Partially, this is due to its aggressive temper — the fish attacks both its relatives and other tank dwellers. Molly Fish is what we are about. Live Fish Foods: Food for Fish Fry. The wild-type fishes are dull, silvery in color. The female has a normal-shaped anal fin.. Water filtration and aeration are required. These babies are just like the adult molly but small in size, Tiny version of adult fish. The labyrinth organ, a defining characteristic of fish in the suborder Anabantoidei, is a much-folded suprabranchial accessory breathing organ.It is formed by vascularized expansion of the epibranchial bone of the first gill arch and used for respiration in air.. The fish males become reproductive at about 12 months, and females when being 6 months old. It is hard to locate the black molly fish in the wild, primarily because it has gotten its signature characteristics from captive breeding. Firstly, make sure that mollies are mature enough in order to identify their gender because mollies usually don’t display gender at an early age. They require very well-planted aquariums with the wide swimming space. They are a good choice for beginner aquarists. It’s better if the tank is a thick planted one because molly fish like scrapping algae from tank plants. We should also mention that molly fish can live in brackish water as well, and in some resources, they even recommend putting some salt into the tank water intentionally. The Balloon Molly has an arched back and a rounded, large belly. However, the latter is more preferable because tankmates in the community tank may eat the juveniles. Fish guide for Mollies, Facts about Short-finned or Common Molly Poecilia sphenops, Sailfin Molly poecilia latipinna, Mexican Sailfin or Yucatan Molly and hybrid types of mollies. Thus, nowadays, there are local populations in Singapore, Japan, and some other places on our planet. This color variation was obtained in the USA at the end of the 20s in the XX century. Some reach 10-12 cm, while others are closer to natural size, but the colors and overall appearance vary. Depending on the specific kind (Latipinna or Velifera), the adult species size will vary. The higher is the temperature, the faster is the metabolism and the lifespan decreases. While other species might not survive for even few seconds in such harsh waters, the hardy Labyrinth fish can live for several days in this most brutal environment. Its North border includes the South of Texas, while the southern border stretches along the Caribbean side of Columbia and Venezuela. In the wild, molly fish has lots of algae in its diet. They don’t get up from the tank bottom right away and stay there or on the leaves of tank plants for a while. They are very peaceful fish that do well in community tanks. The most certain difference you can use to identify the fish’s sex is the shape of the anal fin – the male fish has its anal fin modified into a tube (gonopodium), and the female’s anal fin is of triangle shape. From care, feeding Mollies, breeding, Molly tank mates and much more. In the wild, males’ size is up to 5 in (12 cm). The description ws made by a French zoologist Achille Valenciennes in 1846 while working on his 22 books of “Histoire Naturelle des Poissons” (Natural History of Fish). These fish adapt easily to environmental changes and in certain cases, Labyrinth fish are even known to use their pectoral fins t… All molly fishes are quite thermophilic, and they prefer a water temperature of about 23-27 °C. If you want all mollies in the tank to have the same appearance, don’t keep different fish kinds together in the tank to avoid cross-breeding. It has black eyes. When chilled or otherwise exposed to environmental stress of any kind, they tend to develop an ailment known commonly as “shimmies.” In reality, this is not an infectious disease but merely a compounding of symptoms of stress. Various Poecilia fishes have some differences in their morphological characters. In fact, as long as these fish are able to keep their body moist, they can live for days even in polluted waters or dried up ponds. The fins are blue with orange edges, colorful spots, and dashes. Molly Fish Care Guide: Size, Lifespan, Tank Mates, Breeding And if you’re wondering how big do molly fish get, the answer is: up to 4.5-inches. Mollies, like guppies, are capable of acclimating to full strength sea water temporarily, but it is not their natural environment by any means. It is quite common to see a labyrinth fish rise to the top of the tank and gulp air from the surface of the water. The body is tall, elongated, solid, and flattened from sides. In my opinion minimum tank size for the successful keeping of a small group of molly fish is 13 US gallons (50 liters). Selectionists constantly strive to create more and more new color variations of tank fish. Did you know that the molly genus (in Latin – Mollienesia) was abolished, and now all fishes from it are included in the livebearers genus (in Latin Poecilia). In the wild, species with such coloring don’t exist. No other freshwater fish approaches the velvety black color of the black mollie. The familiar guppy, molly, platy and swordtail are members of the largest group, the Live-bearing Toothcarps (Poeciliidae). All the species in this genus are mollies except for the Endler’s livebearer. Its eyes and upward mouth are relatively large. Sergey is a founder and author of Meethepet.com. Encourage to learn all about them. The black molly is indigenous to Central and South America, where they prefer freshwater habitats. They also love to have frozen mosquito … When selecting tank mates, let them be of a similar size. Sailfin mollies are small fish. You should feed them several times a day. It gets on well with various tank mates. These fish are native to the Americas, but their habitat can vary significantly. The common