Are Molly fish usually this fat?

[TaraBarnes]

Hi! I’m not new to the hobby, but I am new to Molly fish. I got 3 from my local fish store and two of them have gotten pretty fat. One in particular is very very fat and has grow a lot in just 6 weeks. I’m not sure if it’s normal for them to be this fat? Or if I’m over feeding them? It’s hard to not over feel them because they eat everything I put in the tank. They will nibble on the bug bite sticks I throw in for the assassin snails, the algae wafers I put in for my bristle nose, and eat the community food I throw in there for the other fish in the tank. Or could it be pregnant? Or is it just normal for them to be very fat? I have only had them 6 weeks and 4 weeks they were in a quarantine tank, they’ve only been in the community tank for 2 weeks and they were not very big when I got them so I assume they were fairly young. They are acting normal, very active still eating like crazy although one of them does seem to be much more shy than the other two. The shy one is also much smaller then the other two. Anyway, I just wanted to know if anyone can tell me if it’s normal for them to be this fat or if there is something wrong with the fish? Thanks so much for any help. I’ve listed water perimeters and attached picture.  

ammonia- 0

nitrite- 0

nitrate- 30

PH- 8 (I know this is high, I live in utah by the mountains and it’s just always high, my KH is high too so there is no changing my PH, it’s stable and never goes up or down)

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by TaraBarnes

[Henry the fish keeper]

Do you have any male balloon mollies? If yes, the balloon molly might be pregnant. 

 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by Henry the fish keeper

[Zenzo]

A few thoughts:

• It looks like they may be "balloon mollies". If so, they have been bred to have shorter/plump bodies (like a balloon). It may be that they are, but were underfed in the store.
• I doubt that they would get "fat" so quickly from you feeding extra. If they grew like this over a period of a few months, I would think that it would be a possibility...but 6 weeks is pretty quick to get so big just from extra food.
• Mollies are livebearers, so the females will get quite round in the belly as the fry develops. Maybe not quite this round though. If that's the case, you should see fry swimming around very soon.

[TaraBarnes]

@Henry the fish keeper I’m not sure how I tell if there are any males. I do have one that’s much smaller and not as round. That one is the more shy one though so I just assume it’s eating less, lol. How can I tell if it’s male? And are these balloon Mollys? I don’t think the fish store told me what kind they are. 

[Henry the fish keeper]

On 5/12/2022 at 11:02 AM, TaraBarnes said:

@Henry the fish keeper I’m not sure how I tell if there are any males. I do have one that’s much smaller and not as round. That one is the more shy one though so I just assume it’s eating less, lol. How can I tell if it’s male? And are these balloon Mollys? I don’t think the fish store told me what kind they are. 

Can you take a picture of him?

[TaraBarnes]

On 5/12/2022 at 12:01 PM, Zenzo said:

A few thoughts:

• It looks like they may be "balloon mollies". If so, they have been bred to have shorter/plump bodies (like a balloon). It may be that they are, but were underfed in the store.
• I doubt that they would get "fat" so quickly from you feeding extra. If they grew like this over a period of a few months, I would think that it would be a possibility...but 6 weeks is pretty quick to get so big just from extra food.
• Mollies are livebearers, so the females will get quite round in the belly as the fry develops. Maybe not quite this round though. If that's the case, you should see fry swimming around very soon.

Thanks this is very helpful!

On 5/12/2022 at 12:03 PM, Henry the fish keeper said:

Can you take a picture of him?

[Henry the fish keeper]

On 5/12/2022 at 11:01 AM, Zenzo said:

A few thoughts:

• It looks like they may be "balloon mollies". If so, they have been bred to have shorter/plump bodies (like a balloon). It may be that they are, but were underfed in the store.
• I doubt that they would get "fat" so quickly from you feeding extra. If they grew like this over a period of a few months, I would think that it would be a possibility...but 6 weeks is pretty quick to get so big just from extra food.
• Mollies are livebearers, so the females will get quite round in the belly as the fry develops. Maybe not quite this round though. If that's the case, you should see fry swimming around very soon.

Hmmm.. I never thought of that.

[Henry the fish keeper]

On 5/12/2022 at 11:13 AM, TaraBarnes said:

Thanks this is very helpful!

 

 

This balloon molly is a female.

[TaraBarnes]

On 5/12/2022 at 12:38 PM, Henry the fish keeper said:

This balloon molly is a female.

Well, then I don’t think I have any males. Here’s a picture of the third one. 

 

Edited May 12, 2022 by TaraBarnes

[Henry the fish keeper]

On 5/12/2022 at 11:44 AM, TaraBarnes said:

Well, then I don’t think I have any males. Here’s a picture of the third one. 

Yeah, this one is also a female.