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ok as some of you may know i have a few livebearers that are about to give birth. one more question

do they stop eatting b4 they release there babies.

my female molly sometimes swims in a flower pot with her tail kinda up, but then a few hours later she swims regular.

also my two female platies that i bought very fat. there bellys are very deep, and i can see her ribs. the lady said that anyday now they should release. the whole shippment cme in very deep bellied, from what i was told. can't wait.

update: also if i buy a few female pot belly, or ballon mollies female, would i get more fry or no.

Last edited by bettachris at 08-Jul-2005 18:53

Hi Chris,
yes, not eating is definetly a sign shes going to give within the next 48 hours. Sometimes too, if you watch when you feed, you will see some close to birth females will "pretend" to eat, but just keep spitting the food out.
This is also a sign.
Hanging out near the bottom, in a cave, or under a tight bunch of plants is often another sign.
My Female Sailfin molly always hides in a cave and doesnt eat much for a few days, then she swims near the top to a really dense thicket of ambulia and cabomba and gives birth there.
The platys are likely very close as well. With platies you often dont see a gravid spot, but if their bellies could be described as very "boxy" or "square" then they are really close.
When a female platy is close to giving birth, I have noticed they often clamp and unclamp their anal fins a ton. They will often stretch tail upwards and nose down too.
My platys always give birth near the bottom of the tank, the mollies and guppies always near the top.

If you get balloon belly mollies, and you have a male say silver molly, or black molly or molly of any type, they should breed with all available females.
Remember balloon bellies are just normal mollies who have been bred to have severely deformed spines. They are not a different species.

Also, beware Puppies or Moltys- a cross between a platy and a molly or platy and guppy. This can happen sometimes too. Haha I have a tiny red wag male platy who thinks the huge 4 inch sailfin molly is one hot mama follows her around all day like a lost puppy.
Good Luck Chris!



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A lot of my platy's tend to hang out at the bottom of the tank or hide in the plants for a day or two before giving birth. It doesn't always happen but some of them do it. They usually don't eat. I have also had platy's that are very active and eat just before giving birth too. I think it depends on the individual.

well..mine too..she just keep on eating even on the eve of giving birth...but..she tends to move away from the crowd when it nears to give the fry a fighting chance.

[font color="#C00000"]With platies you often dont see a gravid spot, but if their bellies could be described as very "boxy" or "square" then they are really close.[/font]

I’m sorry to disagree with mr. sneaky_pete… With platies you often see their gravid spot because platies scales are less thick like "almost" all of mollies. I agree though with the boxy shape as a sign.

[font color="#C00000"]Also, beware Puppies or Moltys- a cross between a platy and a molly or platy and guppy. This can happen sometimes too.[/font]

I'm sorry, but platies and guppies don't crossed and so as platies and mollies, they do not belong to the same genus.

Swordtails (xiphophorus helleri)
Platies (xiphophorus maculatus)

Guppies (poecilia reticulata)
Mollies (poecilia latipinna)

However, platies and swordtails can, and mollies and guppies can.

Like iowafishguy and tankie, mine too is always eating even if she’s going to give birth… Yes, hanging at the bottom of the plants or near substrate is a sign… my mollies gives birth at the bottom and mid, not at the top.

[font color="#008000"]also if i buy a few female pot belly, or ballon mollies female, would i get more fry or no.[/font]

The balloon molly is shorter than a regular molly, however the regular molly has longer belly than the balloon molly. So, I could say that “almost” the same amount of fry you will get from them.

...Good luck for the upcoming fry!

Last edited by ronnfive at 10-Jul-2005 23:46

I’m sorry to disagree with mr. sneaky_pete… With platies you often see their gravid spot because platies scales are less thick like "almost" all of mollies. I agree though with the boxy shape as a sign.

First Of all I am woman not a mr lol
I cannot see gravid spots on ANY of my platies
and I have 12 females of different colors, black, orange,
red wag, white coral, and the only one who has a gravid spot visible to me is the white one. So sorry to disagree also with you. I can clearly see the gravid spot on both my dalmation and orange sailfin molly females.

And with the cross breeding it was just a warning that some types of livebearers can interbreed. I know I have clearly seen male platies having intercourse with female guppies before, I just havent had any fry from this yet.


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