How long does it take mollies (marble) before they can breed? I have about ten, 9 month old mollies and wondering when i could expect more fry to fill up my tank.
Mollie Fry
- Thread starter slobertson
- Start date
tanker
Josh Holloway--Be mine!!!
slobertson said:
Tank size, temperature, and the kind of food plays a lot into when they are ready.
No idea of the gender mix (how do I tell?). The fry were born in my tank and are probably about 1.5 to 2 inches currently. The tank I have has been running for three years and is a 55 gallon community (6 danios, 4 small CAE, 2 platys, 1 male betta, 1 silver hatchet and 12 mollies (2 adult, 10 juvenile). Levels are good and pH around 7.4. Temperature has been around 76 since I set the tank up. I feed them tropical flake food with frozen or freeze dried bloodworms/brine shrimp/tubiflex worms every third day.
I don't really care about breeding them, more interested in whether or not I can expect another batch of fry to come out anytime soon. Thanks for the responses!
I don't really care about breeding them, more interested in whether or not I can expect another batch of fry to come out anytime soon. Thanks for the responses!
OT raising baby mollies
since you have raised these from babies, can I ask how you did it? I rescued 5 baby mollies today from the Petsmart I work at (noticed 'em in the tank, pulled 'em out) but I have no idea how to keep them alive. Should I put them in a tank with an airstone? Will they be okay without? Will my betta, hatchets, or platy eat them if I add them to my community tank?
since you have raised these from babies, can I ask how you did it? I rescued 5 baby mollies today from the Petsmart I work at (noticed 'em in the tank, pulled 'em out) but I have no idea how to keep them alive. Should I put them in a tank with an airstone? Will they be okay without? Will my betta, hatchets, or platy eat them if I add them to my community tank?
I let the fry fend for themselves and made sure to feed my other fish so they wouldn't go looking for too much more food. I am sure a few got eaten, but if you have a decent size tank with hiding spots, some should survive.
As for the other questions, somebody with a little more expertise may be able to help more than me.
As for the other questions, somebody with a little more expertise may be able to help more than me.
Mollies Swords and platies are very easy to breed. They are live bearers and you can really tell when one is about to pop the goodies. To sex swords the male developes a swordlike spike on the bottom of their tail fin.Hense there common name swordtails. They also have a penis like tube on the fin near their anus which they use to mate with. If you see them near a female they swim forwards and backwards in courtship and their little appendige will point at the female. The females are a little fatter than males and their anal fin is more prominently triangular. They also dont have the sword on their tail or the appendige on their anal fin.
Mollies and Platies I think are subspecies of swordtails and will interbreed with all three. They dont have the swords on their tails if they are pure breeds but half breeds get small ones. The anal fin appendige on the males though are all the same in all three types of fish.
When they breed the female will get EXTREMELY fat like she will burst. Then one morning before dawn she will give birth to like fry and i mean lots!! The fry's intinct is to sink straight to the bottom. Thats were the other fish will find them. Some might be lucky to find it into plant growth and will hide. the adults, mother included will turn on them and eat all they can find. Being orange thats pretty easy.
I found at a pet store a breeder pen for live bearers, it can also be used as a semi quaratine area. It was clear plastic and had slits at the end for water to cycle through. It had a chamber at either end to allow it to float. It also had a removable floor section that made a chamber at the bottom. the floor section had larger slots in it that allowed the fry to fall through away from the hungry mum all safe and cosy. You placed mum in when she was really really fat. sometimes my swords would jump back out. not liking the confined spaces. in the morning after she has the fry remove her before the fry get adventurous. then remove the false floor and its a nursery chamber. The only problem i had was the larger adult fish in my community tank would wait near the slots at the ends and suck at any fry silly enough to come too close. they didnt get to eat them but it was enough to kill the fry. But that aside i only lost a few of many. When they started to get a bit of size i transfered them to a mesh nursery in the same tank. when the were the size of neons i let them out. They reared well enough on flakes ground very fine till they were larger but I'm sure there will be a more appropriate supplement to give them.{ i didnt have much money}
If you have a small tank the fry would do better in their own tank and will survive in a tank without a heater in warmer areas through spring summer. I met some people in my homecountry of australia that bred them by the thousands in above ground swimming pools. I was in envy.
Anyway hope that helps.
Dunluce
Mollies and Platies I think are subspecies of swordtails and will interbreed with all three. They dont have the swords on their tails if they are pure breeds but half breeds get small ones. The anal fin appendige on the males though are all the same in all three types of fish.
When they breed the female will get EXTREMELY fat like she will burst. Then one morning before dawn she will give birth to like fry and i mean lots!! The fry's intinct is to sink straight to the bottom. Thats were the other fish will find them. Some might be lucky to find it into plant growth and will hide. the adults, mother included will turn on them and eat all they can find. Being orange thats pretty easy.
I found at a pet store a breeder pen for live bearers, it can also be used as a semi quaratine area. It was clear plastic and had slits at the end for water to cycle through. It had a chamber at either end to allow it to float. It also had a removable floor section that made a chamber at the bottom. the floor section had larger slots in it that allowed the fry to fall through away from the hungry mum all safe and cosy. You placed mum in when she was really really fat. sometimes my swords would jump back out. not liking the confined spaces. in the morning after she has the fry remove her before the fry get adventurous. then remove the false floor and its a nursery chamber. The only problem i had was the larger adult fish in my community tank would wait near the slots at the ends and suck at any fry silly enough to come too close. they didnt get to eat them but it was enough to kill the fry. But that aside i only lost a few of many. When they started to get a bit of size i transfered them to a mesh nursery in the same tank. when the were the size of neons i let them out. They reared well enough on flakes ground very fine till they were larger but I'm sure there will be a more appropriate supplement to give them.{ i didnt have much money}
If you have a small tank the fry would do better in their own tank and will survive in a tank without a heater in warmer areas through spring summer. I met some people in my homecountry of australia that bred them by the thousands in above ground swimming pools. I was in envy.
Anyway hope that helps.
Dunluce