Molly nipping at Platy genitalia area

From the research ive done, i understand that platies do this when they will mate. But i have a sailfin Molly that keeps nipping at the pregnant platies area and am not sure if this is a breeding attempt or he is being aggressive/ eating the fry.

I know that she is indeed pregnant because i have spotted a couple fry swimming around already. Do platies birth them all right away or is it over a time period?

 

It might be a breeding attempt but it won't be successful because mollies and platies can't breed together. Typically platies will remain pregnant after they drop, and will be pregnant for all of their mature lives, even up to 1 year after exposure to males.

 

emeraldking I thought they could as many livebearers can crossbreed such as guppys with endlers, and mollies, limias, and more I believe.

 

emeraldking I thought they could as many livebearers can crossbreed such as guppys with endlers, and mollies, limias, and more I believe.

They can with endlers, limias and mollies but not with platies, mosquitofish, or swordtails (outside of artificial insemination)

 

so since there are some fry in the tank does that mean the platy got pregnant and held on to the babies or the sperm?

 

so since there are some fry in the tank does that mean the platy got pregnant and held on to the babies or the sperm?

If there are no male platys or swordtails then yes, she got pregnant at the store/with a previous owner. she is probably going to keep dropping for a while but then stop after no more than a year.

 

From the research ive done, i understand that platies do this when they will mate. But i have a sailfin Molly that keeps nipping at the pregnant platies area and am not sure if this is a breeding attempt or he is being aggressive/ eating the fry.

I know that she is indeed pregnant because i have spotted a couple fry swimming around already. Do platies birth them all right away or is it over a time period?

Not just platies, also other ovoviviparous livebearer males will try to get their mouths as close to the female's vent. How weird it may sound, but if the female shows that she's available for mating, she'll releases estrogen. This gives a scent which the males pick up by their taste senses. Even if a female is pregnant, she can still offer herself to males. This is quite normal.

It might be a breeding attempt but it won't be successful because mollies and platies can't breed together. Typically platies will remain pregnant after they drop, and will be pregnant for all of their mature lives, even up to 1 year after exposure to males.

I do know what you mean but it's not correct. This goes for all ovoviviparous live bearers (this includes platies as well): Once a female has mated with a male, the female will suck in the donated sperm in as sperm packets. So, she divides the amount of donated sperm. I deliberately mention "donated sperm" for the male doesn't insert his gonopodium into the female's vent but only contacts the female's vent and releases his sperm at the opening of the female's vent. She will store these sperm packets randomly in the folds of the fallopian tube. As long as this is the situation and she carries eggs, she's not pregnant. The female herself will decide wether she'll release one or more sperm packets in order to get her eggs fertilized. The release of sperm packets happens randomly. So, she'll open up folds randomly. So, not in specific order (I've heard that some claim that there's a specific order of opening up the folds. That's incorrect. That's also why you can expect different phenotypes as an offspring if she's mated with multiple males). The storage of those sperm packets can hold on to over a year. And not just a few months (what I often read).

emeraldking I thought they could as many livebearers can crossbreed such as guppys with endlers, and mollies, limias, and more I believe.

Wether a natural hybridization is possible, depends on the fact if the sexual organs are compatible with another. If not, no way they'll be able to mate, eventhough the male has been chasing the female the whole day. In general, each ovoviviparous livebearer species has got their own shaped sexual organs. So, the shape differs per species. The shape of the female's vent is formed in a way that it's compatible with the shape of the gonopodium of a male of her own species. Unless, there are other species that are compatible enough to make a crossbreeding possible. This happens mostly with species that are closer related to eachother. The difference in genera is not the first thing to look at to see if a natural crossbeeding is possible but the shape of the sexual organs are crucial.

 

Very informative, thank you!

Should i just let them be or should i move the molly? Ive noticed she seeks him out sometimes and swim by his side for a little here and there

 

Very informative, thank you!

Should i just let them be or should i move the molly? Ive noticed she seeks him out sometimes and swim by his side for a little here and there

As long as there's no harming involved, I'd leave them the way they are...

 

I dont see any harming towards each other but the molly is being aggressive toards all other fish. Even the puffers

 

I don't see any harming towards each other but the molly is being aggressive towards all other fish. Even the puffers.

I've heard mollies can be very aggressive to other fish in general.

 

I've heard mollies can be very aggressive to other fish in general.

If a molly becomes dominant, then yes.... they can be aggressive. But that goes not specifically for just mollies. All of my molly species overhere at my place are combined with other kinds of fish and there's only harmony between them.