pcamore Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Hi all. I have a 200 litre tropical tank with cherry barbs, Platys, Bristlenoses, Tiger Barbs, Zebra Danios, one big brown Female algae eater and 1 large adult female white Molly. this afternoon my daughter and i watched amazed as the molly gave birth to about 12 fry !! how can this be there is no male molly, so i wondered about cross breeding. Have any of you heard of mollys cross breeding with any of the above fish ? i know its not gonna be the bristlenose. but was wondering about survival rates, and whether live bearers can cross breed with egg layers. what should i feed the fry ? at present they are dark coloured and some white Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos & Siran Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 I'm no expert but I'd say it was impossible for a live bearer to mate with a egg layer, I suspect she was preggers when you got her, some one with more experience may prove me wrong though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carznkats Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Even though you only have the one female they are most likely mollys. Livebearers can store sperm from males and so will often give birth for quite some time after being separated from a male. Just feed them crushed up flake as they will be big enough for that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spoon Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 could possibly cross-breed with a platy but the other options above are far more likely Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcamore Posted April 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 couldnt have been pregnant when i got her because she was the only surviving fry from my origional male and female mollys that i bought, which have been dead for 6 months or so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcamore Posted April 23, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Even though you only have the one female they are most likely mollys. Livebearers can store sperm from males and so will often give birth for quite some time after being separated from a male. Just feed them crushed up flake as they will be big enough for that. That is something i didnt know, isnt the animal kingdom forever amazing us humans ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Guppies and mollies have been known to crossbreed as they are both Poecilia sp but platys and mollies do not. Female livebearers can produce fry, without a male, for over 8 months or more. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 Guppies and mollies have been known to crossbreed as they are both Poecilia sp but platys and mollies do not. Female livebearers can produce fry, without a male, for over 8 months or more. I am so so glad humans can't :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 What? Crossbreed, or produce without a male? :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 23, 2010 Report Share Posted April 23, 2010 What? Crossbreed, or produce without a male? :lol: repeatedly produce without a male for over 8 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrise001 Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 well myu male platys have taken an interest in my female guppys even though there are more female platys in the tank than female guppys so what should i expect if half platy guppy things are born any ideas on what they would look like? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 They will attempt to mate with anything that moves - not necessarily female either :roll: Does not mean there will be a result - apart from some really annoyed fish! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DennisP Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 They will attempt to mate with anything that moves RAPE! How many years in fish prison + rehab does that get them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JarrenB Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 They will attempt to mate with anything that moves Yeah just like, Poecilia Tiger Woods :lol: Sorry I couldn't help myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 Oooooh Jarren B - dat was norty of you :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pcamore Posted April 24, 2010 Author Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 Guppies and mollies have been known to crossbreed as they are both Poecilia sp but platys and mollies do not. Female livebearers can produce fry, without a male, for over 8 months or more. Now that they have been separated for one day the white is starting to show so im thinking you must be right and they are just white mollys. although its very strange that they can reproduce without a male, i wonder if thats a species survival thing for in the wild, cause that would almost ensure that they would never become extinct. thanks for all the replies you guys have been really helpful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted April 24, 2010 Report Share Posted April 24, 2010 If you think these guys are strange, look up Gambusia affinnis - they are a highly successful pest fish and the female can replicate without a male in some situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunrise001 Posted April 25, 2010 Report Share Posted April 25, 2010 just remamber there are young people here too :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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