# I'm confused...Molly Fry



## PrettyKitty187 (Nov 29, 2007)

My creamsicle lyretail molly had babies while I was in class today. I'm not sure how this happened because there are no other molly's in there...(I really thought she was just getting kinda chunky...was keeping an eye on her, never occurred to me that she was reproducing). So uhh...what do I do? I've never had fry before (I don't think mystery snails count) umm...kind of worried that my cherry barbs or loaches are going to eat them.


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

When you bought your fish she was already pregnant from one of the males that was in the tank with her. A common thing that happens when you buy livebearers. From my understanding a female can hold the sperm of a male for quite awhile, I have seen some people say up to six months. So it is very possible that you may have more fry. For the fry that you have now you have a couple of choices depending on what you want to do. If you are interested in raising the fry you can use a mesh breeding net, or a smaller tank to put them into until they get large enough where they will not be eaten by the other fish. If you are not intersted in raising the fry than you can leave them where they are right now and let nature take its course. Most of them will become high protien snacks for the other fish, although it is likely that a few may survive granted that there is enough hidding places for them.


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## Rip (Dec 24, 2010)

yea my rainbow platy has given birth to 3 sets of fry from a one night stand back in march with my yellow twinbar platy. the first batch were born on 04-16, the second on 05-15, and the third on 06-12. hopefully there's not any more. but i'm gonna keep the females and males seperate. i think i can just start to see the development on the males.


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## PrettyKitty187 (Nov 29, 2007)

I think the contributing male was a dalmation, I have tons of little dalmations lol. Time to start giving them away because the other fish, surprisingly, aren't eating them. Mama creamsicle occasionally eats one when they get close enough to her to grab, but beyond that they are more or less just shoaling and being...fry.

Kinda worried about the mama though, she's hovering behind the filter and just...staying there...she only comes out to eat. Is she recuperating? She had like...forty kids...I know I would need to recuperate...


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