A strange couple

Question
So I know this is really really weird but I have a molly and a male beta and a little guppy and they have been friendly for years and..I mean..They still are ..too friendly.A couple days ago, the male beta started wrapping his tail around my (female) molly. Trouble. So i kind of tapped on the glass,but he did not mind me so i poked them apart with a net.But now every time I walk in the room he is with her.I think maybe he thinks she is a beta.I do not want mutant fish!HELP!

Answer
Hi Rianne,
  Very interesting!  I have never heard of that one before.  Don't worry -- they cannot produce
offspring because the molly is a livebearer and the only way she can get pregnant is if a male inserts sperm into her.  A male molly has a gonopodium (functionally equivalent to a penis) that he inserts into the female.  The male betta does not have that, so he cannot get her pregnant.  
The one thing you have to watch for is that the male betta does not "squish" the female molly too much.  When bettas mate, the male wraps around the female and squeezes her to force the eggs out. I don't know how he will respond if he squeezes and no eggs come out.  Very interesting....

-- Ron C.
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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