Pregnant Silver Molly

Hello all....

New member here from suburban Philly.......old guy, age 63.......have a flourishing 20 gal planted tank, 11 community fish......love this new hobby and LOVE Fishlore !!!

Have what appears to be a pregnant Silver Molly --- but no gravid spot......am worried about potential timing as she is DEFINITELY pregnant, as I don't overfeed.

Any help appreciated....I'm getting a breeding net to put in tank, and am ready if needed to put Mom isolated in my 3 gal tank currently holding a betta in my office.....Betta will come out into smaller tank alone....

How much time do I have and why no dark spot showing -- yet anyway !

 

1- do you have a picture?
2- when they are close to delivery the gravid spot (which is not always an indicator that the female is pregnant) will move way more to the back and down...and get much darker... if you look closely enough you can often see the little eyes of the fry...
3- it’s very much your choice however moving the mom anywhere... especially a breeders box is usually not a good thing... it really stresses them out and can cause premature birth and your fry will die... it’s best to leave her alone and let it happen when she’s ready... (especially with a Molly as they need lots of space)
DO NOT put a Molly in a 3 gallon tank... it’s both cruel and not fair to that poor fish.... not to mention it’s not just the mom that will eat them.. nearly all community fish will (not ALL but nearly... especially if you have other mollies and other fish that are bigger than the fry)
I’m assuming by the post you are going to try and keep as many fry as you can? Do you have a place for all of these or somewhere for them to go when they grow? If you don’t then I would suggest what I do... let nature take its course... I’ve had dozens of births (too many to count from mollies, platys, swordtails etc) and I just let them be in the tank I provide some floating plants and the strongest ones will make it up there (it’s there usual instinct to go for the top) so having some hornwort or really any kind of floating plant will provide them with protection and the nutrients they need for the first little while....

If you plan on raising them you will need fry food... I use Hikari’s brand... it’s very cheap and it’s a small package that lasts forever because they need very little...
I think I answered some of your questions and gave a little advice from experience and just to show you these are some pictures of my balloon mollies fry that were born last night... they are in a tank with 7 mollies, a dragon goby and 2 bumblebee gobies... so if mine can survive with the gobies and the mollies yours will have a chance too... I don’t know how many she gave birth to because it was in the night time but I can still count at least 20 and that’s after my gobies are so full they don’t even care anymore lol and that’s also just what I can count... I’m certain there are still some hidden in places I can’t see in the plants.... if you zoom in on the pictures you will even see more than the yellowish ones as the other ones are a Griese color similar to my sand (this is a brackish tank just so I don’t get attacked for keeping a dragon goby in fresh water lol)

I also have a couple that are ready for birth any day now but keep in mind that these are balloon mollies so they have big bellies to begin with but I’ll try to get a picture of her underside so you can see what I’m talking about how the spot moves kind of down and back and gets darker

** she actually cooperated quite well lol see the last picture... this is generally within a few days of them giving birth... and it almost looks like it’s starting to open up... (the ballon Molly) as compared to my pregnant platy who is not that close yet (the picture of the platy obviously lol) kind of hard to get the one of the platy but you will see her gravid spot (hopefully is still middle to back.. not right down near her rear end

 

Thank you FRancine.....big help.......the 3 gal tank I mentioned would be just for the Mom and her babies....I think I will let nature take its course, since its so uncertain when and how many.......but I wish I knew ......no gravid spot et at all.....Mother still swimming around but definitely heavy....

1- do you have a picture?
2- when they are close to delivery the gravid spot (which is not always an indicator that the female is pregnant) will move way more to the back and down...and get much darker... if you look closely enough you can often see the little eyes of the fry...
3- it’s very much your choice however moving the mom anywhere... especially a breeders box is usually not a good thing... it really stresses them out and can cause premature birth and your fry will die... it’s best to leave her alone and let it happen when she’s ready... (especially with a Molly as they need lots of space)
DO NOT put a Molly in a 3 gallon tank... it’s both cruel and not fair to that poor fish.... not to mention it’s not just the mom that will eat them.. nearly all community fish will (not ALL but nearly... especially if you have other mollies and other fish that are bigger than the fry)
I’m assuming by the post you are going to try and keep as many fry as you can? Do you have a place for all of these or somewhere for them to go when they grow? If you don’t then I would suggest what I do... let nature take its course... I’ve had dozens of births (too many to count from mollies, platys, swordtails etc) and I just let them be in the tank I provide some floating plants and the strongest ones will make it up there (it’s there usual instinct to go for the top) so having some hornwort or really any kind of floating plant will provide them with protection and the nutrients they need for the first little while....

