molly gave birth!!

Hello everyone I am carissa. Just joined like 5mins ago!!!
But anyways..
My dalmation Molly fish gave birth in a community tank.
20 gal.
Her fish roommates - 2 malegold dust lyretail mollies.
3-platys....... 2 male 1 female.
And 1 other female dalmation Molly.

I kept reading that these fish would eat my mollies fry....
But they don't even notice them?
Does this mean they are bad? Cause they seem fine. they swim all over

Also. My two gold dust male mollies will NOTT leave my female dalmations alone.
It even seems like the females are irritated at their mating efforts.
But when they "do it" it doesn't even look like their fishpenis is getting it in... If you catch my drift.

They get especially frisky after feeding time.
But another question.. is why don't my male platys act that way too?

Lots and lots of questions I have. Will post more later. Plz answer!!

 

Congrats on the fry!! they are probably not noticing the fry and a few were probably eaten without you realizing it. Sometimes the fry won't even get eaten and that's why our tanks get over populated with live bearers. Your mollies are for sure mating, and they always will. Live bearers reproduce like crazy and as long as there are females and males in the same tank, they will never stop.

 

Congrats! Perhaps the platy are still a bit young to mate? I'm finding out the hard way how well molly fry can survive in a tank with others. They grow really fast. Become too big to eat rather quickly. I just recently found 4 in my tank that are too big to be eaten. They were in a tank with like 17 other fish and made it. Both mine are preggo again. Needless to say females are being seperated ASAP. Cuz if average 4 make it every time.... I'll be giving fish away if can! Plus you should also note that if you do decide to separate at some time females can hold sperm for 6 months I believe so could still give birth 6 times after separate. Also, the recommended male to female ratio is 2 females for every male. For all live bearers I believe. To cut down on harassment. Enjoy the fry and good luck!

 

Congratulations!

Your fish may eat some, may not, may eat them all, may not. It depends on many things. Generally the hungrier they are, the more likely they are to eat the fry. I suggest fasting them for a day and seeing how it goes (if you are wanting them to get eaten). It doesn't mean the babies are sick or ill.

The suggested ratio of male:female is 1:2 as the males will mate with ANYTHING they can get their fins on It is recommended to have more females so they get a break from the males advances which, can cause stress to your females.

I do recommend separating males and females. A female can hold sperm for 6 months can give birth to up to 100 fry each time. That's 600 potential fry per female WITHOUT any males around. It is unlikely they will have 100 babies and them all survive every time but it's something worth considering, I have two female guppies and no males and they have around 5/6 survive each time they give birth. I have around 30 fry without any males.x

 

Wow thanks guys!! And what about transferring the mollies? Like if I was to give one to a friend. How long can one go without a filter?

I have about 15-20 Molly fry that I can see.

I was also wondering.
Like. How long till I really need to get rid of them? Untill they affect the tanks water?
Cause I've read your only supposed to have so many fish in a 20 gal

 

How old are the babies? I usually spot around 15-20 a day or two after the birth then slowly then disappear...! It takes a few weeks until the number remains stable at which point I remove them. I also fast the other tank mates twice a week if there is fry to be eaten and sometimes remove newborns and feed them to my betta and angelfish. If you have a friend with these fish or more aggressive fish, they may take the fry as live food.

They would need a filter straight away and preferably a cycled tank. I have given a few away (with friends I have always given them a filter, heater and some TSS... I like to know they will be in good hands!) and usually wait until they are 4-5 months old.

They will have some bioload instantly, although it will only be small. I don't know how quickly they can cause a problem. I move mine out of the community tank and into a fry tank when they are too big to be eaten (around 2-3months depending on the fish). My only suggestion would be to check on and use juvenile sizes as a guide to how big they can get before you will need to remove them or wait for a more knowledgeable member to swing by

You can also see if any LFS will take them (it is unlikely). I would separate the males and females as soon as possible or rehome the females. Fry can cause lots of problems if you don't have the space to cater for them.xx

EDIT: just reread the OP and you mention that mating behaviour doesn't look, how do I say this... Successful? They don't have a particular place to get into, they sort of inject it where they can. They just, kind of, bump each other.x

 

They are two days old.
Oh my gosh. That would be sad to see my Betta eat them. Do you think bettas find them tasty? Because if so. It seems a natural way to deplete them.

They've started exploring all over the tank. to the surface and back
The only fish that notice them are the Platy. and they half heartedly chase them.
I didn't know if the fry were good for others to eat. so I haven't been fasting them.
I've been feedingn them slightly extra so they wouldn't eat them.
But I kinda see I have a few too many. ....
So fasting my other fish... And then feed a few to my Betta? That will be brutal.
My Betta is a super grumpy guy anyways. but he is in a separate tank.
Edit---- YES the gold dust mollies look like they have a terribly hard time getting it in. it's kinda funny.

 

I can't watch my fish eat the fry. I can't keep them all and it's a natural way to control the population. I don't have a 'nicer' way of controlling the population. I net one (I use very young ones) and pop it in with my Betta instead of feeding him and the next day there is no fry in his tank. It's not a nice thing to have to do but I think it's quite sensible. Once he's eaten one, you'll probably feel better about it. Try it with one and see how you feel? It's a personal preference. I am not trying to push you to do this, by all means save them all if you want to

They are a source of protein and a good form of exercise for my Betta. My Angels are exactly the same.

If your Betta enjoys them it makes keeping males and females together a little more "stocking safe".

Hey, now you have 3 posts you can fill your profile in. It lets members know about your tanks