GuppyXMolly Mating, Fry, etc.

[pixie_twixie]

I've been wondering over something the last couple days.. I had moved my male Guppy temporarily to one of my 10 gallons, with two white Molly girls in it. He immediately took to courting them, and I watched him mate with the larger female several times. I'm almost positive that the larger female is pregnant (the smaller female dropped 3 fry just yesterday and they're swimming happily in the fry tank). The thing I've been wondering about is, will she eventually have hybrid fry, or will his sperm be overridden by whatever she has stored from a male molly? Either way I am going to be doing the breeding intentionally over the summer, when I have more tankspace and procure proper females. I'm excited about it already I'm decided on breeding a male Guppy to a female Molly, after reading this old thread ( http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?...&f=47&t=161596 ) I'm worried that if I do it the other way around the female Guppy might die, and that would be tragic. Does anyone think it might be the size of the fry, or something else? And also I've read in a few places that the resulting offspring will always be sterile, which doesn't bother me much because I want to have them for the viewing pleasure, but it would definitely be a plus if the hybrids could ever breed. I'm also wondering if they have a shorter lifespan, etc. I haven't been able to find out much on it at all, but if anyone knows anything of help, please post!

PS, is MollyXEndler possible? Now that would be something to look at!

[Titan]

I don't know much about that as I am new to most of this breeding stuff. I was just going to say that I have a male platy that looks part guppy and he defeinitely is not sterile. He has been mateing with my females and fry have been popping out but I've only saved one. Also if I were you I wouldn't breed a male molly with female guppy I've heard of females in other fish and other animals dieing because their babies were to big and the size just was too much to handle. But have fun breeding those mollies and guppies. They should be really cool to look at.

[pixie_twixie]

Yeah I agree with you, I don't want to try it and have any females dying. I think the offsping would be very interesting to see having a guppy as the father, if the male traits are dominant. Could get some snazzy looking fish. I just have to see this all myself, no matter how long it takes.

[doggydad38]

Titan, you don't have hybrid fry. Guppies and Platies aren't in the same genus and therefore cannot produce fry together. Pixie, you probably won't get any babies from this current breeding. The Molly's body will automatically choose the stored sperm from her own species to fertilize her eggs. In order to get any hybrids from a Guppy/Molly cross, you have to start with virgin female Mollies. If fertilization of the eggs does take place, the sperm from the Guppy male is the only one available. Even though Guppies and Mollies are in the same genus, they are distantly related and the likelihood of getting fry is pretty slim, though possible. Good luck and keep us posted.
Tony

[pixie_twixie]

I figured it'd be something like that. I have several molly fry so those are the ones I will eventually be breeding with Thanks!

[eon17]

it CAN happen. VIRGIN FEMALE tho so get it as a juvie

[TheOldSalt]

No virgin needed. It's the best option, but not absolutely critical. If you put a male with a female immediately after she drops a litter, then the new sperm she gets will be used instead of the stored stuff. You only have about 18 hours to do this, but it's doable.

[doggydad38]

I have to disagree with you Old Salt. That is true for same species breediings, not necessarily for same genus breedings. The female's body is designed to dissolve the sperm packet of her own species. Probably not a good example because of hybridizing, but a female Swordtail bred by a male Sword and a male Variatus Platy at the same time will have Swordtail fry. The sperm packet of the male Sword will be dissolved first. If she is bred only by the Platy, your chances of hybrid fry increase. Because they are closely related, hybridization can and will occur. Guppies and Mollies, though related, are not as close as Swords and Platies. This is the reason that crosses between the Gups and Mollies are few and far between. A virgin female Mollie will store the sperm of the male Guppy, but the sperm packet may not be dissolved quickly enough to impregnate her. If she was previously bred by a male Mollie and then a male Guppy and continuously bred by the male Guppy, she will most likely still deliver Mollie fry because the Mollie sperm packet, even if stored for months, will be dissolved before that of the male Guppy. The other thing to consider is the specie of Mollie to use. Most pictures I've seen of Guppy/Mollie hybrids were produced by breeding a male Common Guppy with a female Sphenops Mollie (wild type). Overall structure is more similar than that of other Mollie species. This reply is my own opinion based on my own experiences and definitely shouldn't be taken as Gospel. Later.
Tony

[Cichlidsrule]

All I know is, don't mate a molly with a female guppy. That's gonna hurt

[oliesminis]

well i dont know mate but i wouldnt suggest it because if it was easy and good the pet shops would have gullies or moppies. hope it all goes well though

[Cichlidsrule]

LOL....gullies or moppies....muppies? gollies?

[pleco_breeder]

I am not a proponent of hybrids, but it should be understood in this thread that most of the livebearers seen in shops are hybrids of some sort or another. Swordtails and platies are the best known examples as these are commonly hybridized on every farm in Florida to equate to new strains of either. Pet shop mollies are another example. During the hayday of these, the various species were constantly being hybridized to introduce new colors into sailfins and short fin types. Even Joanne Norton, a very well known livebearer geneticist, mentions the use of modifiers from different species to enhance the commercial qualities of others in many of her works.

This is not intended to be a gripe, just a bit of food for thought.

Larry Vires