If you plan on raising them you will need fry food... I use Hikari’s brand... it’s very cheap and it’s a small package that lasts forever because they need very little...
I think I answered some of your questions and gave a little advice from experience and just to show you these are some pictures of my balloon mollies fry that were born last night... they are in a tank with 7 mollies, a dragon goby and 2 bumblebee gobies... so if mine can survive with the gobies and the mollies yours will have a chance too... I don’t know how many she gave birth to because it was in the night time but I can still count at least 20 and that’s after my gobies are so full they don’t even care anymore lol and that’s also just what I can count... I’m certain there are still some hidden in places I can’t see in the plants.... if you zoom in on the pictures you will even see more than the yellowish ones as the other ones are a Griese color similar to my sand (this is a brackish tank just so I don’t get attacked for keeping a dragon goby in fresh water lol)

I also have a couple that are ready for birth any day now but keep in mind that these are balloon mollies so they have big bellies to begin with but I’ll try to get a picture of her underside so you can see what I’m talking about how the spot moves kind of down and back and gets darker

** she actually cooperated quite well lol see the last picture... this is generally within a few days of them giving birth... and it almost looks like it’s starting to open up... (the ballon Molly) as compared to my pregnant platy who is not that close yet (the picture of the platy obviously lol) kind of hard to get the one of the platy but you will see her gravid spot (hopefully is still middle to back.. not right down near her rear end

 

Thank you FRancine.....big help.......the 3 gal tank I mentioned would be just for the Mom and her babies....I think I will let nature take its course, since its so uncertain when and how many.......but I wish I knew ......no gravid spot et at all.....Mother still swimming around but definitely heavy....

If you put the mom and the babies in a 3 gallon tank you will have not a single one left... the mom is usually the worst.. she will literally eat them as they are coming out of her... and you certainly can’t keep her in a 3 gallon even temporarily... it’s waaay too small... and again she will have them all eaten lol
You don’t see that dark spot on her like in my pictures? Are you certain she’s pregnant? When they have bloat they can look pregnant.... when was the last time you saw her poo and what did it look like?

My best suggestion is the live floating plants... even at that they won’t all survive... you could try catching the fry and putting them in the 3 gallon but I’d leave it barebottom and then get them the fry food and feed very very very sparingly.. they won’t eat much and you don’t want to have to do water changes because you put too much in... I’ve never tried it but I’m sure it would work temporarily for a few of them until they get big enough that nothing will eat them... but as long as you have live bearers you will have one pregnant almost at any given time... female livebearers are pregnant most of their lives

 

Thanks so much Francine ! Huge help ! Just wish I knew when and how many? Want to isolate the fry as best I can .....

 

Lol it’s nearly impossible to tell but their can be some signs but they don’t always do it so it’s just some things to watch for:
If she’s hanging around the heater more than usual
If she’s hiding or staying near the bottom
90% of the time you will miss it because they do it at night... you could try turning their lights off earlier if you think she’s close and making the room darker and you might catch her.. but mine have always been- I go to bed and wake up with fry in the tank lol
They can stop eating
They can get aggressive
But all of the above things are again, just “sometimes” things

The one most telling sign is that her belly will go from round to more of a \_/ shape.... that’s usually the sign it’s within a couple hours to days... that’s the one to look for... that will happen everytime

 

Thank You ! ALl questions answer NO as of today......watching and watching......!

 

Haha good luck! It’s one of those things like where you keep watching and as soon as you turn your back it will happen... and just in case you were unaware they can have several batches... days even weeks apart... livebearers can store sperm for a while and they can get pregnant again while they are already pregnant if that makes sense lol they can also get pregnant from different males... you will know because once she has them if she has had them all she will go back to looking exactly back to normal... for example I think I may have more within a couple days from the same fish because she still appears pregnant just not “as pregnant” but still definitely pregnant...whereas my last fish that gave birth had the fry and then was back to normal right after (when we woke up in the morning) so be prepared for a couple batches.... especially if you have her in with more than one male or if you bought her pregnant... one other sign I have found is that my males will sometimes follow the pregnant one more than usual close to birth and they will kind of follow behind her and underneath her as if waiting for their snack

 

Finally took a pic.......

 

she looks pregnant...
And if she will cooperate can you try and get a picture of her underside?
And she’s not crossed with a balloon Molly or anything right? She hasn’t always been that big? I just can’t see the gravid spot from that picture... also when you are looking at her face on look for the \_/ shape... it’s hard to tell from that angle

 

No boxy belly yet......no gravid spot anywhere.......tick, tick, tick.....thanks !

 

Hmm the lack of gravid spot is what is making me wonder... she was not like that when you bought her correct? How long have to you has her? And you do have males in your tank as well correct?

