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I have several questions regarding my mollies/swordtails... etc. First off: I have about.... 22 different fish. i have a 55 gallon tank containing a crap-load of different mollies, swordtails, and sailfins.

I'm lost. I had no idea these pretty fish i bought at walmart would breed like crazy.

I've had most of them with exception to buying a few more here and there, for a little over three months.

I noticed i had some little fishies swimmin around and managed to rescue 2. thats it. so i moved the two to a seperate 10 gallon tank with nothing but live plants in it.

okay... then i read up on gravid spots, and i noticed some of my females have gravid spots(a pineapple swordtail female, and some weird dark orange/red colored females(two of which) but dont seem to be having fry,its been about two months and... also. i heard that mollies dont have gravid spots. so if someone could clear that up for me.. that'd be great.

okay. then i bought a female peach and cream colored molly that i KNEW was pregnant. she had about 26 fry which i also moved to the 10 gallon tank mentioned before. so.. thats the second batch.

her fry have grown much more quickly like triple the size in three weeks.. is there a reason, such as the breed?

and... also.. how in the world can i tell if my dalmation mollies are pregnant. they look chubby.. but not like the female i knew was pregnant. and might i add.. she did not have a gravid spot. they have squared bellies. but.. so do all my other fish. am i overfeeding them, is that why they are chubby, or are the ALL pregnant?
I'm CLUELESS! please HELP!?!?

*Chelle*
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I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

oh.. and im not sure which fish gave birth, but i found one single little fry... i put the likely suspect in a breeding net, maybe she'll have more, or the others got eaten... im sure the latter of the two.

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

First of all, welcome to FP… yes, mollies and swordtails are livebearer and almost if not all livebearers are prolific breeders.

Female swordtails are normally or most all of them are translucent that’s why their gravid spot or the eye of the babies are to be seen; whereas for the mollies they have normally of most of them has thick scales that’s why their gravid spot is not clear.

Note: almost all of the time these lovely fish are pregnant, they give birth to a live young every 28-32 days providing good food and water conditioned and even without a male for months they can continue to give birth up to 6-7 month because they have the ability to hold sperms to fertilized their eggs for months.

For mollies, you will know that they will drop the batch of fry when their belly becomes boxy in shape and for swordtail same as mollies their belly becomes boxy plus their gravid spot becomes darker and darker.

Male swords are obvious because they got swords plus gonopodium, whereas male mollies has a gonopodium too plus the slightly colored bluish sometimes greenish of their caudal fin. Gonopodium is a modified anal fin (like a tube under their belly).

And may I add that they will eat their fry once to be seen even their own mother. They will completely drop the batch in less than 8 hours. You will know who drop the batch when a female is constantly chased by all males it's like almost rape and the female tries to hide from them (IMO).

Congrats for your fry!!! be warned, you will get more than that next time...

Last edited by ronnfive at 31-Jul-2005 20:44

okay.. thanks for the quick reply... i know how to tell whether they are all male or female... and most of the females get chased by the males, but it looks like they are trying to breed. ooook. so. is it possible for ALL the fish to interbreed? and... sailfins.. are only visible in male fish right?

also, does anyone know if zebra danios are livebearers?

*Chelle*
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I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

no..zebra danios is not..its from cyprinid group which is egg-scatterers.

last night i seperated the suspected female from the rest and woke up to six tiny tiny babies. and some other deformed fry and half eggs. does this mean she gave birth too soon?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

If she was a younger female that this could be normal.

They tend to have problems with their first batches (in number and survival rate).

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

so if i have a pineapple swordtail female that has a dark gravid spot for a little while now, should i seperate her even though she doesnt have a belly?

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

UPDATE!

Three females gave birth last night.

i have over 60 fry! running out of room quickly!

But... they're so darn cute!

I'm pretty sure the other femaled will be poppin a few out within this week, it seems like its been about a month...

I'll keep ya guys posted! thanks for all the help!!!!

*Chelle*
_______________________________________________
I love the fishes cuz they're SOOO delicious...

Congratulations, chelaine for the fry..........




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Congrats on the cute babies... its just the best feeling in the world to notice the new babie