Why does this molly have a black spot on each side?

L

lynniecat

AC Members
Oct 16, 2013
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She has a fairly round belly. I recently got her from the fish store. Does it mean she is pregnant?



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Yes that would be the case. When the front of her chest starts looking square she is about to give birth.
 
That "black spot" is actually the eggs as they develop inside their mother. Even when not preggo they can be seen as a small black patch, but said patch grows as the eggs develop.
 
Thanks for the answers. So is it possible she is not pregnant and those are just the unfertilized eggs? I am a newbie and worried as I have a 37.5 gallon tank with:

4 mollies (all female and aside from the new one, no pregnancies and no male).
1 platy
1 guppy
3 tetras
1 octo algae eater

I don't really have room for babies! Yikes. This is the first molly that came possibly preggo! I think the guppy is a male and the platy might be a male and I recently ready they might breed with mollies so I am a bit worried about that too...

Thanks for any help on this!
 
Guppy, Platy... Yep. Probably preggo. That's the "Gravid Spot" you're seeing and it could be the result of cross breeding w/ any of the livebearers. I've read that they're all viable crosses.
 
Oh yikes, I thought the cross breeding thing was either not really true or very rare. I was so careful to make sure I got all female mollies. I did not think about the sex of the guppy and platy. I just went for pretty fish. Its all for my 4 year old's play room. She loves to take care of the fish and watch them swim around! She feeds them each day (I measure the food) and its been quite a learning adventure for us both! We went through some issues with foggy murky water, then put some green moss balls in (I forget the name but the pet store recommended them). Then that caused the water to turn super green with way too much algae. We used some drops and that cleared things up. We have been ok since. Learned how to use strips to check water condition, etc. But now I am worried about a population explosion. Argh! And it all started when my daughter got a 3 gallon tank with 4 mollies in it for a surprise Christmas gift when she was three (a year ago)! Of course I knew nothing about fish but quickly learned that 3 gallons and 4 mollies did not work. Well that was a lengthy but thorough summary of my fish tank experience! And why I have any experience at all. I would recommend not to give children surprise fish tanks. On the other hand its been a bit of challenging fun for us!
 
lynnie, there is no such thing as a virgin female molly lol. The fry are all probably going to be full mollies. You should return the mollies if you don't wan to breed them :)
 
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