 

You can't always see their gravid spot and it's not a very reliable way of telling when they are due IMO. If they square off on the back end, they will give birth within 2-3 days of that. Molly can also hold their fry longer or drop them early. Best way to deal with this situation is to leave the molly mama in her current tank. Moving her can stress her and cause her to drop premature fry. Premature fry will likely drown. Once she gives birth you can place the fry in the breeding net for a few days. I recommend a minimum of a 10 gallon grow out tank (or plastic storage tub) for the fry, a 3 gallon won't be enough for these fry as you'd have to upgrade the tank fairly quickly. And I wouldn't put the betta in an even smaller tank.

 

The gravid spot most definitely can be used to tell if they are getting close to birth as it moves.. it goes darker and moves more downwards towards their analfin... yes female fish all have a gravid spot however close to birth it most definitely changes... as you can see by reading all the posts I had already mentioned that to the OP
That’s why I asked for an underneath picture if they could get one...
I again, would not recommend moving any fish (except the fry if you intend on raising them) usually it’s recommended that an already cycled tank be used (around 10 gallons) and you need to do daily water changes... that’s why I find it easier to just let nature take its course... my strongest ones always survive... and depending on what else he has for stock in that tank they may not even make it until morning... I have a community tank that a platy has given birth in twice and by morning not a fry in sight just because what I keep with them (tiger barbs, other platies, Mollies and others...) they don’t stand a chance in that tank however I have others that the fry swim around freely right from birth and barely anything touches the strongest and smartest... the other thing about if you plan to keep them then as soon we you can sex them they need to be separated as it’s not recommended to breed brother and sister or mother and father.. it can lead to compromised immune systems and well similar issues if you had a child with your brother for example... it just diminishes the breeding line... but it’s all up to what the OP’s goal is... selling them or keeping them etc.,,, but you couldn’t ever keep up with Molly fry or any livebearers fry if you tried to save them all... that’s why I prefer the “let nature take its course” approach but everyone can have a different opinion.. this is just mine

 

Hmm the lack of gravid spot is what is making me wonder... she was not like that when you bought her correct? How long have to you has her? And you do have males in your tank as well correct?

No, Ive had em about 5 weeks.....and males, yes....just one ....unless guppies and other species get friendly with mollies !

 

You can't always see their gravid spot and it's not a very reliable way of telling when they are due IMO. If they square off on the back end, they will give birth within 2-3 days of that. Molly can also hold their fry longer or drop them early. Best way to deal with this situation is to leave the molly mama in her current tank. Moving her can stress her and cause her to drop premature fry. Premature fry will likely drown. Once she gives birth you can place the fry in the breeding net for a few days. I recommend a minimum of a 10 gallon grow out tank (or plastic storage tub) for the fry, a 3 gallon won't be enough for these fry as you'd have to upgrade the tank fairly quickly. And I wouldn't put the betta in an even smaller tank.

Big help Segi, thank you ! Good advice ! I'm in good hands here on FishLore !...Have been contemplating an additional spare 10 gal tank anyway, so will do ! Fingers crossed she doesn't have 50-80 fry !

 

You're welcome
I have two female white dalmatian mollies, their gravid spots were never visible, pregnant or not. But they always gave birth within 3 days of squaring off. Their body shape and squaring off is one of the best indicators of pregnancy and impending birth. Mine always gave birth mid-morning so I would come home to babies in the afternoon. The birth is a very neat sight to see if you ever get the chance. They can pop out babies every 1-2 months for 9 months without a male around so you'll probably have several batches on your hands

You might want to consider plants that help fry hide, like hornwort for example. They make plastic grass mats for this too. Good luck and congrats! And hoping she doesn't pop out a humongous number of fry, but she looks huge though O-O

 

Dalmatian mollies are different because of their dark coloration... you can’t always see it but it’s their... this fish is silver you should be able to see it before birth around her analfin... it’s hsually only dark colored fish that you can’t see them in and yes mollies can and will mate with guppies... Because they are very closely related... technically guppies are (or once were mollies) just FYI... and you won’t want to save those fry
And even if she has lots (some of mine have been huge the mollies and the guppies will take care of a lot of them... I would even suggest skipping the feeding the day you notice the fry have been born IF you don’t notice many in the tank... and again just like I had already mentioned to you floating plants are your best option... Sometimes if people would just read all the posts it would save the OP from reading the same thing over and over again... I told him about the box shape and I told him about the floating plants and in my many many years of experience a lightly colored fish has shown a gravid spot close to birth, again Dalmatian mollies are not a reliable way because they have black or white spots already so it can be missed
Here’s a link you can read (for the OP) if you’d like:
It’s just a general “things to look for” kind of deal and may help you...