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Pregnant Molly and Platy

23 14:25:24

Question
HI,
I would really appreciate any help you can give me as I am new to the fish world.  I have a 10 gallon tank that has been running for 5 weeks with 1 male molly, 2 female mollies, 1 female platy and 1 male betta.  All my levels are fine and I do a 25% water change once a week.  My black female molly (had her for 3 weeks) was acting strange, hiding in the plants at the top of the tank or just staying still on the bottom for about 3 days.  She had a small round belly, but not anything like my platy (more on her later) and since she is black I couldn't really check for a gravid spot.  I moved her to a seperate 2.5 gallon tank (the betta''s old home) just in case she might be having babies. She stayed there for 3 days and nothing happened except more of the same behavior, so I moved her back to the main tank.  She is still doing alot of hiding and I found 2 black teeny tiny things that look to me like mini tadpoles curled up in the gravel where she was sitting on the bottom earlier.  Are these dead fry?  I can't find any others.  How long will it be before she is back to her normal self?  Or do you think she is sick?  She is still coming out to eat.  Ok another question.... My red female platy (had her for 3 weeks too) was HUGE and had a dark black spot just above her anal fin so last night I put her in a breeding net with plastic plants in the main tank (got her in one scoop with the net- she was slow).  This morning the black spot has faded somewhat and she looks less huge but no fry.  So I thought maybe she got too scared and aborted so I took her out of the net.  Now the spot is darker again, but she is still not as big as she was.  Can she change her mind and have the fry now?  What do you think is going on with my fish?  Thanks so much!!

Answer
Hi Allison;

It really is a guessing game with livebearers. They can even have babies of different ages inside them and deliver a few here and there, or deliver all and some are too early to survive. Or, just deliver early and they all die or get eaten. That's probably what happened with the little black ones. It's a shame but it happens sometimes. Your tank is very new too so it is probably still going through the break-in period. The break-in really stresses the fish and sometimes they can die. Change water more often for the next couple of weeks. Two or Three times a week is good. Here is a link to my article on new tanks to help you know more about it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

It is pretty stressful to move the mothers while they have babies in them too. A 2.5 is pretty small for her to do that anyway, especially if there is no heater to keep the temperature consistent and up where she needs it. It is actually better to leave the mother in the main tank and just provide lots of hiding places such as bushy live plants down close to the gravel. Watch for babies in the early morning and you can gently move them into a breeder net. They can't stay in there for very long though. They will need a tank of their own in a few days.

The 2.5 is really too small even for the babies. They are little but they need growing room. A larger baby "grow-out tank" is a good idea, something 5 gallons or larger so you can put a heater in it. Don't put in any gravel because they can get stuck in it and it just gets dirty from waste and food. Change water very often, even twice a week, so they grow fast with strong immune systems. Feed the babies 3 or more times a day. Just crumble up some regular fish food for them. Siphon or net out leftovers and waste from the bottom of the tank every day.

I hope things get better and you have some healthy babies very soon!

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins