Black mollies sizes. Molliesia aquarium viviparous fish

Mollies are popular aquarium fish, which are becoming more and more common in home aquascapes every year. Thanks to the beautiful and neat appearance, endurance and unpretentiousness in maintenance, they prefer not only to look at mollies. They can easily be grown at home, following all the necessary recommendations, including: maintaining the required water parameters, proper nutrition, regular cleaning of the tank, sufficient lighting. If you are new to aquarium keeping, caring for large and small mollies will not be difficult for you.

Preparing the male and female for spawning

Since all mollies belong to the same species, care for the breeders is possible in a common aquarium. These are viviparous fish, the offspring of which are born ready for full life. The fry grab food, play with each other and gradually master the surrounding space. All types of mollies should be prepared before breeding. The preparation itself includes the following stages:

Look at the mollies fry in a community aquarium.

If all conditions are met, the female will bring her first offspring in 30-40 days. It is important to know that female molly can give birth without the presence of a male - one fertilization is enough for her to give birth to babies in small "portions" every few days. At this time, she requires special care. The male father can be removed, otherwise he will interfere with the fry.

For breeders who are going to raise a massive brood, you should purchase a large spawning aquarium with a volume of 80-120 liters, placing several pairs of mollies there. For example, for three males, 6 females are required.

The female molly always has a rounded abdomen, which makes it difficult for novice aquarists to determine whether she is ready to give birth. Experienced amateurs have observed that the belly of a pregnant female becomes too large, reaching the head, and swells greatly. If a female suddenly begins to give birth in a community aquarium, it is better to transplant other fish so that the mollies fry are not eaten.

Watch how the mollies fry appear.

The appearance of newborn fry: rules of keeping and feeding

Molly fry are difficult to notice in a general aquarium; they are small, almost transparent. It will be useful to strain your eyes to notice at least one. If you have prepared a spawning tank, there is nothing to worry about. All the emerging fry swim very quickly, which is a bit like being scared. Typically, female molly sires give birth to 15-30 fry, although there have been cases of 50-60 in one brood. With each new spawning, she will reproduce more offspring, 2 times more than the previous one - this number will take longer to care for.

When all the fry are born, they require care. The female can be transplanted into an aquarium with adult fish, but small fish will have to be supervised. In the first days of life they feed on the contents of the yolk sac. In the first days of life, they need to be fed food ground into a fine powder: artemia naupilia, ciliates, chips with spirulina, liquid food for fry. Also, newborns must be fed flake food, pre-processed and ground.

The fry should be fed in small portions using a pipette. In the first days, the fry are reluctant to eat, they get used to the new food for 2-3 days, then they are not afraid to take it. The water should be renewed either every day or every 2-3 days with fresh water. To make caring for the fry easier, they can be moved into 2 separate aquariums, both of different sexes. Determining sex is easy - males of many species are brighter and slimmer, with a cone-shaped genopod. Sex differences are visible at 4-10 weeks of fish life.

This one is beautiful aquarium fish was bred artificially through careful selection from representatives of the species Molliesia latipin. Mollies balloon has a very unusual physique - it resembles a ball filled with air. The body is shortened, which does not contribute to the normal functioning of internal organs, so the fish needs close attention from the human side.

Despite this, the balloon mollies are one of the most popular aquarium inhabitants, bred by many underwater enthusiasts.

External features

Mollies, photos of which often adorn publications for aquarists, are viviparous fish. Natural environment habitats - salty and fresh waters Latin America, from Colombia to Mexico. Males of mollies are much smaller than females; in nature, representatives of the species reach a length of ten to sixteen centimeters; in an aquarium they are much smaller - they do not exceed eight centimeters.

Mollies, photos of which you can see in this article, were discovered in the southern part of the United States and Central America. They began breeding it in aquariums in 1899, and the first hybrids appeared in the 20s of the 19th century. IN natural conditions are colored yellowish-gray or silver and have blue, bluish, green or black spots. The belly is usually lighter than the back and has no spots. The body is short, dense, the fins are strong and wide. However, through hybridization and cross-breeding, numerous color variations were obtained.

Mollies: description of the balloon variety

This variety also has a shortened body, with a noticeable curvature of the ridge. The balloon mollies fish does not grow more than six centimeters. Its peculiarity is its large abdomen. It is the result of modification of the species. Internal organs compressed and small. The body color is somewhat reminiscent of the mollies latipin. But today individuals of other shades are widespread: orange, red, black, silver, gray.

These fish greatly decorate the aquarium, so for many hobbyists it is important that their underwater kingdom lived a mollies balloon. How to distinguish a female from a male? Quite simply - males have a cone-shaped genopodia (anal fin), while females have a rounded one.

Mollies balloon: keeping in an aquarium

These cute fish are not suitable for densely populated areas small aquariums, although they are quite hardy and will survive even in such conditions, provided regular maintenance and care of their home. When it falls due to excessive maintenance organic matter, fish may be harmed. A molly aquarium should have regular water changes. A quarter of the total volume changes every 2-3 weeks. If the aquarium is overcrowded, this needs to be done more often.

There is one more feature of keeping mollies in a tank: you need to add two and a half teaspoons of aquarium salt to the water for every ten liters of water. Don’t forget to add when substituting salt water. If you add water due to evaporation, then there is no need to add salt, since it remains in the aquarium.

Despite the fact that these fish prefer salt water, they feel great in fresh water, provided that it is not too acidic and soft. Water should be alkaline and hard.

