Molly Pregnancies

Question
I have no male mollies in my tank, just one regular black molly, a Gold Metallic balloon molly, a black balloon molly, and a dark Marble Lyre Tail Molly. The marble lyre tail started getting fat about a week or  so after I got them [which was about 4-5weeks ago], but she hasn't had  any babies or gotten any bigger for a while now. So I was wondering if she just got fat, or if the babies are still developing, or what you think might have happend...? B/c  I put her in a baby holder with a divider after she'd gotten pretty big, but it wasn't covered, so she jumped back into the other part of the tank. Then last week my mom said I should put her back into the baby holder [but this one had a lid] so she was in there for about a week, but she wasn't eating as much as usual and didn't look any bigger. I was wondering what you thought about this.

I also wanted to know if you have any tips on telling how a Balloon molly is pregnant?

I could send you pictures if that would help you any in determining weather or not they are pregnant.

Thank You Very Much,
Anna

Answer
Hi Anna,
Most likely your mollies are pregnant. I'm not sure if you know it or not, but mollies can become pregnant from being in the petstore swimming in a tank with males even before you bring them home!
Sometimes mollies can overeat at mealtimes and have the tendency to be a little chubby. It's usually no big deal just cut back on their food a bit.

It's difficult to tell the difference between a pregnant molly and just a chubby fish. If you notice she's gradually  getting bigger (and her scales are sticking out, which could indicate dropsy -- which is a disease associated with bloating)  then she may in fact be pregnant. Just wait and see and keep a close on her. Sometimes its too stressful for fish to be moved back and forth from the tank to the baby holder. I have found that if there are plenty of plants in the tank, many of the fry can survive. Also in my experience mollies don't have much of a tendency to eat their fry at all.

I would just leave your fish in the main aquarium and give them the best care possible. It's always a tricky thing to diagnose a chubby fish. It could be babies, or constipation or worse (hopefully not) a disease like Dropsy. All you can do is keep a close watch on your little fish and make sure to notice any symptoms that could indicate a serious problem. If you notice her acting really stressed out, such as staying in one place constantly or breathing heavily and it last longer than a day then you should take great concern.

If you'd like to send pictures, that's fine. You can send them here at- nature_girl2u@hotmail.com

I really hope this helps!
Best wishes,
Karen~