Breeding Mollies

Breeding mollies can be a very simple exercise, or it can be quite a complex one. The decision is yours.

First off : How do we tell them apart?

The male livebearer has what is called a rod-like copulatory organ called a "gonopodium", situated on the lower belly area. (the gonopodium is a modification of the anal fin).

In adult mollies, the females are usually somewhat larger than the males, and females that are well advanced in carrying young are easily distinguished by thier overly round bellies. Some females also exhibit a dark spot, the so-called gravid spot, on their lower abdomen, just ahead of the anal fin.

Now that you are pretty sure in buying a male & female molly, you're ready to start your little family. (actually, little is not what you'll be getting!) If you are housing your mollies in a varied community tank, chances are that most of the fry will not survive, seeing as the other tank occupants might look upon them as snacks! From personal experience, I haven't had any problems with the parents eating their own fry, but I have heard of it happening. If your tank is well planted, and has alot of hiding spaces for the fry, then there is a good chance all will survive.

If you want to make sure that you have a full batch of fry, what you could do is separate the female in a tank of her own when she shows signs of pregnancy.
Other options are "breeding traps" that you could find in many pet stores, but they are not recommended, as mollies are less able than other livebearers to stand confinement. There is also mats of artificial "grass" that you can purchase, that give a safe haven for the fry when born..At least, it will give you time to remove the female from the tank. If you do take her out, don't be in too much of a hurry to place her back in the original tank, as she will be harassed by the male all over again. Give the poor girl some time to relax! :)

*Personal note* I now have 6 aquariums, the smallest 2 gallon as a medi-tank. Of all the fry I've raised & given away (and believe me, there have been OODLES!), I've almost always let them roam the tank. I've been blessed with non-carnivorous fish! My tanks are also well planted, and have oodles of hiding places :)

FEEDING THE FRY
As soon as your fry are born, you can start feeding them a finely ground dry food. What you need to watch out for is overfeeding. It can lead to fouling the water, and soon enogh killing your fish. (long term of course). Feed sparsely, letting the strong survive. This leads us to the subject of culling.

CULLING
Defined bluntly, culling is the process of separating the "worthless" from the "worthy". You may look upon your first batch of fry as your pride & joy, and that's okay! Heck, I haven't culled any of my fry yet, just don't have the heart for it! :)
But, if you are intending to formulate a solid breeding program, and producing "top-notch" mollies, you'll want to weed out the weaker, less suitable fish. That way, you'll keep out the bad traits, and keep your strain close to perfection.

EUTHANASIA
No matter how much love, care & attention we give to our aquatic companions, there comes a time when we have to make a life or death decision regarding the status of a diseased or failing fish. It's hard to do, but there really is no way to avoid making it.

When a fish is past any reasonable point of recovery, becoming listless, hovering in a corner, getting pecked at by other fish, it's time to take matters into your own hands. How do you mercy kill your fish? Humane ways are ; immersing it in boiling water, immersing it in freezing water, and even swiftly smashing it's head. All of these methods aren't the nicest to perform, especially when you have to watch your fish's death throes. :( Another alternative and more gentle method is a "freeze-to-sleep" operation. Wet several paper towels and fold them so they can be wrapped around the fish's body. Net the fish and place it in the wet blanket. Cover the fish completely and place it in a plastic bag, then place this in your freezer. The freezing causes the fish's metabolism to gradually slow down, placing it in a deep comatose condition until it freezes to death. This is virtually painless to the fish, and to the performer of the task as well.