How To Care For Dalmatian Molly Fry :: My Fish Had Babies!!

Turns out my Dalmatian molly was pregnant when I got her from the pet store. This is actually quite common and molly fish can actually become pregnant multiple times without the male in the tank. If you don't remove the babies the mother might eat them! Big Yikes! So I decided I wanted to keep and raise the fry. I put them into a 10 gallon tank with a heater and filter. In this video I talk about the process and things I needed to do to keep them. I also talk about my plans on whether or not I will sell them to a local fish store for a profit.

[@numerousaria9742]

I just bought a black molly from Petsmart and I came home from work to 10 babies !

[@desalmoarid9653]

Lol me too! I have 11 fry

[@kkdeveauxgue2784]

Mines just had 50 babies it was a dalmatian and its black ones and white dalmatians

[@PULAG]

I thought they have a minimum 40 babies? 40 to 100? But yeah PetSmart got me too! Bought 2 black molly, 4 days later I saw about 4 or 5 frybabies

[@501stcaptainrex6]

Me too

[@reddeadlaura1920]

Hey me too! I've got 15

[@sarahquintanilla4797]

About a month ago I bought a female silver tailed molly and I didn’t know she was pregnant. The same day I brought her home she gave birth that night and died the very next morning She had 60 baby fries and only 34 survivors They’re doing amazing 😍

[@desalmoarid9653]

Awesome

[@mackennalevins7539]

I just bought my Dalmatian Molly from petsmart three days ago and now I have 15 cause she was pregnant too!

[@origamist792]

I also have a Dalmatian Molly

[@takeishabrown8354]

We bought 3 Dalmatian Molly fish on Friday, on Sunday we noticed something that looked like a Molly fish sitting in one of our fake plants. Today we have over a dozen tiny tiny fish swimming in our tank.

[@sydney8795]

I bought a molly yesterday and I think she’s pregnant too

[@Black_SoulGem]

Same! Except they housed the black ones with the Dalmatians and mine was black that gave birth to all dalmatians.

[@JadeTeran]

Hi how can you tell that a molly is pregnant?

[@stefanritchie7667]

Well done bud can hear the excitement in your voice I to started with one tank I now have 6 running as u can imagine my mrs loves me

[@StephanieFameli]

Helpful tip! No need to use a sponge filter for fry. Buy a fish net that is large enough to cover the intake. Cut the netting off and secure it around the filter intake with a rubber or plastic band. I've been raising livebearers for years and have always done this. Babies are safe from getting sucked up and they get proper filtration. :)

[@Djbluedreamz]

Thanks for the tip!!! Could not find a sponge filter so im happy you gave this advice😊

[@kevinleroy2661]

What about using a single ply of gauze covering the tube?

[@LouLou10000]

I’ve cut the toe of a pair of new tights and stretched it over my filter

[@earthKhild]

I love how so many of us was surprised to having baby mollies in the tank😂💗💗

[@hannahj3133]

Thank you so much this has helped me so much I have a pregnant moly and I had no clue but following what you did I think that they will be awesome

[@dianarios6837]

I thought I had 2 female Dalmatian Mollies.. I’ve had them for months. Just this weekend I noticed about 20 babies 😳😳😳

[@TheBrosDestroyTBD]

We bought a Dalmation Molly from PetSmart as well. She was pregnant. What started as a "please the kids" 10-gallon fish tank with 1 fish has turned into over 40-50 fish now. The same adult female gave birth twice, about 3-4 weeks apart. No male present in the tank. We chose not to separate since we had plants. So far, all but one baby made it, and water changes have been key. We also have a hang on the back filter and have had no issues. The hardest part is over feeding. My kids love to feed the fish, and they do it too often. Maybe once every other day is ideal. The excess food and poop have got us in full on snail population control. I'm done with baby snails; I have crushed over 80 in the last month, and they keep coming back. Lots of substrate vacuuming and snail removals lately. This experiment, although rewarding for the kiddos and family, has become a lot of work!

[@leonidasbeeny1335]

Snails are actually pretty good for your tank though, and to feed mollies you wanna feed them once every day.

[@ExpertAssass1n]

I just noticed in my tank that my mollies had babies. They're everywhere! It's really cool :)

[@Bethelhorses]

If you get a stocking or other mesh type fabric can put it over the filter nozzle and use a rubber and to secure it to stop the fry from getting sucked in there.

[@carolynsaquariumaddiction6469]

beautiful melts my helart I have mollie babbies all kinds now

[@ericahastings1102]

I woke up one day and I had 11 baby fish. lol!

[@logiq101]

If they're camping at the heater it means your water is not warm enough.. try getting a more powerful heater (adjustable temp) and raise by 1-2C. They'll also grow faster in warmer water (increased metabolism).

[@drefky]

Loved to see your small growth in the video. But Molly need warm water. They convene next to the heater because the temperature is too low and they freeze. May raise the temperature?

[@jay_blambo2897]

I just got Mine yesterday from petsmart and woke up to 11 baby molly in my tank I dont know if all survived the night I have a male n female grown molly in the tank..so far I notice a few moving..

[@mandypdx]

Great video 💕

[@tylerkirkwood9706]

You can get a sponge filter that slides over your hang on the back filters intake tube it will slide right over stop it from sucking them up and collect algae for your fry and algae eaters to snack on

[@Addiep03]

One of my mollies gave birth at some point between 2 nights ago and yesterday morning. We were not expecting babies, so only one of them survived. The little one is in a separate tank for now until he gets bigger

[@aamirzayan1]

The video is posted long time ago but for the viewers a quick info: They fish babies and mama molly were hanging out near the heater because the water flow on the right side was too much for them. They like very low or no water flow.

[@biancavelazquez4280]

Oh my gosh, the same thing happened to me. I bought a Dalmatian molly female and she threw 11 babies , first off all they are really beautiful and they will be so much more adjusted to just regular water than coming from the big Chinese breeding. "Brakkish" tanks.

[@stew1270]

I have that same exact tank setup

[@biancavelazquez4280]

I am keeping 1 just beautiful female and ons that got little stuck in the birth canal and has some spine issues. Eventhough I have been giving it some extra calcium shish seemed to really help her, it looks like scoliosis, but is had gotten such better.

[@emanuelaamati1297]

I bought was I thought were 2 males Molly couple of months ago, one became what I thought was really fat. Yesterday there were around 30 fry! I set up immediately another tank and separated the 2 adults. But now I'm worried I will have again other fry soon! I think I need a bigger tank

[@JadeTeran]

Omg loved your voice

[@GameChangingGaming]

Thank you! :)

[@JadeTeran]

@@GameChangingGaming do you still have them are you able to sell any?

[@KatzKrayon]

Tyyy, I got one and it had baby’s the next day, had no idea what to do, tyyy

[@oldcat41]

Mollies are excellent algae eaters

[@lisaoleary6658]

awesome

[@izziesnow6538]

I bought my Dalmatian molly a week ago. We now have 8 babies. Managed to save them and they are now in a nursery float tank in with the main tank. We only have 1 other molly and guppies in the tank when will they be big enough to go into the main tank?

[@PokeGummy]

Bro I went from fish to Pokémon cards too 😂😂😂

[@GameChangingGaming]

Haha they are so addicting! gotta have good hobbies during covid!

[@vickie3443]

I think I have 2 pregnant mollies. I've been putting them in a small TopFin mesh breeder at night because I read that they usually give birth at night. I have 1 little fry from a few weeks ago and 2 smaller ones. I'm sure the others were eaten by the others in the aquarium😪 I have a 10 gallon that I will set up for them after seeing this video. *What is a sponge filter?

[@amazingaquaticsandexotics3030]

nice

[@goody7445]

In my experience when a fish hangs out by the heater that means they want the water to be warmer. Not sure what you keep yours at.

[@SmokeNScales]

It’s so funny when they will legit all decide to hang out in the strong part of the current 😂 it’s like watching boot camp 😂😂😂

[@mickeydnrvz9383]

I have 2black molly, one morning I came downstairs a was about to clean the tank and saw something black swimming, and it was a fry. Move the rock and there was another one. Do I keep the in the tank with their momma and papa? I have them right now in a small tank, but they seem lonely.

[@jaskauuur]

How did you prepare your tank before you added the babies in

[@Nicky-1293]

My other half and I bought a couple of Mollies, two black and two Dalmatians from a petsmart when starting up our first community tank together. And the employee told us, how they picked one of the black mollies that had a ‘gold tail’ turned out to be a male. . . He’s gotten at the black female, long story short we now have 3 or 4 different baby molly batched in one breeder tank so they don’t get munched, and up to I believe last count of 15-17?

