A little frustrated

[NightRavenNTE]

Okay this will be a little lengthy so i appologize now.....

I know it sounds silly but i can for the life of me tell who (platy or molly) in my tank has/is having babies.

i have three female molly large full grown, one of wich has a rather swollen belly and is a little mean.

then i have several male and female platies......and a few possible female candidates that may be pregnant.... 1 female wagtail platy, 1 mickey platy, 1 silver and orange platy...all of which have quite a dark spot in thier belly and somehwat swollen.


My best guess would be the silver and orange platy because their are 2-3 male platy pestering her at all times.

my next question how long does it take for them to birth the enitre batch and how many approx. per batch?
We have only had 2 babies in three days born which seems pretty odd to me....

Is this normal and are there "labor signs" or behavior prior to releasing a fry?


Is my assumption right that the one they are pestering is most likley the one having babies?
I know guppies will pester a female having babies right?


i know a ton of questions
thank you for any help


just for reference
55 gal
3~ 3 spot gourami
3 spotted molly
10 platy
1 lone ghost shrimp
plenty of plants

Natalie

[Mvjnz]

If kept with males, ALL the females will be pregnant. If they're not kept with males anymore, but were kept with males at the pet store or anywhere else in the last year, they are pregnant.

Mollies are pregnant for 2 months, while platies are pregnant for 1 month. The number of babies depends on the age and size of the mum. Around 30 is not uncommon.

The least few days before giving birth the females will look like they're about to burst. If you wanna keep some babies, provide lots of plants they can hide in, as all the parents will try to eat them.

I hope you have a ratio of 2-3 females per male, as the males constantly harass the females and it's not good for them.

[Gemini]

Ditto what mvjnz said.
IF you have males - you'll have babies always.
If you have females that have been with males - you'll have babies. They store the sperm. All you can really do is watch - and see what they look like when they get a bit bigger.

[Gemstone]

mj has hit it right on the button...lol...ALL those females are pregnant..and yes..most probably the one being pestered is the culprit...

The chances are that if you only have 2 frye..the rest have been eaten...although, if your tank has sufficient hiding space..don't be surprised to see some new small fishies swimming around in the next few weeks...they are quite good at hiding..

If you want to breed with your fish...a good idea is to have a separate breeding tank in which you can place your females who are just about ready to give birth...in some breeding nets if you have..so that the babies can escape into the tank while the moms can not get to them...

You can feed them finely ground up flakes..no problem.

If the babies are left in the big community tank..don't worry about food..there are enough scraps in there for them to eat.

[NightRavenNTE]

i dont mind which one is having them but was wanting to possibly seperate the one having the babies and i have sat and watched like crazy but cant catch her in the act lol im pretty sure they are little platy fry but they are dark and i just cant tell which one is having them

[Wild Turkey]

If you want to breed with your fish...

Illegal! Sorry i couldnt resist! lol:19:

[teach]

Illegal! Sorry i couldnt resist! lol:19:
LAMO. And my gf says im obsessed. lol:18: