Molly fish is one of the most popular cold water aquarium species. They are easy to keep and care for, and they come in many different colors. They are so appealing that they can also breed quickly and live together with other tropical freshwater fishes. So what happens when the Molly fish gives birth?
Molly fish will give birth to hundreds of offspring in the wild. What that means is, they spawn by releasing eggs and sperm into the water at once. This process makes it easy for them to breed with other types of fish, but only if they are from different species, like a betta fish or a guppy fish.
What happens after Molly fish gives birth is an anonymous question. After Molly fish gives birth, they will either die or help the fry grow into an adult. Sometimes if you fail to provide a proper environment, Mollies might even eat their babies after birth.
However, this post will be about the breeding process of Molly fish and what happens when Molly fish gives birth to baby Mollies. So, if you are thinking of owning a Molly fish, read on to know more.
Livebearing Molly Fish:
Molly fish are livebearers that give birth to several hundred children at a time after males fertilize them. The mother will then hold onto her eggs until they hatch, usually within 48 hours of fertilization and gestation varies depending on water temperature: about 60 days at 70 °F or 57 days at 77° F . She then releases between 40-100 young fry into the water for them to fend for themselves.
After birth, you should not leave a female in the tank as she will usually eat her young because they are a potential food source. The new fry must then find their way to survive and feed on tiny zooplankton (tiny organisms that reside in water) until they can learn to eat more significant foods such as crushed flake or brine shrimp.
Types Of Livebearing Molly Fish
There are many different species of livebearing molly fish that vary in size and color. They range from the smallest, such as dwarf mollies, to some of the largest, like Sailfin Mollies and Lyretail mollies.
Do Molly Fish Give Birth To Babies?
Yes, molly fish do give birth to babies- called spawning. A group of female and male mollies will all release their eggs simultaneously in a large mass of cloud that looks like rice floating on top of the water’s surface. When this happens, the parents are no longer concerned with protecting any remaining fertilized eggs or the young.
To spawn, mollies need soft, slightly essential water between 75 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit (23-28 Celsius). If their habitat has these conditions, they will reproduce year-round, spawning up to 50 times a year with as many as 4000 eggs each time. They can only lay one brood at a time, though.
How Do Molly Fish Give Birth?
Molly fish will give birth to baby mollies by releasing eggs into the water. The female can be pregnant for as little as two weeks and up to six months. Then, when she is ready, it only takes a few seconds for her to drop the eggs from her ventral fin opening while swimming at top speed in an unpredictable pattern.
The males will chase her throughout the process and fertilize the eggs. The male can release millions of sperm into the water, but only a few hundred make it to the female’s egg in many thousands. When they do meet, one or two might succeed at entering an egg. If successful, that is when she stops moving and begins to sink.
The fertilized eggs will fall to the bottom of the tank in clumps while attached by a sticky thread (anchor). More threads then wrap them together, so they do not break apart, or other fish eat after hatching. The process takes about five hours from start to finish, but you can speed up this process with the help of gravity.
What Happens When Molly Fish Gives Birth?
Molly fish is a livebearing freshwater aquarium fish. The mother will give birth to anywhere between 40 and 100 fry (baby mollies). For the first four weeks of life, the babies depend on their yolk sacs for nourishment. After this time, they begin eating free-floating food particles in the water column.
During the first week of life, a newborn molly fish will eat any other eggs or fry it encounters. This behavior is filial cannibalism and occurs in many different species of fish. However, when they’re about two weeks old, they’ll start to be less interested in eating their siblings. They won’t begin to care for their young until they’re about six weeks old. Although the molly fish is a livebearer, it can take as long as eleven months to become pregnant again after giving birth.
How To Take Care Of Molly Fish Fry After Birth?
After the Molly fish gives birth, she feels exhausted and will need time to recover. She also wants privacy, so it’s important not to disturb her for at least a week after giving birth.
After a week or two of rest, the fry can swim around more easily. At this point, you can begin to feed them baby brine shrimp or other live foods. But, again, make sure not to disturb the young Molly fish too much as it could cause problems with their development.
Maintaining a proper diet is important for all fry after birth. It’s effortless, though, so remember these three rules: Don’t touch them. Please don’t feed them too much. And, don’t leave the fry alone for long periods!
This is a great way to help keep their health up and will make it easier on you when it comes time to clean your tank or add new fish in. They will then be ready to move in a separate tank within a couple of months.
Molly Fish Breeding
Molly fish can breed in a community tank with other species, but the most successful method is to have one male Molly per female, as they will not spawn if there are multiple males around (they’re territorial). A general rule of thumb for livebearers is to have a ratio of one male per every three females.
Females are usually much larger than males and will be carrying hundreds of eggs at once when they are ready to breed (which can take up to about 40 days). So when you see this, remove her from the tank as quickly as possible since she’s not going to be very safe from the male Molly’s advances at this point.
Breeding initiates when a female releases pheromones in her urine stream, and other females then release more of these hormones (this is why multiple fish breed). The males will sense these chemicals coming out into the water column and begin doing a “dance” to get the female’s attention. Males will also try to push other males away from spawning and potentially attack them if they don’t move (this is common in male Mollies, especially as it gets closer to breeding time).
Molly Fish Hatching
The number of fry that a Molly gives birth to depends on the size of the female and her diet, but most will give birth to 20-50 fry at a time.
The eggs fertilize in utero by cloacal contact between the parents (these fish have internal fertilization). Female mollies will carry the fertilized eggs for about 40 days before hatching and releasing them into the water column right away.
Molly Fish Development
The fry has a yolk sac attached to their bodies since birth. This sac will feed the fry for about three days. After few days, the sac absorbs into the fry’s body, and they start to feed on their own.
Fry will start swimming around and feeding on the algae growing in your tank within a few days. However, they are not very mobile. So you must feed them only some sort of liquid food (like baby brine shrimp) or live foods like daphnia for the first couple of weeks until their bellies become more rounded than elongated.
How To Take Care Of Molly Fish?
Taking care of Molly’s fish is not challenging. However, it is important to remember some things concerning how to take care of these fish so that you can give them proper care.
- Maintain the water temperature at about 24° C and monitor it closely because they cannot tolerate any changes.
- Ensure there is proper space in the aquarium for them to swim around.
- Feed them with small-sized pellets or flakes, which are easily digestible.
- Change the water regularly and clean up in time to maintain the vibrant color of the fish.
- Do not overfeed them. Overfeeding is harmful to your fish’s health as well as to the quality of the aquarium environment.
- Provide plants in which they can hide. Also, place some clean rocks and other elements of decoration.
- Check Mollies’ fins for any diseases and treat the condition accordingly. In addition, if there are spots on your fish’s body or they have lost some coloration, then immediately consult with the Vet.
- Get professional aid as soon as you see unusual behavior in these fish.
Conclusion
When a Molly fish is pregnant, she will fill up with eggs until they are ready. As a result, she can carry as many as 100 babies at once. This means that when the time comes to give birth, it’s an event worth noticing! If you fail to see her giving birth, then all of those children may die if you don’t get them back into the water.
It is important to be ready for when she gives birth because it happens very quickly. She will give birth in one big wave, releases all the children at once. For this reason, you need to make sure that there’s nothing around that might harm them or restrict their movement. A net, for example, will kill a large portion of the children.
Hopefully, this blog post guide has helped you learn more about what happens when Molly fish gives birth.
