Question about Black Mollies - Possible pregnancy

[topaz1968]

We have a 10 gallon tank and currently have 2 tetras, an African dwarf frog and a small algae eater. About 3 weeks ago we purchased 2 black mollies. We did not realize that one was female and one was male, and also did not realize that they are big baby makers. The female started to look very bloated, but I am not sure she was ever pregnant. She looked more sick than pregnant. We spoke to the fish store and they did not help much, just told us to give it a few days. She eventually died. After we went back to Petco, there was someone there who was very knowledgeable and told us that we need to have more than one female so the male does not constantly bother the one female, so we purchased 2 females and he said one looked pregnant.

I have a few questions:

1. The pregnant female seems to be bullying the other 2 black mollies. Is it because she is pregnant?

2. How long are they usually pregnant, and how do I know she is about to give birth?

3. Should I separate her from the rest of the fish? The guy at Petco told me that she will give birth to about 30 fry and about 1/3 should survive if I leave her with the rest of the fish. I also read that if the have enough places to hide, they should be OK. Maybe I need to add a few more plants?

4. One more: The male looked like he had ick - so I started medicating and will be cleaning the tank in a few days. I am trying to clean it before the babies are born, so I don't suck them up. Any advice on this?

Thanks so much - we have had good and bad luck with our fish. Our tank has been established for about 18 months.

 

[CAPSLOCK]

1. I don't believe so, since they don't protect their babies at all (and will even eat their own fry). More likely individual personality.

2. They kind of develop a "squared off" type of shape to their mid section when they are nearly ready. They can get quite big, so size alone is not always a good indicator.

3. Unless you have places for a bunch of mollies, just leave her be and a few fry will survive each time (which usually creates more than enough - really even the three mollies is a lot in 10g as they grow pretty large). Moving her around just stresses her out, and as mentioned she will eat the fry herself too. Plants they can hide in are the best defense for the fry. How much cover do they have now? Again, unless you have another tank / option to distribute, you do best to just let nature take its course, and a few will manage each time.

4. If you're worried about sucking up fry after they are born, you can stick a pantyhose or similar on the end of the siphon just to be sure. Be careful medicating with the frog in there, I believe they are sensitive to certain medications.

 

[Mawade1984]

You are brave getting more females. I had to get rid of mine because every time I turned around there were more babies.... momma really got around. .. lol. I bought a screen divider and created a "nursery" for the fry. I used a turkey batter and sucked them up and place them in the nursery. In doing that, I had lots of them survive! !