pregnant dalmation fish, i think

Question
I just got my dalmation fish today, and i think she's pregnant because she's sorta fat. there's only one female and two males, which might be a problem, because they share a super small tank thing with a crab that's very fidgety. anyway, i think the female is pregnant, and i don't really have room to house more baby fish. all of the fish like swimming near the crab, who doesn't seem to be bothering them, although one of the males keeps getting kinda close. the female i'm worried about, because i've been reading about this species of fish, and don't think i can deal with this kind of fish if they really reproduce as much as they do. my tank like thing is a starter tank sorta, and probably can't handle to house this many. i will need to get a bigger tank/small aquarium for the fish to live comfortably. how many babies does a female usually have at once? can i control how many she has by what she eats? i'm sorta new at this whole fish thing...

Answer
Hi Maddy;

A dalmatian molly will have anywhere between 10 to 50 babies usually. There isn't anything you can do to control it, it's just what they do. All the fish and the crab will eat any baby fish anyway. She is in danger of being harassed to death with two males in there too so it might be best to return her to the store. There should be at least two females per male but it sounds like your tank is too small for that. Mollies need at least a 20 gallon tank to move around in so if it's smaller than that, the males really can't stay in it either. Mollies get pretty large and need lots of room. If you could tell me how big the tank is I could help you decide on suitable little critters to keep in there. Just give me the dimensions (in inches or centimeters) and I can help you figure it out.

Watch the crab that he doesn't start grabbing or pinching the fish, especially at night. If you see tattered fins or injuries on your fish, separate them right away. If the fish are too close to him because the tank is small, it's just a matter of time before he tries.

I hope all goes well...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins