# QUESTION: Breeding Damlation Mollies



## thejones921 (Sep 9, 2010)

Hello All, I had a Very Pregnant Mollie. I didn't want to lose the fry this time so I put her into a breeding net, but noticed very quickly she began to get skinny. Did I Miscarry the Fry or did she already give birth and Eat Them??

ALSO

Since her being skinny again I decided to add her Mate into the breeding net. They have been at it non stop but now am noticing she's putting on the beef again. This is only within 1 week. Anyone know whats happening here is she pregnant again or still or what??

ALSO

How long does it take for the male to get the female pregnant?

ANYONE HAVE A PIC OF A MOLLY"S BELLY SQUARED OFF?


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## RhumbaGirl (Aug 1, 2010)

im having the same prob with my platies, she gets really huge quite fast and then i put her in the breeding tank or even just leave her in the main tank and she gets skinny again within as little as a day or as much as a week and a half of being fat. The whole time she has the dark gravid spot, even when skinny...


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Sounds more like pigs and not pregnant. When gestating the female will slowly get big and takes about 28 to 31 days. Once she is ready to give birth the belly will begin to look squared. As with most livebearers they can hold sperm for 6 months.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Can't say I had that problem with my Dalmations. One had about 10 and the other had 25.

I don't use breeder nets though. I do however, have lots of the breeder type grass for the fry to hide in both of my livebearer tanks. Molly babies aren't quite as suseptable to being eaten as Platys. A Molly baby is about the size of a 2-3 week old Platy and is already too big for most Platies. I have yet to have a Molly that wanted to eat a baby of any type. Lucky I guess. All that is out the window if you have other types of fish in your tank though.


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

Lol yeah same issues with fancy gups, they are small fish so if they eat a ton the might look like they are carrying fry. On guppies they have a gravid spot that gets darker and darker as they progress towards giving birth, im not sure about mollys platties or any other live bearear


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## thejones921 (Sep 9, 2010)

Well I Figured Id just leave the Female in the breeding tank and on Saturday she Gave birth to 15.

So I learned that if she gets skinny then big again, watch for the belly to square off ( \___/ )..

I also learned that if the Temp is up around 81 - 84, she Pops.

NOW MY QUESTION IS, 

How do you care for the Fry?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Just feed them crushed flake food. If possible put into a small tank that way it would be easier to keep the tank water good. Feed the fry 3 times a day till they start growing good then cut back to 2 times a day.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I use the Hikiri (sp?) first bites. The food is in powder form.


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## littlefish (Aug 4, 2010)

put the fry in a separate tank for a week or two, with an air pump and feed them with the same food for the parents, just make it smaller.


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## RhumbaGirl (Aug 1, 2010)

i just crush whatever flakes i feed my other fish into really small pieces/powder. I keep mine in the little breeding net/tank for a little while and then move them to a seperate tank but I find the bottom of the first one they are in gets pretty dirty with bits of leftover food and such and I just use a turkey baster to suck it out since my gravel vac is too big.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

lol, only a woman could come up with that idea.

I have about 85 or so livebearer adults so nearly every week smething is giving birth. I started out trying to keep them in a breeder net, but when I got to about 50 at one time in a breeder net I decided to just let them go and fend for themselves. I never plan to take this to a business level, but if all my fish lived I could quickly run out of space. My most recent birth was 25 for a Dalmation Molly. Now imagine if all 25 lived and half were females. Not saying everyone should do it that way, but I find it keeps my population levels down. It's too difficult trying to keep up with my fish.


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