sylvester

Hello,

Does anybody know what age Mollies can breed from? We have some fry and a couple are almost big enough to put into the main tank but we are worried they may get pregnant (as seem to be female)?

Many thanks

Chief_waterchanger

Most livebearers (mollies, guppies, swordtails, platies, etc) get sexually mature within a month and a half to three months of age depending on environmental circumstances (available room, food(s), waterchange frequency, etc.)

sylvester

Thanks for that - another quick question? Can our existing male molly get the baby female mollies pregnant?

mrsmuffin

Yep, as soon as they are old enough.

COBettaCouple

I like to seperate livebearers as soon as they're old enough to tell male from female.

Taku

With mollies they are usually able to breed at 1 to 3 months. Any female can be impregnated by any male. Not only that once they have the fry, they can automatically get pregnant again, even if you take the males out before they give birth. This is because they are able to store the semen in their system for use at a later date.

sylvester

Many thanks for updates, sorry to keep coming back with further questions but we are new to this!!

Is it normal of fry to die quite regularly? We had about 30 in our baby tank and they were doing well for first few weeks but have started to die quite rapidly over the last few days (at the rate of 1 or 2 a day)? Is this just natural selection (survival of the fittest) or are we doing something wrong?

Thanks

Taku

I'd say it is not normal. I have been raising molly for the better part of 5 years. The only time i have had any to die young was when the water quality was off. Make sure you are feeding them ok. They have to have food small enough for them. Regular sized flakes will just sink to the bottom and decay.

sylvester

Thank you for the reply.

We are feeding them with special flakes for baby fish and are feeding them 2-3 times a day in realtively small doses. We have had another two die today as well, so maybe it could be the water quality that is off?

Taku

It is very possible. Especially since you are feeding them 2-3 times a day. You should never feed any fish more than what it can eat in about 3 mins. If it drops to the bottom, a molly fry wont touch it. A less expensive way to feed your molly fry would be to crush the regular flakes between your fingers as you feed them. Do you have any algae wafers? Molly fry love vegitable matter, but again it has to be small enough to fit in there mouth, so crumble it up.