Pregnant Molly?

[lil_fuzzy]

I bought 2 female dalmatian molly on saturday, they are in a 90 litre tank with one female swordtail. And one of the female mollies has a really round belly compared to the other one. She looks like she's just had a REALLY big meal. I'm not sure if there males in the tank at the pet store... She hasn't been fed since last night, and then she didn't eat much (tank being treated for white spot at the mo, might be why they're not eating much).

So could she be pregnant or is there some other reason, like she's just fat or worms or something?

[wombat1100]

Its not unusual to get fish from your LFS that are already full of fry, I would say you are gonna be a daddy real soon mate!
Dazz

[lil_fuzzy]

Or a mummy :biggrin:

Is it normal that the gravid spot can only be seen from one side?

And what do people feed their mollies? I've been reading about it, and it says flakes and squashed peas, but I removed the skin from some peas and then cut the pea into really tiny pieces, and the mollies go mad trying to get them, but then they spit them out again after about 20 seconds.... does it mean the pieces are too big? And what do other people feed them?

[wombat1100]

Sorry for assuming you were male. bad call!
I would just feed then finely crushed flakes, i put mine in a container with some metal keys and shake like buggery!
after a minute u have super fine flakes.
the trouble i found with crushing peas was it clouded the water, so be careful of causing a nitrite problem from rotting uneaten food.
Dazz

[lil_fuzzy]

Thanks:)

She's been sitting at the bottom of the tank in a corner being a bit anti-social for the last hour or so.. The other 2 are swimming around like normal. Maybe a sign?

[wombat1100]

are there any plants or anything in there for her to hide in while she has her babies , and of course for the babies to hide in?

[lil_fuzzy]

Yep, I have put plants and driftwood and a terracotta pot in one corner specifically as a hideout for shy fish. That's where she is now.

[lil_fuzzy]

Well! The molly went into hiding last night, I looked everywhere for her and got my bf to look as well and she was nowhere to be seen. Then we went out for a bit and when we came home she was back in the open with the others, all skinny. No sign of any fry, either they're hiding really well or the swordtail ate them.

But the bad thing is that she has now taken to sitting right at the intake pipe for the filter. She blends in sooo well with the background that we were prolly looking right at her last night without seeing her. My other swordtail which died from white spot on sunday also took a liking to that spot before it got sick. Dammit. The tank was medicated on sunday and again today, but she still got sick. What's up with that?

[Brad]

I have a yellow balloon molly, and when I got her the people at the fish shop told me that she was pregnant and should give birth in less than a week. It has now been over a week and I am starting to wonder if her isnt pregnant at all?

Can someone please inform me how you can tell if a molly is pregnant and what I can do to induce her? Thanks

[lil_fuzzy]

You can't induce a molly. She will give birth when she is ready. If you have other fish in the tank and they are not fat but your molly is, then she is prolly pregnant. Also look for the gravid spot - a black spot - just above her bum. If she was kept with males in the store, then she is most likely pregnant.