Need to know when to move females to breeding box.

christine828

Hi everyone. I am new to the board, and to breeding apparently. :)

I currently have 2 female platys and 3 female mollies which I suspect all to be (or will become) pregnant. I have made arrangements for fry for the future but for now, I am not sure when to move "mom" to the breeding box.

I don't have a separate tank available yet for the fry, so they need to stay in the box for a bit, and I can't just give them cover in my main tank and hope for the best because I have bottom feeders (mainly 2 striped raphaels) that would make a nice meal out of them.

I have heard that the best time to move them is when they look square and as if they are ready to burst, but I guess I need a little help interpreting that.

I am posting the pics that I have, they are quite camera shy. Any help in possible time frames would be greatly appreciated.

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stevenjohn21

By the time you read this i wouldnt be surprised if your last Molly had already given birth. I dont like the breeder boxes as my fish hate being in it and never end up giving birth. It is too stressfull for them and could die from being trapped in their.
I have a divider in my 30 gallon tank in which i have about 10 gallons sectioned off for the pregnant fish. The day after the mother has given birth i will place her back with the others. You can then either leave the babies in the sectioned off part of the tank or net them and place them in the breeder box.

christine828

I took that picture last night and still no babies. I was just looking at them before coming on here to check for replies and noticed a gravid spot. She has a bit of grayness to her that my other 2 don't so if it was there before, I didn't notice. I will move her tonight.

Silly question, but how do you section off the tank? We have a 55 gallon tank. Do they sell dividers? I've never actually looked, to be honest. Or is it something you made?

I have a 10g set up but I had to move my buenos aires tetras there because they started fin nipping my mollies the very day I got them. They're beautiful tail fins were half gone overnight...

Oh... now I'm nervous about the breeder box, I don't want to kill my fish...

stevenjohn21

Yes, you can make your own tank divider although your local pet store will sell them for a 55 gallon. Here is the link to making one DIY Aquarium Tank Dividers

Or you could buy these suction cups and get a piece of plexi glass cut from your hardware store, drill some small holes to allow water to flow through (unless you put a seperate heater/filter in the sectioned off side.
Aquarium Suction Cup 4 fish tank glass holder universal | eBay

christine828

I will have to check that out, thank you. In the meantime, I may just have to try the box and hope for the best. You really think the one is about to deliver? I brought them home on March 13 so if my male got to her within the first few days, it would be right around time. They were "supposedly" in an all female tank, but you know how that goes...

I didn't pay close attention, but I really didn't notice any breeding behavior until the past couple weeks. Would it be normal for the male to "accept" the females so quickly? He's been in the tank since start up so I don't know if there is an acceptance period with them or not. Once I noticed it, I noticed him mating with all 3 of my females, or trying to at least.

Another question, too, if you don't mind.

I have 5 platys, 3 females, 2 males. I got them all at the same time. 2 are silver, 1 male 1 female. 2 are orange and black, 1 male 1 female, and one is a mickey mouse platy, silver red and bluish, female. The male silver only mates with the female silver (shes way bigger than him), the male orange stays with the female orange, the female is a tad bit smaller, and my mickey mouse, well shes a tiny one so she may not be mature enough yet, but we've had them since before Christmas but neither of the males seem to bother her. Is it normal for them to stay with the same color? The silvers were together at the store and the oranges were together but they've been "living" together now for quite some time, you'd think they would've become tank mates by now and impartial to who they mate with...