Molly fish
Molly fish also known as Poecilia Sphenops.
Origin and distribution Mollies are mostly found in waters of southern america, central america and mexico. They thrive in freshwater environments and brackish estuaries. Mollies are capable of acclimating to full saltwater, but it’s not their natural environments by any means.
Diet and feeding Mollies are almost exclusively plant and algae eaters in the wild, which means they’ll look for the algae growing in their tanks and nibble endlessly on it. Some foods you must provide for your mollies are spirulina flakes, there’s also some special commercial molly foods that are made specifically for mollies. They are also known to appreciate small amounts of boiled spinach on occasions. If you can, then i’d highly recommend getting your hands on brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia or other live food, as they’re a good way to stimulate your mollies.
Water parameters Mollies are known for being hardy fish that will survive even without optimal conditions. But that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t provide a tank with stable water conditions. Mollies are tropical fish which means they thrive in warmer waters, the tanks temperature should be around 25°C to 28°C (77°F to 82°F). Mollies prefer a slightly alkaline environment which means you should aim for a pH level around 7,5 and 8,2. The general hardness (GH) should be around 10 and 25 dGH for overall health and a good skeletal structure.
Breeding and fry Mollies are live bearers which means they will give birth to live fry. A female molly can have up to 100 fry at a time. Molly fry are around 0,5cm to 1cm (0,20inch to 0,40inch) when they’re born, which is about the same size as the food you’ll be feeding the adults. This makes it harder for the fry to grow up before being eaten by the larger fish in the tank. This is why a densely planted tank is a must for succeeding in breeding mollies. A generous amount of plants will provide tons of places for the fry to hide whilst growing bigger. But everybody knows that aquatic plants aren’t the cheapest option out there. The best way to ensure your fry will survive is to get a breeding box and a net to catch the fry with. By simply transferring the fry into the breeding box whenever you spot them, ensures their safety and survival. This also makes it easier for them to grow up since they wont need to fight for food. Mollies can start breeding when they’re around 4 to 5 months old. A female molly’s pregnancy typically last between 3-6 weeks, this is different for every molly, every female molly’s pregnancy is around the same time, so you’ll be able to know each females gestation period by simply observing them over time.
Gender determination The female mollies have a rounded fan like anal fin. A pregnant molly’s belly will swell unmistakably and also presents the well-known “gravid spot,” which is a dark spot near the base of the anal fin. The male mollies have a sharp sword like gonopodium that lays close to their body, the gonopodium is a modified anal fin used to inseminate females.
Molly species There’s a lot of different molly species, over 39 to be exact. Mollies come in all sorts of colours, there’s gold, silver, black, dalmatian, red, green, chocolate and orange. Some common ones are the short-fin, sailfin, lyretail and the ballon molly. They all carry their different traits. Short-fin mollies are the ones with short dorsal fins. Sailfin mollies are the ones with a large dorsal fins. Lyretail mollies are the ones with a tail shaped like a lyre or a half moon. Ballon mollies are the ones with a belly so big it almost looks like a ballon.
I hope this helps some of you molly enthusiast out there.