many hands

Hi, This is my first tank and I have a couple of Mollies who are definitely courting and so I expect my dalmation mollie will soon be pregnant. Can anyone tell me, apart from eventually getting fat, how can I tell when she is pregnant? More importantly, I would like to know when to separate her from the other fish for delivery? I really don't have a clue what to expect but am looking forward to the whole adventure. Thanks.

goggles

well when she is pregnant you will see a grivid spot form behind her belly just above the anal fin. it will take a round 30 days for her to give birth,give or take a few.
around what you think is two days before she will drop is the wright time to seperate her. but be carefull as she will eat hte young too. livebearers make for very bad parents.
you can expect anything up to around 20-30-40 fry so be ready. you will need to get fry food as adult flake is no good for them.
if you need anymore advice just ask

COBettaCouple

The best thing is to give lots of hiding places for the fry in the tank, from flat marbles for substrate to floating guppy grass, caves, etc. Moving the female can be tricky on timing, it's best not to move her within a week of her dropping and the stress of that and/or the stress of a new tank can outweigh any benefits to having her be seperate.

many hands

Thanks for the info
Do I need to worry about the little fellas getting sucked up into the filter or are they smart enough to stay away from the inlet?

COBettaCouple

I cut the netting off of a fish net and use a rubber band to secure it over the intake. The little fry will avoid it, but can get sucked up if they get chased into the suction or dart into it when they get startled so it's best to cover the intake while the fry are small.