The motherland of these beautiful live-bearing fish is the fresh water of Central America. The name "mollies" or abbreviated "moths" is a folk song, which became popular in Soviet times, made from the full name of the genus of fish.
Now, various Mollies, whose species are not only found in nature, but are also derived by selection, are quite popular among aquarium enthusiasts. In addition to the unusual coloring of fish, they differ from most of their relatives in that they give birth to fry, which means that it is much more interesting to observe them.
Aquarium Mollies: species and colors
Initially, in nature, fish met different colors, yellow, gray, spotted. The greatest popularity was acquired by a black fish because of some unusual coloring for inhabitants of aquariums. Black Mollies was bred in the United States by artificial means. Its correct name is lira molly or sphenops. There are also widespread mollynesia, sailing, called in another way the molylesia of Velifer, and all the same species were artificially obtained, but with lyre-tailed fins. In addition, species with shortened bodies and named "disk" were withdrawn.
Breeding of Mollies
The content of the mollies does not require the aquarist special skills, these fish are completely unpretentious, friendly, easily get along with other inhabitants of the aquarium. For the comfort of the malli, pure water is required, the temperature of which varies between 22-28 ° C, good lighting and thickets of plants that the fish use as shelter. It is necessary to filter and aerate the water of the aquarium, and the tank itself must be at least 30 liters.
To feed the mollies, live dry food will be needed, but vegetable supplements should be added to it. These fish eat algae on the walls of the aquarium, filamentous green algae, which is undoubtedly incredibly useful, but if plant food is not enough, young shoots of plants may suffer.
Dangerous for mollies are changes in water temperature and insufficient oxygen. If the fish swim near the surface, most likely, they have oxygen starvation.
Pregnancy and childbirth of Mollies
Pregnancy Molliesia can occur when it reaches six months of age, provided that there are males of its kind in the aquarium. The duration of pregnancy is 8-10 weeks and depends on the temperature of the water, it is easy to recognize the fish "in position" by the swollen abdomen and dark spot on it. The approaching birth will signal the behavior of Molly, she will look for a secluded place. To save the offspring you will need to carefully catch the fish with a net and set it in a special aquarium.
Some aquarists deliberately keep molly in cool water, so the growth of fish slows down, but large and beautiful fins grow. If you set out to breed mollies, it is better to choose a beautiful pair of fish and plant them in an aquarium where there will be enough plants, and its volume will be at least 40 liters. When the delivery of the male approaches, it is necessary to set it off, and after
How to give birth to Mollies, you can see with your own eyes, if the fish can not hide in the thick green of the aquarium. Fry are born large, but weak, in the litter they can be up to 240 pieces. Nutrition for them should be a living food, and the optimal temperature of water is 25-26 ° C. Note that even black parents can have white and spotted fry. Coloring is explained not only by the genetic peculiarities of the chosen pair, but also by the presence of the albino form. True, growing up, fry can darken and become spotty or black, like their parents.