mollies

[maigen]

i was wondering if anyone could impart some info on molly behaviour. this is the first time i've ever had mollies in my community tank & i was hoping someone could decipher some behaviour for me. i'm not sure if it's an alpha thing (do fish even go through that???) or if it's a mating thing. the male's dorsal fin gets REALLY big & while they are going around in circles they are flicking each other with their caudal fins. there's also alot of nipping (mouthing?) going on around the mouth & anal fins.........

thx
brenda

[cdawson]

it's called "mating" =)
Mollies do it all the time, 24/7.
How big is the tank and how many do you have? What's the female to male ratio? The nipping could be due to too many females or too many males. Also, what type of mollies are they? regular, sailfin, balloon, saffron?

[maigen]

the tank's not very big.....only 20 gallons. just 1 male & 1 female. he's a dalmation & she's a marble.

that's very cool. when she gets preggers, how long is gestation? i know to separate the fry or they'll get eaten. should she be removed before she gives birth?

details, details please.....

[tricksterpup]

Mollies love a lot of room to move around, so the 20 gallon tank is a great size as long as you do not have many more fish in there. It takes about a month before you will see fry if the mating took.
As for info, I highly recommend this site.
http://tcoletti.tripod.com/thelivebearer.html
I also recommend the Book Livebearing Fishes by peter w. scott From tetra press. Also look for any other books on mollies and livebearers, this will help give you the info you need. But one thing, most books and sites will tell you that mollies need salt. Well this is starting to change and most livebearer keepers are now have the feeling that mollies and most livebearers need hardness in the water over salt. Read the artical on the website I recommended.
As for the fry, yes they will be eaten if you do not move them to another tank or try to have plenty of cover and plants in the tank. One great plant to use is hornwort. I use it in all of my tanks.

jim

[maigen]

thanks for the info tricksterpup/jim.........that site is amazing !!!!!:D