Mosquito fish

Question
hi karen

i was wondering how do i know if my female mosquito fish are pregnant? and how would i reduce the number of fry being eaten by the adults.

Adrian

Answer
Hi Adrian,
Mosquito fish, like most livebearers are pregnant almost all of the time. The best way to tell is the females well-rounded belly. A female can retain sperm from a single mating to create several batches of fry!

Usually about 24 days pass before she gives birth to up to 10 or more babies. To prevent her from eating the fry its best if you place her in a small tank with a very large amount of cover in the form of plants to provide refuge for the fry to hide in. Some people use special breeding traps which can be plastic or soft netting type. Something like this-

http://www.aquariumguys.com/breedingtrap1.html

But incorporating plenty of thick hiding places for the fry is always better.

Best wishes and I hope this helps!
Karen~