Mollie Fish Birthing Behavior

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 black Mollies and 2 silver Mollies in a community tank with 5 tiger barbs,  2 gold barbs, 4 cherry barbs, 1 Chinese algae eater, 1 clown loach and 1 pink kissing gourami.  All of them are getting along wonderfully and it is a very peaceful tank. It is a live planted tank with many caves and lots of snails (for the clown loach to eat).  I recently noticed that my 2 female Mollies were pregnant (one of each color).  Today, my black female Mollie was hiding in some plants in the corner of the tank with her stomach touching the gravel. One of he tiny female cherry barbs seemed to be keeping her company, staying right above her in the plant leaves.  The Mollie didn't seem to be having difficulty breathing and there are no clear signs of illness (ie ick or velvet fungus) that I can see on her.  Thinking that she is pregnant, I was wondering what the signs of impending labor are for Mollies, and if maybe she is getting ready to birth the fry.  She has been eating fine (today everyone had peas, freeze dried brine shrimp and some algae discs) and i doubt she is constipated (all my fish get peas at least twice a week for a portion of their feeding.  I feed each portion separately to be sure everyone gets a little of everything. Plus its fun to watch them eat, especially my clown loach when she does her dancing to beg for her food!). Saturday is usually when I do PWC's in all my tanks (Betta, community, cichlid and shark/pleco tanks) and I do not want to put the Mollies into an isolation tank if it isn't absolutely essential to the process.  I would rather that nature take its course.  But if she is in distress or if subjecting her to the routine tank cleaning would cause her distress, I will do whatever I need to for her.  Can you tell me what usually occurs prior to and during the birthing process for Mollies? I'm concerned also that I will sweep the fry up when I vacuum the gravel.  How can I avoid this should she give birth before I can clean the tank?  Is a 1 1/2 gal tank alright to put the fry into should I need to remove them from the tank for cleanings? I have extra Betta tanks that I use in case any fish gets injured or sick.  Guess I just need help.  This is my first experience with fish, though I have this tank for almost 2 yrs, the Mollies are new, only 2 months. and none of the barbs have laid eggs that I know of, so these are the first babies to come along.  The silver Mollie is getting pretty big too, and i anticipate that she will be coming along very soon too.  Better get all the info I can now!

ANSWER: Well as they are live bearers they will give birth to live babies, im assuming you already knew this?

the signs that she will give birth are things like hiding away a few days before, and going off her food, also a few days before, they dont give away many more signs than that.

it is better to seperate her as the babies will be immediately eaten by the other fish and herself, this is probably why that barb is sticking close, also after a fish has given birth they can die, as they give birth to about 20 or more babies it is a big shock to the body and thy become very weak, then the other fish will start picking on her and possibly kill her. be sure to feed her straight after she hsa goven birth and HEAVILY plant the birthing tank. as i said earlier she may eat the babies, so she can go straight back into the main tank if she doesnt seem weak, just alot skinnier lol. some fish can survive giving birth and will act as if nothing happened and others struggle swimming and get very weak and stressed.

try not to seperate her until you think she may give birth (usually in the night)
out her in the birthing tank when you seeher not eating and hiding and looking extra extra large, then she should give birth over night or in the next couple of nights, this way it will reduce stress, but dont feed her live food after giving birth if she is in the birthing tank still, she may mistake her babies as the food.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much! None of the websites I have found give any of the signs of the impending birth process. Making your reply even more valued!!

This morning when I did the feeding, I noticed she was staying in the little corner of the tank among the baby amazon sword plants and some fake silk plants I had put in that area to make her feel safer.   She didn't come up to eat today, so it must be close to time for her. The cherry barb is still hanging out there, but the male black Mollie seems to be chasing everyone else away from the area.  I decided that when I get ready to do the tank cleanings, that I will remove her from the tank and place her into one of my extra Betta tanks.  I'm already setting up the nursery tank and taking some of existing tank water along with treated water in it.  I will wait to clean that tank until just prior to the timer going to night, when I will take her out. Im also going to scoop out some of the existing gravel and take the plants that she seems to find safety among and place them in the tank with her.  The Betta tank isn't cycled, so I really have concerns about the added stress of that on her.  I do have a mini filter for the tank, but no heater small enough.  

Would a heating pad wrapped around the tank be alright to keep it warm enough?

Should I use a light on the tank or keep her quiet and with only lighting from the room? I'm going to place her in my bedroom, as it is the quietest room, and I get indirect sunlight in the room but nothing bright (its actually a rather dark apartment without my artificial lighting).

How long do the fry need to be separated from the community?

Would a cave be alright to place in her nursery tank along with the plants? Would it make her feel more safe to have surroundings she is accustom to?

Sorry for all the questions, but I really want her and the other pregnant Mollie to have safe birthing processes. I have to set up a new 40 gal tank this week to cycle for them, and I am looking forward to having little ones swimming around in it when they are old enough.  and my sister wants to adopt some for a 20 gal I am giving her.  So their safety is a concern for me.  Im this way with my furry kids too! Just the overbearing Jewish mother instinct in me I guess! LOL

Answer
Yeah everything your doing is fine for the fish, i wouldnt worry about the heater  because she will only be in there for a short while and the babies will adjust to the temp.
i use a heater thats made for 100L tanks in my 35L tank and it wroks ok, just is quicker to heat up =]
you can put in a cave, everything you can to keep her feeling safe will work, just remember you have to catch her again afterwards so dont make it too difficult for yourself

also dont put on the aqaurium light, keep it dark, like i said, they prefer to give birth in the night, when its dark, as they feel its the safest time, as many fish wont see her babies and there is a higher survival chance then.

one thing i will say though, the reason they have soooo many babies is because they wont all survive. by the end of this all you will anything from no babies (depending on how many survive the birth) and 20 (depending on how many she gave birth too. the 1st time mine gave birth i had 9 survive, the second 18 survived he 3rd and 4th 1 survived each time and the 5th time something like 16 survived but i let them into the tank earlier than usual and all but 2 got eaten, unfortuantly 1 of those 2 died as his swim bladder hadnt formed properly leading to his early natural death, ive stopped breeding mollies now and i am having alot of success with my guppies having nearly every fry survive each time, when i was told they are the hardest to raise!

dont put your fry into the large tank until they are as big as the biggest mouth, if you have an angel fish wait until their pretty big as angel fish have large mouths...i wait until there about 1cm long...but what ever you choose. they can take a long time to grow though.