zanith56

Hello Everyone;

I have 8 mollies in my tank and suddenly three today appear bloated. One is a Silver Molly, one is an orange molly, and the other is a large black lyretail. Recently one of the 8 fish in the tank had fry, which I do not know, and we were able to rescue one. Again, I do not know who was pregnent and I do not know why these other three molly are bloated. Two I put in breeder tanks for safe measure, and I left the large fish unseperated with the other fish.

I keep getting confused regarding the difference between males and females of the different molly subspecies, and I would really like some detailed information on how to distinguish the two and of course I would like some assistance figuring out the cause of this bloating.

Izabela

Ahhh, the male/female question. OK, ALL molly females have a fan shaped fin under their belly (the anal fin). It looks like a fan, and a boy looks pointed, just like a stick. Even when the males move their anal fin, it never fans out. Can't be sure without pictures and more info, but chances are, either your mollies are pregnant (the babies might get eaten by the other fish or even mommy) or they could be sick...dropsy is the term used to describe a fish bloating, often with the scales sticking out. It is a symptom rather than a disease. But more than likely, if you can determine that your bloated mollies are females, chances are they are pregnant! Good luck...post some pictures if you can and we can tell you if they are girls or boys

Izabela

zanith56

THANKS!

Regarding the bloated question
It was not dropsy, because no scales were fanning out and not too long after eating, they secreeted a lot of feaces (SP) and the bloating quickly went down. So now I monitor the feeding more carefully.

Regarding Sex
I have heard much debate and read a fair amount about people being curious or even uncertain about sex. So, if I am correct, the anal fin on the female is fan like as to where the male has a very small and pointed anal fin. I also have read that mails tend to have a longer dorsal fin as well? Some even say female lyretails have not as large/long tipped cadual fin as the males. Correct?

Izabela

Glad to hear your fish was just constipated, and did not have dropsy, although constipation can certainly be a problem.

Yes, I have heard of all these indications of sex, however the anal fin difference is the easiest to see. The females tend to be more round/plump, but of course this isn't always a good indication. One of my males is quite round and plump (he never misses an opportunity to munch on something ), so compared to a female that just came from a fish store where she might be underfed, he looks like a female. Also, with different kinds of mollies, the sizes aren't always a good indication. For instance, although in black mollies males tend to be a bit smaller, my silver sailfin males are Much larger than my black females or my silver lyretail females. So, go by the anal fin shape....the girls have the fan. It's the easiest way. Good luck.

Izabela

zanith56

Thank you so much for the advice. I think I am understanding who the culprits are regarding the babies.