[@MrChurchy93]

Literally had the same happen to me as I put a new fish in our tank it started having baby fish haha

[@daliaroy1155]

On 11th April 2021 by Dalmation molly also gave birth to 43 babies

[@user-np5mb5ps9d]

Hello! I have two dalmatian mollies one female and one male, and I think the female may be pregnant. I was just wondering how big the fry are at birth? Thanks.

[@JohnSmith.1]

They make sponges to go over the HOB intake so no fish could get sucked up in there

[@LouLou10000]

I’ve just got my surprise fry in a little terrapin tank with a little nano heater and an aqua filter , it’s too powerful really for the tank but it’s tiny and to stop anyone getting sucked in I’ve cut the toe of a pair of tights and stretched that up to the top of the filter and tied it on. It’s day one, I discovered eyeballs looking at me from the sand when I woke up so I’ve fished about 10 out of my big tank, saw one get eaten 😮as I wasn’t fast enough and if there were more they must have been eaten early morning or in the night. My balloon mollys are little swimming balls, how are you suppposed to know one is pregnant lol, both are the sane shop this morning as they were yesterday 😂

[@melissaflores5265]

i bought an orange female swordtail that i did not know she was pregnant then i went to bed woke up next morning and she gave birth. i don't know how many fry's there were

[@silllykitten329]

After months of my mollies eating the fry, today there are 2 tiny survivors! Woo lmao, I’ve been waiting for some bbs

[@ProGreener]

Can you put your LED light on for baby fry fish? Mine are 3 days old

[@michaelalunders6761]

I’ve got mollies and tetras and yesterday I found one baby and he’s kinda big at least a few days old, I have no clue who had him or what happened why he’s the only one. But he’s too cute

[@lisaeleanor8559]

Ok. Mine just had 30 babies and I only have a betta fish tank w/o a filter.. will they be ok to put them.in them?

[@autisticgamer6344]

Quick tip, the constant water changes are affecting the tempature of the water,, the fish do not swarm the thermomitor because of hobby, but because the tank is to cold

[@autisticgamer6344]

Not to mention the ph level, every extra water change that’s not needed will cause fish stress and they can catch illnesses like ick

[@kotamoda]

So I have very little room in my bedrooom for anymore tanks I currently live with my parents so expanding to another room is not really an option but do any of you guys think a fry separater is okay to put in my tank so don’t have to separate into a separate tank it would only be temporary until they are a bit bigger I only have about 8 fry left but I would like to save a some of them

[@kirstieecook2741]

Get a breeding mesh it hangs into your tank and you can put the babies in there they are usually like 5-7 dollars

[@vickie3443]

@@kirstieecook2741 I bought one of those and I've been putting the 2 pregnant mollies in it at night because I read that they usually give birth at night. So far no babies. The mesh breeder is cheaply made. Doesn't hang sturdy.

[@michelenevoges8458]

When did you move the mum out of the tank?

[@alisonmullineaux9415]

Where have u been?

[@PatiencesMom]

When to release the fry to the big tank?

[@ricbrunner3880]

Lol. Feed them daphnia when there little. They need good protein. Not long till you can move on to baby brine. One feeding a day with all my fish is live or good frozen proteins. I currently have in the neighborhood if 2000 mollies in different stages of development. My own strain.

[@uleah1327]

same lol got it like a week and she just gave me 12 babies xD

[@DrOwl-ek1pv]

same thing to me man but I knew my dalmatian was pregnant cause there was babies in the tank we bought it in

[@aaroncarpio8469]

How did you transfer the babies into your 10 gallon tank? Did you just scoop them up with a net?

[@dianeyoung3840]

Net

[@sheenaalbaugh86]

I got a cup

[@Christian-cw9mp]

I scooped 18. Took 2 hours. Fought off all the mollies, frogs, and cories. They were desperate to eat the fry.

[@kymbraleebarnes9420]

How many babies did your molly have? I just recently accidentally bought a pregnant Dalmatian molly fish as well and so far I have 14 babies and counting

[@GameChangingGaming]

That's awesome! Mine had about 30 and then a month later had about 10 more even though there wasn't another male in the tank. I learned that they can actually get pregnant multiple times after being in a tank with a male from the store, so your molly may have more coming soon!

[@kingzilladestroyerofthemul1480]

Mine gave birth to 23 something babies

[@EverlyEmber]

GameChangingGaming Mine had 6 now

[@elizabethG633]

Use a cylindrical sponge filter on your intake as a pre-filter it works great.

