Tips on Baby Mollies

Mollies are what are called a "live-bearing" fish, meaning they are born whole from the mother's womb as opposed to hatching from an egg. When born in the wild, natural conditions offer them the protection and food they need to survive. On the other hand, when baby mollies are born in your aquarium, you provide proper conditions for their safety and growth. This doesn't mean that it's difficult. When you care for baby mollies, a little time and attentiveness goes a long way.

  1. Prior to Birth

    • A female molly is pregnant for about 30 days. Prepare your tank for the new babies' arrival shortly before the female is ready to give birth. This primarily involves creating a safe place for your babies to survive, so other fish won't eat them.

      You might put your female in a contraption, available where fish are sold, designed to keep the babies out of the main area of the tank, or you can put her in a separate tank.

      In lieu of these efforts, floating plants in the main tank offer a place for the new babies to hide, and these create a scenario closer to their natural habitat. This is generally less stressful on the pregnant female and could increase the number of live babies. Net the babies and place them in another tank while they grow.

    Newborns

    • Newborn mollies are small and have certain dietary needs to survive and to thrive. For one, a baby molly's mouth isn't big enough to eat the same food as adults.

      Crush any flake food that you feed them into a fine powder. Dip a moist toothpick into the powder, then into the tank to feed them several times through the day and evening. Six times each day is optimal.

      Also mollies are mostly herbivores, so feeding them an algae-based food helps. Brine shrimp and freeze-dried blood worms make a nice treat, adding protein to round out the diet.

    Integration

    • Your baby mollies are ready to be with the adult fish when they are about 30 days old or twice their original size. To avoid any shock from the move, water temperature and other environmental conditions need to be basically the same in both tanks.

      When there might be some difference, the technique you use when you buy fish from the store works in this instance, as well. Put water from the babies' tank into a plastic bag, add the fish, tie it, and float it in the new tank to give the fish a gradual adjustment. Then pour them into their new tank.

    Population

    • Adult mollies can give birth up to 150 babies at a time as often as every four to eight weeks. As your babies grow, you may want to separate the males and females to avoid a population explosion. The males are generally slimmer than the females and are more positively identified by an anal fin that is not present on the females.