The Black Molly is a member of the family Poecilia and popular as an easy to keep freshwater tropical fish and a prolific live breeder. In the wild they live in Mexico in brackish or marine waters. The Black Molly is a hybrid of the Sailfish Molly but with shorter fins.In the wild they are a silvery colour with black patches. Aquarium bred adult Black Mollies are black all over but juveniles may have some silver or gold patches. Mollies can be placed in freshwater or saltwater aquariums but add a small amount of aquarium salt to freshwater. About a teaspoon per gallon will be enough. They prefer the tank water to be between 78F and 82F.
An excellent community fish, Black Mollies will get on well with other community species. They prefer large tanks with live plants such as Vallisneria, or Java Fern. They eat a lot so a good filtration system is needed to cope with their waste. Mollies eat both plant and meat foods so provide brime shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex etc as well as algae based food. Mix Mollys in a community aquarium with other large, peaceful freshwater tropical fish.
The female develops a ‘gravid spot’ when impregnated and has a rounder anal fin. The male Black Molly has a larger dorsal fin and a pointed anal fin. Either use a large extra tank for breeding or densely plant and have floating plants in one corner of the aquarium for the fry to hide. Females will give birth about every 65 days to between 10 and 60 young. The fry are well developed and approximately half an inch long at birth.
Other forms that have been bred include the Golden Molly (called the 24 carat) and the Ballon Molly. There are also breeds similar to Lyretails with modified caudal fin structures
Tags: black molly, Tropical Fish Information
If you would like to make a comment, please fill out the form below.