[@Princethegerman]

11/11/22 we got babies 🐠

[@Boo-md1wu]

Congratulations! Also, an anubias can't be submerged in the gravel. An anubias will only thrive when their attached to driftwood or a piece of rock

[@rogerroo]

Those are Java Ferns, no?

[@Boo-md1wu]

@@rogerroo the one to the right is the anubias. The one to the left is an Amazon sword and those should be submerged. Java ferns also shouldn't be submerged since the rhizome can die

[@dahlia1849]

I bought 2 female baloon mollies and the 3rd day of having them there were 20 babies!

[@dedarahmed1091]

I got mollies and it is very aggressive it chases my rosy barbs around do you know why it doing this

[@junisehines676]

Aggressive fish towards smaller fish

[@ccv1501]

Hi! My white molly just had babies from my dalmatian male. They are all white. Will they develop spots?

[@TheBrosDestroyTBD]

Considering this is a year old, you probably know by now the answer is yes. We had the same Molly give birth twice, first set was all white. At about 3-4 weeks the spots started showing up. The 2nd set is mostly dark, and I imagine will color up in the near future.

[@Noelsfish_and_more]

Update?

[@jeffpatton2633]

Turn your heater up there cold

[@daliaroy1155]

But my Dalmation molly is not lyertail as yours but it is sailfin

[@andysmith1940]

68

[@rogerroo]

Will my Molly get sad when she’s alone in the breeder tank? I don’t know how long it will be until she has her babies, but I’m guessing really soon. I want to put my pregnant Molly in a separate tank (she’s currently in a community tank) but I don’t want her to be alone and sad. (Don’t want to do a breeder net in the community tank)

[@sweetsugarcane8598]

if the mother eats her baby waht you will do

[@ahmadm400]

Help my molly give birth and I literally don’t know what to do ( don’t have another spare tank) what should I do?

[@awesomestrawberry3198]

This is the exact position I am in I have no clue what to do

[@thomaswitbob3826]

@@awesomestrawberry3198 tbh just get like a bucket and put some rocks in there with plants kinda like a mini pond. if it’s really cold out keep it indoors and just make sure to feed them and put a air stone in it bcuz baby mollies are pretty sturdy so they shouldn’t die really easily

[@awesomestrawberry3198]

@@thomaswitbob3826 there is only one molly in my tank along with two wood shrimp so I don’t know whether I should do what you said or just buy lots more plants so the fry can hide easier and then just feed the molly more

[@thomaswitbob3826]

@@awesomestrawberry3198 oh well in that case i’d say just leave the babies there and keep the mama well fed, my molly had fish in the community tank and all the fish just left them alone bcuz i keep them fed

[@awesomestrawberry3198]

@@thomaswitbob3826 okay I’ll do that thank you so much❤️

[@sandysalimeno3789]

Does Mama Molly eat the babies?

[@aamirzayan1]

Yes they do

[@txulw5815]

Which catfish did u said

[@4-hfarm671]

Otocinclus

[@emily_ronnie30]

Why do my babies rarely move?

[@sabinegray1450]

They may need more water movement or a heater.

[@Phantombay415]

My molly has giving birth twice in less then 2 months wtf.

[@estherlopez4310]

I bought a some Molly’s from pet smart and now I have only one baby how lol I thought they would have more then one?

[@viperblackjewel3915]

Mama Molly got hungry......their known to eat their babies

[@junisehines676]

Mine had one like 5 days ago I have 3 mollys

[@Leaf-tf5oo]

How do you tell if their pregnant

[@Leaf-tf5oo]

Erica’s Vyds XD

[@lkalashnikov47]

its acctually a dalmatian lyretail molly

[@sorreljohnson510]

these dalmations are sick!!

[@rogerroo]

Like sick as in “awesome” or like sick as in ill? Lol. Seriously asking. How do you know if they are ill?

[@marquesharold8618]

My fish got ate by the other mollys

[@Soundscapes775]

Remember to seperate the male and female mollys wen they grow up since they can go inbred, giving birth to frys that have deforemed bodys . I wuld love to see some clown loatches and nerite snales remember to have male nerite snales female tend to lay hard egs on surfaces of the glass the simply dosent look good.

[@professionalfucktard6395]

Went to get fish food now I have fish fry lmao