# Why don't my black mollies get pregnant?



## Glimpze (Sep 10, 2010)

Set-up 37 gallon tank, stays clean, good PH levels, Temp just below 80. Everyone healthy in the tank from what I can see. Have 4 black mollies 1 male/3 female... 1 pink gourami (roughly 2 1/2-3 inches) 2 German blue rams(1 male/1 female roughly 2 inches each) and a black ghost knife that is about 3 inches big. Ive had all these fish in same tank for about 4 months and from what i can see none of the mollies have been pregnant since ive gotten them but my female ram has laid eggs twice although i haven't removed them and they've been fish food both times. 

Is it possible my male is sterile? or are there special things to get them to get the process on? should i move them to a smaller tank by themselves? drop water temp a lil? drop water level? any help would be great.

Oh yeah diet is bloodworms and flakes.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Move them to their own tank, dim the lights, and play some Barry Manilow.

.. Sorry I couldn't help myself.


Mollies actually prefer brackish water. I've never had them, so I'm not sure how to get them to breed, but my first guess would be that if they had brackish water, you might have better luck. Maybe try moving them to their own tank and slowly adjusting the water to brackish?


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## rewindthelies (Dec 14, 2010)

they might have had fry but all your other fish made the fry food. i have a community tank of platies pea puffers and mollies and even they eat their fry. if you dont want to do another tank try alot of floating bushy plants either alive or fake. keep your water levels good, and temp around 78. the floaty idea isnt a cure all though most my fry wind up dissapearing but at least you will be able to see them. the fry will chill out and hide on the floaty, just mke sure you feed 2 or three times a day.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

Hornswort is a great plant for fry to hide in. You could do the floaty thing or just cluster a bunch of hornswort in the corner, fake or real...


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## AvocadoPuffDude (Jan 20, 2011)

Depending on what type mollies you have, it can be really difficult to tell if they're pregnant. Black mollies don't show any gravid spot; balloon mollies, due to their deformation, are difficult to tell when pregnant; even a well fed female can appear bulged and pregnant when she's not.
That being said, mollies are some of the easiest fish to breed, very much like guppies if not as prolific. If conditions are right, they should be breeding - the male should be showing interest in the females at least. Sometimes another male added to the group can kick-start a kind of rivalry, then the males will start displaying and attempting to mate, one may become the dominant male, but at least he will be mating.
I'm not sure if mollies can carry sperm like guppies do, I would strongly suspect it as they are so closely related, so one mating can result in multiple births over several months.
Mollies do perfectly well in 100% fresh water, that should not affect their breeding; moving them from salt to fresh would harm them if done quickly, otherwise, salt has nothing to do with their breeding ability.
My guess is the male may not feel the need to mate as there are no other males around to compete with him and he's become complacent. Or, some of your water parameters might be off, affecting his health. But if he's showing good health otherwise - swimming normally, fins erect and not clamped, eating well, etc., I would bet he IS mating and the females ARE having babies and they're getting eaten before you notice them.
There are some good ideas there, hope something helps you out. Good luck to you!


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