Gravid spot!!??

[vinci]

OK, this question might have been asked, but still...

I bought 6 mollies into my new 17 gallon tank. 2 male and 4 females. A day later I realized that one golden molly was pregnant. Since i had done some homework before bringing them ,I knew mollies are active breeders, so i also bought a breeding net.
Anyway that gold-molly-'tazmin', is inside the breeding net. I dont know for how many days its pregnant. I even observed a 'gravid spot'. From what i have read, Gravid spot on live bearers means that they are going to put the fry very soon. But the molly is in the net for about a week now. What exactly does the gravid spot signify?

Another problem, is that the heater I ordered is delayed due to some stocking delay in the shop. I might get it next week. Will that affect the releasing of the fry?Besides,The climate here is pretty warm.
I even tried putting more salt. Can the baby fish die inside the uterus , if not
released? Help!
I will even send a pic of tazmin in my next post.

 

[Emg]

Well, I don't have mollies...I have a few guppies though and it seemed to take forever for my female to release her babies...lol.. They always have a dark spot and the way I tell that they are getting ready to release is that they get VERY large in the belly. I don't know how long it takes between broods for them, maybe 6 weeks for guppies anyway.....don't know about mollies though.

I imagine the water temp plays a part....78-80 would probably be a good temp to keep them at...but, double check on that. Might better wait on someone who is more familiar with mollies to get a more informed answer.

 

[monkey_toes]

What exactly does the gravid spot signify?

It means she's gravid (duh, sorry). In lighter colored mollies, I would expect a pale spot to be visible about a week after fertilization. It will progressively get darker as her abdomen expands. My experience is with wild-caught Florida sailfins (Poecilia latipinna) and they get just about fat enough you'd swear they were going to explode before releasing the fry. The gravid spot is almost black by that time.

Another problem, is that the heater I ordered is delayed due to some stocking delay in the shop. I might get it next week. Will that affect the releasing of the fry?

To a degree. Warmer water will shorten gestation (I don't know by exactly how much) but I just netted several heavily gravid wild females last week, and we had nighttime air temps into the 30s last week. I expect 4-6 weeks from my females, kept at room temps (70-80ºF). Your fish are probably hybrids, though, and might prefer temps a bit higher.

Can the baby fish die inside the uterus , if not released? Help!

Yes, stillborns are actually pretty common, at least in w/c females. Diet and stress both play a role, with highly stressed females sometimes giving birth prematurely. If the issue is dietary, stillborns will usually be a percentage of the fry rather than the entire spawn.

I don't think you have a problem. I never used any sort of net or cage with my livebearers — just an area of the tank densely planted with cabomba or anacharis. Floating plants will work great as well. If you don't have live plants, plastics will work fine. The key is to give the litle guys a chance to hide out for the first couple weeks; after that they should be big enough to not be eaten. I would also feed the adults a little more often during that period, to keep them from getting hungry. I would anticipate about a 50% survival rate using this method, which will be plenty .

 

[Galaxie]

Good reply Monkeytoes.

It may be stressful to keep the female in the breeding net for more than a couple days, if she isn't ready to deliver. A typical breeding net won't keep the mother from eating her fry either. I have a special breeder that uses an airpump to gently pull the fry down and into a safe chamber. From there, they can be released into a breeding net where they'll live without fear for about a month.

Also, you might consider weaning your fish off of salt. It seems the general consensus on this web site is that salt isn't really needed for livebearers.

 

[monkey_toes]

Also, you might consider weaning your fish off of salt. It seems the general consensus on this web site is that salt isn't really needed for livebearers.

Mollies may be the exception here. I catch them in pure fresh, pure salt and everywhere in between, but I've definitely noticed that the saltwater mollies are larger and have more intense coloration. Freshwater fish (including landlocked) don't seem to ever get bigger than about 3", but I've caught half a dozen over 4'' IN ONE NET SWEEP over full-strength seawater grass flats. IMO, they'll adapt to whatever salinity is provided, but salty water will make for more impressive specimens.

BTW, all my experience is with w/c latipinna — I don't know how much will apply to domestic hybrid strains.

 

[Galaxie]

Mollies may be the exception here. I catch them in pure fresh, pure salt and everywhere in between, but I've definitely noticed that the saltwater mollies are larger and have more intense coloration. Freshwater fish (including landlocked) don't seem to ever get bigger than about 3", but I've caught half a dozen over 4'' IN ONE NET SWEEP over full-strength seawater grass flats. IMO, they'll adapt to whatever salinity is provided, but salty water will make for more impressive specimens.

BTW, all my experience is with w/c latipinna — I don't know how much will apply to domestic hybrid strains.

I'd love to see some pictures. Sailfins are a gorgeous fish.

 

[vinci]

thank you monkey-toes for the detailed reply
So galaxie you suggest that I remove tazmin from the net? 'cause I do have 4 plastic plants which i think will be sufficient for the fries to hide. But as mokey-toes put it , if tazmin is chased around by other fish ( all all mollies) then
the fry might die inside , right?
I am feeding tazmin with frozen blood worms and flake food 3 times a day. Is my feeding schedule proper? I get that dobt 'cause no matter how many times I feed, it will eat(all my other fish too!), so how many times should I exactly feed it?
Another Qs ( which may sound stupid...) , but can mollies interbreed with other species of fish?

 

[Genral72]

Mollies can only breed with other mollies however there are a ton of different kinds of mollies and they can all interbreed. One of the general rules for seperating species is that they can not interbreed.

 

[monkey_toes]

One of the general rules for seperating species is that they can not interbreed.

That rule got dropped on its head a while back. That's the definition of a hybrid - an offspring produced by the breeding of two different species. The new rule for separating species was that they might produce offspring, but they would be sterile (see mule). But that doesn't work either, because almost all of the captive strains of several livebearers (mollies, platies and swords) are interspecific hybrids and obviously capable of reproducing. The are also intergeneric hybrids, of which flowerhorns are probably the best known. Are flowerhorns sterile? I don't know. I do know that at least one intergeneric snake hybrid is usually fertile. Offspring of California king snakes (Lampropeltis getula californiae) and corn snakes (Pantherophis guttatus) are called jungle corns, and can be bred to each other or either parent species. Can mollies interbreed with other related livebearers? It seems likely to me. Would they? Probably not, as long there were other mollies available to mate with.

BTW, don't worry about stress from being chased by other mollies. Worry about the stresses caused by poor environmental conditions. Chasing, and being chased by, your fellow mollies is just part of molly life, and shouldn't affect reproductive success.

 

[vinci]

Right! thanks! But I think my breeding net is big enough . Here is a pic...

A close up



...and about feeding?.