# Sex-change mollies?



## Melvis (Aug 3, 2008)

Hello everyone, this is my first post 

I've just started keeping mollies. I bought 2 males and 3 females, reasoning that having more females than males would be a good idea.

They were pretty small when I bought them, but having kept platies I was totally confident that the shop assistant had sexed them correctly when I took a look at the anal fins.

However, I've been on holiday for a week and come back to find what appears to be 4 males chasing 1 female around! At the moment I'm debating whether she'd be more or less stressed if I set up the back-up tank and removed her.

My question is: are mollies fish that change sex as they get older? Were they just immature and too small to sex properly? If they have changed sex, is it to do with the tank conditions in some way? Will they change back, or is it going to be a case of taking some of them back to be exchanged?

I'd appreciate any advice on this one.


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

I heard of fish that do change.... but can't remember what type or the name. I never heard of Mollies changing but I don't know everything. IMO it was just a case of wrong sexing at the LFS. I gather that you want baby mollies. So I would sperate the female is she already preg. and after she has the fry take back a few males. you will shorty have more Mollies than you will klnow what to do with. I have one male mollies with 5 female Mollies and right now I have a tank full of mollies, but I have an outlet for them so its all good


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

What kind of mollies? Sailfin or sphenops? How big were they?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

Wild caught sailfins.... you want some


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

how long have you had them? do you have any nice colorful males?

sometimes, males will look like females in the wild type. they also tend to be smaller..... how big are the mollies in question?


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## djrichie (May 15, 2008)

2 TO 3 INCH and the males are smaller, the male do have a longer fuller sailfin and the tail has some incondesent white when veiwed under flor. lighting. Besides you can see the male thingy. LOL


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## Melvis (Aug 3, 2008)

Hi, had some trouble logging in but thanks for the replies.

The mollies in question are standard black non-sailfin mollies.


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

how big were they when you got them?


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## Melvis (Aug 3, 2008)

Small, about 3/4 inch perhaps?


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## Fishboydanny1 (Jun 13, 2008)

they were juveniles.... it's likely that they were too young to tell if they were male or female.....


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## johnsteve (Sep 17, 2008)

hi


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