No fry from Black Mollies ?

[blainep]

I have a pair of Black Mollies that I have been trying to breed for a few months now without success.
They both have great color, body shape and fins. Both the male and the female are very good looking fish, hence the reason I wanted to mate them.

They are together in their own tank ( for three months now ) and are inseparable, they are always side by side. They don't appear to be stressed at all and are very well fed.

To date though, not one single fry, not even a pregnant look to the female. :confused:
I notice also that the male dosen't seem to pester the female like males normally do. They're more like old friends than a couple of young fish.

I wonder if I have a male thats not interested in girls or maybe my opinion of a good looking fish is not their opinion of a good looking fish.

Any thoughts or ideas ?

[Melody]

How big is he? Old males aren't the best breeders. Try separating them, feed live/frozen foods with softened, peeled & quartered peas once or twice/week. In a few weeks, put them back together, turn up the heat a notch or two, extend the time that the lights are on if feasible, and do frequent water changes. Absence does indeed make the heart grow fonder. ;)

Otherwise, she could be losing them - Mollies miscarry easily and the blacks are some of the more delicate Mollies. I assume there's lots of cover for the fry?

[AquaScaper]

I'm not certain where I read or heard this...could be mis-information but is it true that Mollies need brackish or higher salinity in order to successfully breed?

[Melody]

The Black Molly is just a color variation of P. Sphenops. Salt is often recommended for them because they're prone to Ich and fungus. They're easily bred as long as the water is clean and they're healthy overall. I've never heard of any Molly that needs salt to breed. Maybe seasalt to harden the water up if its too soft as they do like their water hard, but that isn't a problem in Alberta.

Having said all that, it could be a trick I haven't heard of easily enough.

[AquaScaper]

I'm not sure where I got that info from:err: I'm unfortunately a sponge which mops up useless info sometimes without even realizing it. Thanks for the clarification! heheh

:notworthy:

[Melody]

LOL I do that all the time, but like I said, it could just be something I haven't heard about. They are frequently acclimated to marine conditions as well so maybe something has come out of that. It wouldn't harm them to try it anyway.:)