# balloon molly babies!



## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

my balloon molly just had abot 25 tiny babies, i am so excited! so, I am keeping them in a 2 quart container, floating on top of the water in my 10 gallon tank. I don't have another tank. will this be ok until they are big enough to put in the main tank?Also, i put some plants in there for oxygen, what else should i do for airation? For food, i am soaking algae wafers in water until it becomes liquid, then i squirt it in there. is that good? any input on care for these lilguys is appreciated!


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

squishylittlefishies said:


> my balloon molly just had abot 25 tiny babies, i am so excited! so, I am keeping them in a 2 quart container, floating on top of the water in my 10 gallon tank. I don't have another tank. will this be ok until they are big enough to put in the main tank?Also, i put some plants in there for oxygen, what else should i do for airation? For food, i am soaking algae wafers in water until it becomes liquid, then i squirt it in there. is that good? any input on care for these lilguys is appreciated!


What do you plan to do with over 25 grown mollies? How big is your tank? Sounds like all you're doing will work. They're tough without a predator.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

squishylittlefishies said:


> my balloon molly just had abot 25 tiny babies, i am so excited! so, I am keeping them in a 2 quart container, floating on top of the water in my 10 gallon tank. I don't have another tank. will this be ok until they are big enough to put in the main tank?Also, i put some plants in there for oxygen, what else should i do for airation? For food, i am soaking algae wafers in water until it becomes liquid, then i squirt it in there. is that good? any input on care for these lilguys is appreciated!


Change the water in the container daily. Your tank is not big enough for 2 mollies, much less 25.


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## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

I am going to sell them to my lfs when they are a little bigger. don't worry! i knoe a 10 gal can't house all those guys!


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

Is this your first batch?


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## shaz53 (Oct 11, 2012)

*Pregnant molly*

Hi guys,

Am hoping someone will be able to assist

I had a pair of black molly's male and female and i came home from work this morning to find she has died i have managed to find one fry and am unable to catch another that i have found in the tank.I only spotted the one i saved due to my large angel fish trying to eat it, I know there is definatley at least another one in the tank but as small as they are they swim very fast which hopefully it will survive. how can i see if there are more and how do i catch them ??anyway back to the female it is not the first time she has given borth to fry and i did manage to save 10 of the last lot and have put them in a smaller tank to grow and then give 6 to my partner once they are big enough to sex.

My question is 

Could she have died giving bith??

I did try and put her in a birthing pod a week ago as i knew she was about due ( due to size of her) but she got very stressed as did the male so i released her back inot the community where she did perk up and both seemed very content the male molly is it seems looking for her and he was hovering around her when i got home and removed her dead body,

Naturally i am upset that she died and am now worried that he will die from missing her ( is this possible) or is it my own human emotions thinking this.
I dont want to buy another female as when i put my other fry back into the tank i do not want to be over run with them.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

Mollys should be kept in a herem, at least 2-3 females for every male. Otherwise, that lone female will get constent never ending attention from the male which will eventually tire her out and result in death.

You also have a potential problem as you say you have Angelfish and Mollys. These fish require very different water. Angels are soft water, and Mollys are hard water.

Back to the OP though:

As has been mentioned already, a 10 gallon is not large enough for two mollys. It isn't even large enough for one. I know it looks like they are 'fine' but stress is often something not seen visually. Mollies should be kept in nothing less than a 24" tank but 36" is far better. Males can get up to 3" and females can approach 6" in length, they do not stay small unless stunted (which creates a whole host of problems).


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## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

yup! this is my first ever batch of babies!!! ok, so while we're on the topic of male aggression, My male balloon gives the female a lot of attention, but he doesn't seem mean about it... he is always by her side, like he must have his nose touching her belly at all times. he never nips at her or chases her though, and she doesn't seem to mind. is this harrassment, or did i just get lucky with a happy pair?


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## squishylittlefishies (Sep 12, 2012)

Geomancer said:


> Males can get up to 3" and females can approach 6" in length, they do not stay small unless stunted


Those are the sizes for regular mollies, which i know can get big. these are balloon mollies though, and they rarely get over 3 inches.


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## shaz53 (Oct 11, 2012)

Thanks for you reply,

i forgot to mention my tank is a 3ft and i have checked that it is not over stocked and when i brought the mollies from our local aqarium shop they told me that they will only sell them in pairs and refused to sell them as individuals.Now i know then i will of course once i know the sex of the fry will put them in a seperate tanks as my partner has a 5ft tank with only a few fish as he is just starting to buy fish of a peaceful type and these will be ideal


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## Geomancer (Aug 23, 2010)

squishylittlefishies said:


> Those are the sizes for regular mollies, which i know can get big. these are balloon mollies though, and they rarely get over 3 inches.


They're the same species, the Balloon Molly is just a variant, a malformed variant prone to health problems and early death.


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## marshallsea (Apr 30, 2012)

squishylittlefishies said:


> yup! this is my first ever batch of babies!!! ok, so while we're on the topic of male aggression, My male balloon gives the female a lot of attention, but he doesn't seem mean about it... he is always by her side, like he must have his nose touching her belly at all times. he never nips at her or chases her though, and she doesn't seem to mind. is this harrassment, or did i just get lucky with a happy pair?


With my platys, the constant male attention on one female stressed her out. With 3 females he only bugged 1 , ever. There is something to pairs because when she died he was lost without her, for a week.


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