When will my black mollies give birth??

Question

We bought a male and two females...one female got pregnant while she was in our care. Then a few days later we got 2 more females (one being very pregnant) and the other really small(i assume younger). So now we have two pregnant mollies and they are still very pregnant and have yet to give birth...it has been at least one month of pregnancy for both. I keep saying "any day now" but 6-9 days have gone by...I have heard to look for a squareish appearance to them (some say front some say back) but I'm not sure what exactly to look for...thanks for any and all advice regarding mollies, as we are new to freshwater fishies!

-Rachie

Answer 1

Your molly may have had fry and they were all eaten up by the adult mollies. Mollies can hold sperm from a male for up to 3 months. They might have a few fry one time and many another. You might also try putting one of your pregnant mollies in a breeding tank and watching her to see if she drops any fry. The females may be too stressed by the male to have their fry. I`m guessing some fry were born but, eaten. Be careful of that. Livebearers, like mollies, have their fry, forget they had them, and eat them up as fast as they can. Make sure you have plenty of places in your tank for the fry to hide like: breeding grass, caves, and leafy plants. Good luck.