't see any fry though! Can you normally not see them at one day old or should I be able to see something? Where are my babies? :cry:
 
They could have eaten them.

I had a batch of 30some odd fry, and by the next day [ when I took them out ] I was down to 9, and now I'm down to 6 in the fry tank alone [ donno where they went, just vanished! 8O ]


she gave a second birth about a week ago, that I did not notice.. and all thats left in the tank with her right now is 5 fry.
 
For me they left the first batch alone and one day I had 4 adults, the next morning I had an additional 12 babies. This time after the female had her sudden slimming I find only 4 babies, but there are lots of rocks and crevices so they might be hiding. I am pretty certain they got eaten though, but somehow they always seem to keep making babies, and I will be overstocked in no time!
 
Hmm looking at them again, it looks like they still are pregnant, but at least one has slimmed significantly. Maybe they're giving birth very slowly? I thought I saw one coming out before, but I think he was just pooping.
 
Sometimes the tiny fry hide so well you just never see them, and a couple of weeks later...surprise! And you'll see one or two "survivors."

But they do eat them pretty quickly, too. Not to worry, though--these livebearers give birth pretty regularly.
 
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