Mollies (Poeciliidae) are common tropical fish found from the southern United States down to South America, and in fish store aquariums. In the wild, mollies are often silvery and plain, but selectively bred species come in various bold patterns, colors, and fin shapes.
Like guppies and platys, mollies are livebearers, giving birth to small fry that grow quickly given a good amount of space, food, and protection from predators—including their hungry, ever-scavenging parents.
In this wordless Fish UK Son video, a common golden molly fish gives birth to 73 molly babies, some with yolks still attached. Egg sacks, from which they often need to break free, can provide quick nutrition for the weak fry, fueling them to begin swimming. Golden spheres are undeveloped or partially developed eggs.
Once birth is complete, the mother molly is returned to her main tank; mollies are schooling fish and require a group to be happy. This will also protect the fry, who stay in the nursery tank to eat and grow. It takes molly babies around four months to be considered adults. From Wikipedia:
“Fry – refers to a more developed hatchling whose yolk sac has almost disappeared, and its swim bladder is functional to the point where the fish can move around and perform limited foraging to nourish itself. At this stage, the fish usually filter-feeds on planktons as it is still too small and slow to venture away from covers without being consumed by predators.”
Watch these related birth videos next:
• Never-before-seen footage of baby clownfish hatching
• The Life Cycle of a Pea Pufferfish
• Two weedy seadragons “dance into the night”
• The three different ways mammals give birth
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