Breeding Question

[Cheri Ann]

Does anyone know how the sperm of a male livebearer is transfered to the female? And does the female have to be willing to do this, or does she only do this when she feels like it? :rolleyes:

[betaboi]

Does anyone know how the sperm of a male livebearer is transfered to the female?

The male transfers it to her through his gonopodium (http://en.mimi.hu/aquarium/gonopodium.html).

And does the female have to be willing to do this, or does she only do this when she feels like it?

Females don't usually "want" to breed if they still have sperm leftover form a previous spawn. ALothough i've witnessed lots of males trying to breed with already fertalized females, i don't think the males ever can unless she is has no leftover sperm to work with.

[Nerina]

I know this is off topic but I was looking at your aquarium stock Cheri Ann and your fish are not compatible with those size tanks. Mollies and cory cats really need a minimum size tank of 30 gallons. I can foresee a # of problems if you keep them in tanks as small as 5 & 10 gallons. Cory’s really like to be in larger groups too.

Even though some fish are small they need a certain amount of space to roam/hide in or they will become stressed and subsequently sick.

You can check out your fishes tank requirements at: Freshwater Species Profiles (http://www.peteducation.com/category_summary.cfm?cat=1911)

HTH

Nerina~

[Ali]

The male will get close to the female, do someshow offbackwards stuff, and actually shoot the sperm into her. I doubt it is visible though :eek:

[Jay+]

lol, yes...but this is a kid friendly forum no? Most farm raised livebarers have been exposed to reproduction fluids' that can be saved, way before they are of breeding age. Guppies, Mollies, etc. 'They have the ability to retain those fluids and to reproduce fry way down the road. More information available with parenal approval :) .

Jay