Guppies and Mollies?

[Fishy-Suzy]

I've heard that a cross between guppies and mollies is possible. What wouldI have to do to get this?

[cocoa_pleco]

im 99.9999999999999999999999% sure its not possible

[Fishy-Suzy]

Awww. That sucks!

[AquaBANG]

well platys and swordtails can cross, but I think that is very rare.

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

I've heard that guppies and mollies can cross, but that many of the fry are stillborn or develop deformities later on in life. Also, the hybrids are infertile. I have also heard that people often mistake their molly giving birth without contact with a male molly but instead a male guppy as some kind of asexual reproduction in the molly. Supposedly it needs only the same kind of stimulation a male molly produces to trigger a female molly to produce offspring, which are all clones of her. So, even though it's possible, the question of whether or not you should try it must be asked, and if you do end up with what you think are hybrids, always be aware of the possibility that your female molly just cloned herself.
I don't think many people have tried it with a male molly and a female guppy, because mollies are a lot bigger so the pregnancy may be difficult, or fatal for the guppy. Still, it would be interesting to see hybrids.

[Fishy-Suzy]

So if I COULD pull it off, I need to be aware of what happens. Still... Cloning oneself sounds kind of strange.

[jbeining75]

If you get it to happen take pics of the offspring. I'd like to see how it works out......

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

Yeah, a molly cloning itself is pretty weird. I did some research and it's called parthenogenesis.
I also read that the hybrids are ugly, but that doesn't necessarily mean all will be ugly. When you cross two different species, there is probably not going to be much consistency. One might be the size of a guppy, or a little bigger, and its sibling in a later batch might be twice its size, you just never know.
I've been wanting to cross mollies and guppies pretty much since I first got my guppies to stop dying. If I ever get the opportunity I might buy a male molly and try it with a couple of female guppies that have been isolated from all contact with male guppies. If you try it, make sure you write everything down, like how many fry survive/die, what they look like, how big they are, and whether or not the mother has ever come into contact with a male of her own species.

[sailor]

I'm sorry but crossing of different species on purpose is just wrong IMO. There is enough problems with getting strong healthy stock in this hobby.

[Dragon cqzzzzz<]

I have a strong urge to say something about the cruelties of ruthless selective breeding but I'll withhold my opinion.