black molly sport black scales which are their most distinguishing feature. That’s why currently, the breed name has become a collective one and is equally used for all mollies with a similar tail fin structure. Betta Splendens,Three Spot Gourami,Chocolate Gourami,Thick Lipped Gourami,Dwarf Gourami, However, molly fish needs a large amount of food with vegetable fibers component, for example, with algae or vegetables. Most of the time, the fish spends in upper and middle water layers. The air is forced into the labyrinth organ, to allow the oxygen to be absorbed. The tank water’s parameters may be quite various since molly fish adapts to any new conditions perfectly. Then there are the Splitfins or Mexican Topminnows (Goodeidae) and the Four-eyed Fish (Anablepidae). Molly fish juveniles are very sensitive to tank water contamination. They like swimming a lot, and for this reason, it is recommended to get a tank of classical rectangular shape with a lid: molly often jumps out from the water. However, through the years he’s had experience of keeping almost all types of freshwater fish and shrimps. They are undemanding that can dwell in a wide variety of water parameters. Read our, More Pet Fish Species and Further Research, 22 Small Fish Breeds for Your Freshwater Aquarium, Find out What Happens Before a Female Live-bearer Gives Birth, Everything You Need to Know About the Mickey Mouse Platy Fish, Learn How to Take Care of a Flame Tetra in Your Aquarium, The White Skirt Tetra: A Great Species for Beginning Fish Keepers, Everything You Need to Know About the Bristlenose Pleco, The Beautiful but Plentiful Red Wagtail Platy, Silver Dollar: A Member of the Piranha Species, Strange Facts That Make the Freshwater Puffer Fish a Great Choice, Unique Breeding Practice of the Egyptian Mouthbrooder, Zebra Danios: Among the Easiest Fish to Keep in Aquariums, The Dwarf Gourami: Caring for Tropical Fish. Put some shelters and plants into the spawning tank, and they will become shelters for the offspring. Mexican Molly (Poecilia sphenops). This will ensure the absence of nitrogenous compounds of high concentration in the tank, such as ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. However, mollies are perhaps the most difficult of all of the common live-bearers to keep as they are the most delicate of the live-bearers. The female molly fish has a bigger size than the male. Tank Mates Also the group dynamics of X# males vs X# females and the sudden change in dynamics. The food portion should be enough to be eaten by the fish in several minutes. Nevertheless, these bright, barrel-like fishes can variegate your tank and are quite popular. Learn how to care for them, breed them & take care of baby Molly fish with videos, pictures & simplified information. The fish can live both in a common tank and separately. Poecilia sphenops is a species of fish, of the genus Poecilia, known under the common name molly; to distinguish it from its congeners, it is sometimes called short-finned molly or common molly. Its edge rays are longer than others, and they form a curve resembling an ancient musical instrument – a lyre. mollies care and habitat, keeping and breeding mollies, Black Molly, Balloon Molly, Dalmation Molly, Silver Molly, Lyretail Molly… There are four mollies fish kinds in the wild: All other fish variations with different body and fins shape and coloring are selective breeds obtained as a result of cross-breeding within the four basic kinds. In this article we spread the most mainstream assortments just as clarifying their optimal arrangements, favored eating routine and considerably more. Molly Fish Types and Description. These fish also have a large, lyre-shaped caudal fin and an impressive dorsal fin. Well, this will not harm the fish, but don’t forget that this fish quite seldom inhabits without any tank mates, and the latter may not stand brackish water, or it could even be toxic for them. However, the following parameters are recommended: water temperature 77-80,6 ºF (25-27 °C), ph: 7.0-8.0, water hardness 10 – 20 dGH. More than 50 years later, a renowned ichthyologist-classifier Charles Tate Regan described Poecilia salvatoris and Poecilia velifera basing on the sample study results in the British Natural History Museum. Silver arowana (Osteoglossum bicirrhosum), Convict cichlid (Amatitlania nigrofasciata), Green terror cichlid (Aequidens rivulatus), Short-finned molly or common molly (Poecilia sphenops). Sphenops molly fish is encountered in Mexico and Columbia waters, and sailfin molly can be found in channels with brackish water in Carolina state, Texas, Virginia, and Florida; yucatan molly can be seen only in Mexican peninsula Yucatan. Molly fish females are larger, and they have large rounded abdomen. It does well in water between 68 and 82-degrees Fahrenheit and prefers a tank that is larger than 30 gallons. Once the fish keeper notices such changes in the behavior of the female molly, it is advisable to put them in a separate tank provided with the same conditions as that of their former tank. The molly fish also starts hiding and becoming lazy during pregnancy. Mollies are quite enduring fish, and they can adapt to a wide range of water parameters. Such a large habitat, including areas with quite different natural conditions, suggests the presence of many local forms of the kind which natural coloring essentially varies depending on the habitat. You can see it from the fish lips and behavior. Mollies get on well with other live-bearing fishes such as (guppy, Endler’s guppy, platy, swordtail), characins (black neon tetra, cardinal tetra, ember tetra, flame tetra, neon tetra), rasboras (harlequin rasbora), danios (zebrafish), corydoras (Corydoras julii, panda cory, pygmy cory, Adolfo’s catfish), plecos (bristlenose pleco). 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