lolagurl

Ok since i still have no idea if my molly is a girl or a boy, (i looked at the sexing livebearer page , but my molly seems to sometimes have the dorsal fin or a boy and girl, unless the boys dorsal is supposed to be just a straight pointy fin, and doesnt fan out even a little bit..then i know i have a girl) Anyways i dont want another molly. Only because problem is if i get a boy molly and mines a girl molly, they might have babies, and i dont want that. Or if i get a girl molly, and ithe others a boy same perdicament. So i was wondering if to have only one platy and one molly would be ok..they'de keep eachother company and get along good. Though i would really just like another molly.

Richard

You need to be looking south of the Dorsal Fin to tell the sex of your Molly.. under a Molly's tummy you'll see a fin which is called an Anal Fin.. if it's long and phallic in shape, you've got a male, if not, then she's a female.
If you get another Molly the same gender as what you have, they should be pretty OK with each other.

Neville

i think the parent mollies will eat their fries if u do not put enough plants, so population control won't be a problem...

tan.b

and if the mollies dont eat the fry the platies would!!! i think any fish will eat fry if it can get to them!

Tom

I think the rule is, if it fits in my mouth and I like the taste, it gets eaten. Kinda makes you think about the things that could get into the water overtime.
Tom

tan.b

sounds about right for my greedy bunch!!! they'll eat anything!!!! just hope i have enough plants and hidey holes for the fry to hide in!

Richard

I've come to realise no matter how many plants and other hiding places you may have in your tank, if the fry are not fast enough and smart enough, they'll get picked off anyway.. right now, I have a yellow Dalmatian Molly about to give birth to what looks like a pretty large batch of fry, judging by her size.. and since I've stopped taking pregnant females out of their tank for birthing purposes (experience has taught me the whole transfer experience can be somewhat traumatic to the pregnant female and even the unborn fry), it means every morning when I get up now, I'm in front of that particular tank train-spotting any fry that might be born.. the minute I see any, they're scooped gently out with a brine-shrimp net over to a special tank set up for them. The way I see it, any fry that survive through the night (when most of my livebearers tend to give birth) are the fastest and smartest of the bunch, and over the last few years have grown to be the healthiest and most multicolored group of fish I've ever had.

tan.b

thats the kinda theory i'm going for...survival of the fittest....i'm just hoping some survive and they dont all get eaten ....hope i get the balance right!
Tan

lolagurl

yea i still cant tell. i got two more mollies at the beginning of the week. the ballon orange and my old dalmation were fine but the black molly kept chasing them , and the black and dalmation have the same anal fin so im guessing they were both boys and fighting over the female, except the dalmation isnt fighting him he'll just run away. Anyway i am taking the black one back because he wwont stop. The dalmation is even scared a bit when the ballon comes around him that he would skidder away, but now i think they are more comfortable around each other. I don't think if the dalmation is the boy the female becoming pregnant, he never chases her and i dont think would dare. Even when the black molly (whos a bit smaller then the dalmation) would chase him he would never chase back, just run away. Bit of a scardy cat im finding out that i put in the two new ones, but is acting good with the orange (she doesnt chase the dalmation). Im still talking as though the orange balloon is a girl but still not entirely sure.. I think from now on if i get one more molly it will have to be a rescue mission to a molly that is getting picked on..will fit right in here