How Long Are Molly Fish Pregnant For

Aquarium fish vary within the way they reproduce.

How long are molly fish pregnant for, a majority of the species lay eggs, which hatch into young ones, with the eggs either blown into a bubble nest like in betta fish, bred within the mother’s mouth by mouthbrooders like cichlids, or maybe in caves or on aquarium plants.

Then there’s the category where mollies fall of livebearers, which give birth to measure fry. Usually, you’ll here fish keepers say their fish is pregnant, though the more appropriate word is gravid.

That said, it is often quite challenging to inform if your fish is gravid, particularly if you are do not have an experience keeping livebearers. Mollies are especially ‘cream-of-the-fish-hard’ to inform when pregnant, more so, during the primary few days.

Overall, a typical molly fish pregnancy will last between twenty (20) and forty days (40) varying between different fishes and species. Read more about molly types here.

With every pregnancy cycle, a healthy molly female will give birth anywhere from twenty (20) to 100 babies, and may continue breeding for between 2 (two) and a couple of .5 years; their average lifespan is 3 years.

So, how does one know if your molly fish is pregnant (gravid) you ask?

Below are a couple of classic signs you molly will show. (will check out them in additional details a short time later)

A gravid molly will have a change in behaviour, usually becoming slower, and have a tendency to cover quite is normal only beginning to feed.
Your fish may additionally become more aggressive to tank mates, particularly people who venture into her hiding spot.
You’ll notice a dark triangular spot appear near a pregnant female’s anal vent called the gravid spot. But please note that the purpose could be quite challenging to spot on individuals with darker colours like black mollies. during which case, you’ll just need to believe other signals to make certain.
As you’d expect, the gravid spot will get bigger and darker as your fish nears its birth date. So if it’s clearly visible, then your fish is nearly able to release its babies.
A pregnant molly also will take a rounder, more full-bodied shape, and therefore the stomach will especially grow bigger and appear stretched.

On lighter coloured mollies you would possibly even be ready to see the eyes of fry through the belly because it stretches.
They will also develop a black line on their bellies, again, this may not be visible in black mollies.

How Long Does It Take Molly Give Birth

As I’ve mentioned above, mollies are usually pregnant for a period anywhere from 20 to 40 days (average 30 days). Of course, that might be how long they’ll last from conception to birth.

But before this era, there’s usually a courtship period between the male and feminine molly, which may last another few days.

Usually, the courtship period is characterized by a few of chases every now then, which is sort of often amid milds displays of aggression.

This dance only ends with the start of breeding, then followed by the said 30 days (on average) where the feminine carries the eggs in her stomach up to when she gives birth to measure young ones straight into the water.

How To Tell If Your Molly Fish close to Give Birth

Throughout the gestation, your molly fish will show several changes in behaviour (as discussed within the intro), though some are going to be only apparent closer to the ‘day of birth’ than others.

The change in behaviour will start from the instant your fish breeds, sometimes from courtship, then escalate because it gets closer to releasing the babies.

However, the clear sign that your molly is prepared to offer birth is when the gravid spot is visibly dark and enormous, and therefore the fry eyes are visible through the translucent belly edged on the brink of the gravid-mark.

Around the same time, but a touch earlier, your molly also will be quite rounded with the belly visibly large from the eggs she is carrying inside her.

A few days before your fish give birth, you’ll also notice her bulge (V-shaped) below the gills and her outline becoming fairly square around this region. This happens alongside the gravid spot changing in size.

How Mollies Act Before parturition

Read also: How deep should a fish pond be

It is difficult to inform whether a molly fish is pregnant, but as we’ve seen, there are several clues you’ll look out for. Some are physical, while others are behavioural.

And since we’ve just about discussed the physical signs above, let’s take a fast dive into the behavioural clue.

For starters, most tropical fish kept in aquariums get aggressive while breeding and mollies are not any exceptions.

However, you’ll notice that mollies hide more as against stepping into a confrontation with tankmates. Usually, the hiding is more apparent closer to fish parturition.

Therefore, ensure there’s a generous amount of plants and decorations in your tank for the fish to urge a hiding spot when its time.

From my experience, mollies also seem to prefer hiding in dark spots within the tank as against well-lit areas. I bet they feel safer and cosy therein setting.

That said, it’s advisable to separate the pregnant fish from other adults for specialised care and to also ensure she doesn’t get stressed by the remainder.

It will also assist you to feed your molly more comfortably without the strain of other fish, which are ready to swim faster than her.

Molly Fish Babies

Since mollies are livebearers, same as guppies (see the way to breed them), least killifish, and platys, they are doing not lay eggs but instead, release live babies within the water.

Sadly, the babies don’t get parental care from their mother and are as likely to be eaten by the parent as they’re by other fish within the aquariums.

Therefore, you’ll get to give them parental care if they need even the slightest chance of survival.

A breeder box will assist you to keep the molly babies fish once the mother has released them. Placing the mother during a breeding tank faraway from the remainder of your community also goes an extended way.

You can also use a net to get rid of the mother from the breeding tank once she has dropped the babies, though I find a breeding box simpler and fewer tasking to use.

Once the fry is released, they automatically fall under a special compartment faraway from the mother, where you’ll keep them until you catch and move the adult fish into the most the tank.

Once the babies are large enough and may defend themselves, you’ll move them back to the most aquarium, but confirm there are enough plants for the fry to cover in.

A few other things that are crucial to master when caring for molly babies are tank maintenance and feeding.

Make sure your water quality remains safe by performing regular water changes. Start them soft food in tiny pieces that the fry can consume.

Do Moliies Eat Their Babies

Apart from not giving their youngs parental care once they’re born, mollies are cannibalistic, and a mother will eat her fry if given an opportunity.

As such, employing a breeder box is very recommended, and move the adult once she has dropped all her babies.