Gestation and Birth Female mollies will gestate their young for about 60 days. They can give birth to between 40 and 100 fry. Mollies that are young or are having one of their first few pregnancies will tend to give birth to a smaller rather than larger number of fry.
How long are black mollies pregnant?
As I’ve mentioned above, mollies are usually pregnant for a period anywhere from 20 to 40 days (average 30 days). Of course, that would be how long they’ll last from conception to birth. But before this period, there is usually a courtship period between the male and female molly, which can last another couple of days.
How many babies do black mollies have at a time?
Once the female is pregnant, the gestation usually take about 7-8 weeks, at which point the female may deliver upwards of one hundred babies. On average, the female will deliver anywhere from 40-100 fry, though you can expect younger female mollies to be on the lower end of that scale.
How many days molly fish give birth?
Gestation and Birth Female mollies will gestate their young for about 60 days. They can give birth to between 40 and 100 fry.
Do Mollies eat their babies?
Cannibalism is normal with mollies and other livebearers like guppies and platys. As fecund as they are, you don’t really need to worry about saving every last one.
How does a molly fish get pregnant?
Allow the fish to mate with one another. Mollies are hierarchical fish. This means the ideal combination of male and female fish is one male for multiple females. You may see the male under the female; this is how the fish copulate. If their mating is successful, their babies should be born in about 3 to 5 weeks.
How long does it take for a fish to give birth?
As examples, the female swordtail and guppy will both give birth to anywhere from 20 to 100 live young after a gestation period of four to six weeks, and mollies will produce a brood of 20 to 60 live young after a gestation of six to 10 weeks.
How fast do baby black mollies grow?
It will take around one to two months for your fry to grow large enough to be introduced into your standard aquarium. The fry should be larger than the mouths of an adult molly fish. Do not move the molly fry until you are sure they are ready to handle your larger tank.
How do black mollies get pregnant?
Fertilization. Mollies breed using internal fertilization. The male molly inseminates the eggs while they are inside the female. She carries the eggs inside her until the fry, or newborn fish, are ready to be released.
How do mollies mate?
The Basic Mating Behavior of Black Mollies When black mollies mate, the male will transfer milt, the fluid that contains his sperm, into the female’s body using is gonopodium. The gonopodium is a special anal fin that is shaped like a rod rather than a normal fin.
What is the lifespan of molly fish?
The molly fish lifespan is two to five years. This freshwater fish is not known to live a long life. Their lifespan actually depends on the environment you provide when keeping them as a pet. The water conditions impact the lifespan of mollies as they are prone to diseases if the water conditions are poor.
Can Mollies change gender?
Mollies are not able to change gender. The gender of these fish is determined by their genetics so it is impossible for them to change sex.
Will baby fish survive in my tank?
Not necessarily. Many fish breed very easily and produce great numbers of offspring, simply because very few will survive to adulthood. The more fish in your tank, the more you will need to feed them, the more feces they will produce and the harder your filtration system will have to work.
How do you raise Molly Fry?
Raising Fry The fry should be fed a quality food, such as baby brine shrimp, baby fish food, or quality flake food ground into a fine powder. Feed the fry small amounts several times a day. Maintain good water quality by performing regular water changes.
How do I know if fish is pregnant?
As your female fish becomes pregnant, she will grow a bulge at the back of her abdomen. This typically appears over the course of 20-40 days. Does your fish have a red or black spot? Sometimes, when a female fish is pregnant, she will develop a “gravid spot” on the abdomen.
Do fish give birth out their mouth?
This process is called mouthbrooding. Sometimes the female fish will carry the fertilized eggs in her mouth, or the male and female will trade off, which is called biparental mouthbrooding. Typically fish that are born via mouthbrooding are underweight at first and require recovery time to feed and grow.
Why does my fish look pregnant?
Dropsy refers to a condition in which fish often have hugely swollen bellies, and the continuing use of the term probably has to do with how it so accurately depicts the visual symptom: the belly drops down. Sometimes the condition is also known as bloat.
Can black and white mollies mate?
Albeit there being several varieties of molly fish, they all can be mated because regardless of the color or fin configuration, they are the same species, and any male will readily fertilize with all females. So, put simply, different colors and shapes of mollies are still the same fish and will readily breed.
Can a Molly live alone?
Yes, a single Molly Fish can live alone as long as she has all that she needs: clean water, good food, and enough space to swim and play in. Please don’t forget though, that she will be happier with tank mates—whether fellow Mollies or other compatible fish.
How long does a black molly live?
General Care and Lifespan They do best with a bit of salt added to their water to simulate their preferred environment in the wild. If properly housed and fed black mollies have a lifespan of about three years in captivity.