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I recently bought a 3 Way Breeder for my pregnant molly. Could someone please give me advice as to when I should put her in it? I don't want to stress her out, but I dont want to wait too long either. Any help y'all could give me would be appriciated.

Put her in when you think she's going to drop the fry. Don't leave her there too long, as those breeders are very small.


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I've never done this before. I'm not sure when she will drop the fry. What should I be looking for?

One way I know that my livebearers (guppies and platties, so I assume the same would be with mollies) are going to drop fry is that the female will tend to stay closer to the bottom, and be a lot less active. She may also try to hide. You will also notice that they will be almost in the shape of a balloon, and looking ready to explode...

Take note of when the females drop and then you will be able to prepare for when they drop the fry next time...about 4 weeks

Best of luck, heidi

"I've got a great ambition to die of exhaustion rather than boredom." Thomas Carlyle

I guess we'll see what happens. Thanks for the advice.

Signs when my molly is ready to drop in about 3-4 days:

1. boxy shape of her belly
2. less active
3. always hide at the planted area (bottom or top)
4. more clamping of her anal fin
5. goes up and down in the corner of the tank

6. optional, if her belly is translucent, the gravid spot
is getting darker and darker.

Hope that helped!

Ronn

you know... I usually move my mollies to a quaranteen tank when i think they're about to drop, but, if you dont have one handy i use those net breeders you can buy at petsmart or petco.

the most definate sign i can tell you to look for is, the belly gets HUGE. its not rounded like when they eat alot, its more angled at the front. i've kept some of my mollies in a net breeder for two weeks or more, it doesnt seem to stress them out, but.. eh.. who knows, it might..

just telling you from my perspective.

by the way... i absolutely hate using those hard plastic two or three-way breeders. I suggest a net, its easier and all you have to do is remove the female after shes done, and you have a tank for your fry.




oh another helpful hint someone along the way told me, was that it could take up to 8 hours before the female has fully given birth to all her fry, meaning if you see some in there, you might leave her alone in there for half the day.. as she may not be done.

downside is she will probably eat some of her fry

chelle

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

Will her eating habits be effected at all?

One other question: Can I help induce her giving birth in any way? Warmer water or small water changes, maybe?

well..i do not think that it is advisible...since the fry might not be able to tolerate slighly warmer or cooler water..

you can help her by:

1. feeding livefoods, for fast development of the babies
2. yes, 20% daily water changes
3. move the males out, that means less stress
4. add a little bit of salt

and after giving birth, let her rest for two days and feed her well.

ronn

Okay, here's the game plan:

I used a divider to seperate a quarter of the tank off. I have El Prego Molly in that section. There is no other fish in that section, only various plants and breeding grass. I figure that should give her adequate room to move and keep her away from the males. I can do the water changes every two days, at least.

Is there any paticular live food that would be better for her?

Any other suggestions?

Option for live food:

1. Blood worms, if you can find any
2. Mosquito larvae
3. Brine Shrimp
4. Daphnia

These are the most common I believe.

Note: if you want more fry, then you might want to add some floating plants, like anacharis and hornwort. And plant some at the bottom of that area heavily, because when the babies are born they need more places to hide and eventually they’ll be floating at the surface. With the help of floating plants they can practice flipping their fins and also they can rest at the top.

Ronn