The reproductive mode of Mary fish is quite special, and has certain similarities with oviparous and viviparous. Although the fertilized eggs of Mary fish complete their development in the mother, the nutrients needed in the development process are not provided by the female fish, but by the yolk, so its reproductive mode is not viviparous. In addition, when the young fish mature, they are produced by the female fish, which can swim as soon as they are born, so they are not oviparous. Therefore, Mary fish is neither viviparous nor oviparous, but belongs to ovoviviparous.
Mary fish can give birth to the number of small fish is not fixed, even if the same Mary fish, each breeding produced by the number of small fish is also different. The number of small fry produced by Mary fish is often related to its size. Smaller fish produce fewer fish than larger ones. As the female fish continues to grow and develop, the number of offspring will also increase. Generally speaking, Mary fish can produce between 40 and 100 small fish in one litter. Some Mary fish with strong reproductive ability can produce 200 small fish. However, this situation is relatively rare, and the number of small fish produced by most fish is less than 100.