Pregnant Gold Dust Mollies

[SlateSpider]

I just bought 2 Gold Dust Molllies from the pet store (as well as 2 Long-fin Zebra Danios, and 2 Black Mollies). I also already have a Male Crowntail Betta on one side of the tank with a divider in the middle.

I believe that one of the gold dust mollies is pregnant, if she is, should i move her to another tank, put her in a breeder net, or leave her alone? As an animal lover, i want to try to keep as many of the fry as possible.

For Pics Look below.

 

[Thyra]

How big is your tank? Mollies are very active fish and four would need at least a 20g tank for themselves. Your best bet is a lot of hiding places for the fry because moving the female will just stress her out. I have never used a breeder's net, but I have noted that some have success with them and others do not.

 

[ValRasbora]

I agree with Thyra. More plants would be good, but I have great success with breeder nets. If you have an extra aquarium that you want to use they also work great.

 

[SlateSpider]

I have a 10 gallon tank. In it, about 4 or 5 fake plants, 2 small caves, a filter, heater, divider, and the fish. My room usually stays about 71-72 degrees F, and if i turn on the heater, the tank goes up to 80 or almost 90 sometimes. I usually don't have it on for fear that it will cook the fish. I don't have room for a bigger tank, unfortunately.

My Betta, Prince, seems to be enjoying the new fish's company, and when the other fish jump the divider ( i have fixed that problem ), he just wanders around, and doesn't flare up his gills or anything. Should i try to put him on the other side of the divider, or would it be too risky?

If i do, could i just put the pregnant fish where Prince was on the other side of the divider? That wouldn't stress her out too much, would it?

 

[Thyra]

Okay, I kind of see the problem - but the big one is coming. What are you going to do with any fry?? You say you don't have room for another tank and your current one is already over crowded. If you are diligent about water parameters and changes you might get away with your current population. If your betta is getting along with the mollies I would just remove the divider because they need all the room. I will admit - I have one tank that is almost the same population as yours - 3 mollies, a betta and two neons. The betta gets along fine with the other fish. In this case it was the mollies that would have been the aggressors and that is what you need to watch for. You do need to get control of your temp - 71 - 72 is too cold. A consistent 80 would be okay, but 90 is a little much. Until you have a plan for what to do with fry, I would just let nature take its course. There have been no fry in my tank and I am pretty sure I have two males and one female (It was suppose to be one male and two females) and it has been about 6 months.

 

[SlateSpider]

I tried putting prince on the other side with the rest of the fish, and he seemed to be fine with it, but then a little bit later, the other fish started nibbling on his fins, so i quickly put him back on the other side of the barrier.

The other two Black Mollies are a little plump, too, but they are so dark, i can't tell if that is normal, or if they are also pregnant. If they are, i think i will let them be, because there will be so many babies, some are bound to survive.