Here's a picture of my flash, and all the possible parents, and two specks on the right, which are babies. Also visible is some algae growing on the glass.The dad might be a molly or might be a swordtail. We've had a black swordtail for a couple of years now, and he used to have friends, but they died. Anyway, when we got these mollies, swordy starting suddenly showing off! He has a big, pretty fin on his back that he's been displaying while chasing the mollies around the tank. We weren't sure if it was mating behavior or fighting behavior. We still don't know, but our guess is mating behavior. We don't know if the swordtail (who has no sword, and therefore, we thought it was a female) is actually a molly. To me, they look the same.
Here's a close-up of a baby.
I count 7 or 8 babies. They're tough to count, since they're mostly black (some are speckled, and one is light-colored). The gravel in the bottom is black, so they're hard to spot. Plus, they move really quickly, so I might keep counting the same one. I haven't seen any get eaten so far. Hopefully they'll survive and grow up with us!
Here's a rare shot-glass shot of Skeletor, the albino catfish. He likes to hide when I try to take his picture. Too bad you can't see his pink eyes. Also visible: the snail who wants out of his shell.
congratulations, grandpa!
ReplyDeleteSo now I think there are 8 babies, and they are all still alive! The adult fish don't seem to want to eat them at all.
ReplyDeleteAlso, a little research has convinced me that the male black molly is a Sailfin Molly mixed with a Black Molly. He only shows off his sailfin when he's trying to impress the ladies.
But, the babies may have come from the spotted mollies, or the spotted mama and Blacky Sailfin. It's hard to track maternity and paternity in fish.