Female molly has a large belly but won't give birth

  • Get the NEW AquariaCentral iOS app --> http://itunes.apple.com/app/id1227181058 // Android version will be out soon!

fIsHy13

not a troll
Oct 5, 2005
392
0
0
One of my female molly fish has had a father large belly for about a month now. At first i thought she was pregant, and then she slimmed down. So i checked in the tank for any fry but there where none. She has recently gotten very big again. I haven't seen her mating with the only other male in the tank. She swims normally. What could it be? Could she be preggers and for some reason won't give birth?
 

mtiller

wolf-pac
Jun 29, 2005
394
0
0
Georgia, United States
is she eating your other fish's food? may be over-eating. also could possibly be that fry were born but quickly eaten (happened to me years ago when i kept mollies), or that they were absorbed because of possibly a lack of nutrition or stress during labor?
 

Eyecare

Registered Member
May 5, 2006
2
0
0
If you want her to have a large family, you could encourage good eating by hatching some brine shrimp and giving it to the fish.
They are very easy to hatch, and teh fish go bonkers over them.
 

fIsHy13

not a troll
Oct 5, 2005
392
0
0
oh its not that i want her to have lots of fry, quite the opposite. If she has rinsorbed them or whatever you said, will it harm her?
by the way, i'm quite sure she is not overeating.
 

mtiller

wolf-pac
Jun 29, 2005
394
0
0
Georgia, United States
i could not imagine so, her stomach would just go down and the gravid spot would slowly disappear, or she could give birth prematurely from stress, but i'm sure since she's been in the tank longer before she was preggy that now it couldn't be from stress, or did u move her into another tank? the gestation period lasts a while, 3-4 weeks from what i read. i don't know if you can see the gravid spot on mollies as you can with guppies but is there anyway you can tell if she was preggy to begin with?
 

fIsHy13

not a troll
Oct 5, 2005
392
0
0
she is mottled with dark black spots (dalmation molly) so i can't tell if she has a gravid spot.
 

mtiller

wolf-pac
Jun 29, 2005
394
0
0
Georgia, United States
well google pregnant mollies for pics and compare and contrast, what did you feed her? it's possible she's still constipated and hasn't passed the waste yet. i've read tubifex worms can cause constipation if fed in excess.
 

dorkfish

AC Members
Jul 25, 2005
3,032
1
0
Windsor,Ontario,Canada
look down at the fish from above the water next time she gets "fat". if it's evenly fat on both sides than she's pregnant, if not, you've got some digestion or internal paraiste problems (well you don't have the problem, she doe's).
 

fIsHy13

not a troll
Oct 5, 2005
392
0
0
good news- she has given birth! i found the fry this morning and placed them in a breeding net. She looks a bit slimmer now. I am relieved!
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store