Aquarium decoration

Balloon mollies need live plants in the aquarium. Fish love greens, especially when they add variety to their diet. But try not to overdo it with landscaping—mollies need room to move. Plants floating in the aquarium help the fry survive, and some of them provide additional food. You should not get carried away with picturesque driftwood - they reduce acidity, and this is undesirable.

For the substrate, you can use any soil, although on lighter mollies the balloon will better demonstrate its beautiful color. Good filtration is necessary to maintain stable water levels. Additionally, males show their best colors in well-treated water.

It's pretty active fish who need a large space for swimming. If there are few fish, then the minimum volume of the aquarium should be at least 55 liters. If you keep a group of mollies, then it must be increased to at least 75 liters, and the ratio should be as follows: one male to three females. This will help you avoid quarrels between males. Preferred water temperature: 21-28 °C, pH: 7.0-8.5, hardness - 20-30 dGH.

Feeding

Although experienced aquarists believe that the balloon molly is an omnivorous fish, we must not forget that it has a high need for plant food. The diet of this variety should include plenty of seaweed and other vegetarian foods. In nature, their diet consists mainly of rotifers and algae. Small aquatic insects and crustaceans make up an insignificant part.

In an aquarium, the balloon mollies happily eat ready-made food and live food, but a large number of plant food She especially appreciates it. Vegetable flakes combined with blanched spinach and fresh cucumbers will be an excellent addition to the main diet. Do not forget to promptly remove the remaining food. Between feedings, mollies will happily snack on aquarium plants and some aquarium algae.

These fish will not refuse protein food either, but they will not be able to exist solely on it. Treat them from time to time with brine shrimp (live or frozen), bloodworms, and tubifex. Meals should be varied, several times a day. Give food in small portions, in such quantity that it is eaten within three minutes.

Mollies balloon: reproduction

Mollies are viviparous fish: the offspring are born fully adapted to life in water. The lifespan of this variety is from 3 to 5 years.

Mollies easily reproduce in an aquarium, and the offspring reach sexual maturity very quickly. Depending on the size of the fish and age, the female gives birth to up to one hundred fry. In addition, the peculiarity of viviparous fish is that the sperm of the male is stored in the body of the female for a long time. This allows fry to be born several times, even if the male is removed from the aquarium.

For breeding, you only need to purchase individuals of both sexes, and these fish for a short time overpopulate the aquarium.

Pregnancy

The pregnant balloon molly is clearly visible in the aquarium: it has a dark spot on the lower abdomen next to the anal fin and a large belly. Pregnancy in mollies lasts approximately four weeks, after which the fry are born. Many aquarists claim that with age, the largest individuals are capable of giving birth to up to two hundred and fifty fry.

In a community aquarium, the offspring can be eaten by adult fish if they are not removed in time. Floating plants can be used to protect them. After giving birth, the female does not immediately restore her “figure” - she still remains a little fat for some time. This is explained by the fact that she does not give birth to all the fry at one time, but continues to carry fertilized eggs. Thanks to this feature, the female molly is able to bear offspring for six months without any participation of the male.

Molly fry

We mentioned the endurance that balloon mollies have. Fry, unlike adults, are very sensitive to water parameters, especially with regard to harmful impurities. Frequent water renewal is recommended. To make it easier for the offspring to adapt and not be afraid to eat food (fry are afraid to take it in the first days of life), place the very first food for the fry in a container - ground food, small ciliates.

If you have nowhere to resettle the fry, use five-liter jars with settled running water. It is better to place the jars in a bright place, but straight Sun rays should not fall on them.

Compatibility

Mollies are active, but at the same time peaceful inhabitants of the aquarium; they are very sociable and love to live in the vicinity of their own species or with other viviparous fish. Males sometimes quarrel, but do not cause each other serious injuries. Only a few fish exhibit the character that can be expressed in aggressive behavior. Mollies can be kept with any fish that has a similar temperament and has the same requirements for chemical composition water.

Avoid proximity to fish that can damage the fins of their peaceful neighbors. This primarily applies to bottom platies, other viviparous fish, and some species of rainbow fish will become their best neighbors. Tetras, cyprinids, and other characins, which are able to live in such water parameters, coexist well with mollies.

Diseases

All inhabitants of the aquarium can get sick. The molly balloon is no exception. Most often, the cause of illnesses of this fish is hypothermia, inappropriate water parameters, and infections. The owner of an aquarium can very quickly notice signs of an incipient disease: pimples or dots appear on the scales, raised spots and ulcers can be seen on the skin.

Mollies that are black in color sometimes suffer from a condition called melanosis. This disease occurs due to increased pigmentation of the skin, which often causes tumors. To prevent many diseases, you should strictly monitor temperature conditions in the aquarium, for the cleanliness of food, soil and decorations. Sick fish must be removed from general aquarium. They should be quarantined in another tank and fed a balanced diet.

This tropical beauty was noticed by aquarium fish lovers back in the last century. It lives in water bodies of the USA and belongs to the poeciliaceae family. Now mollies are considered the most popular viviparous fish that can live and reproduce in an aquarium.

Appearance

These fish have a fairly bright appearance. They come in green, black, silver, yellow. Regular food is used for mollies. They are not given any special delicacies.

The length of this fish is 3-18 cm. The large specimen has a very beautiful and graceful appearance. It's hard to tear yourself away from the mollies swimming in the aquarium. The lifespan of a beautiful fish is about four years if it is given proper care, and are created comfortable conditions for habitation.

In order for mollies to feel comfortable in an aquarium environment, you should use a six-liter aquarium for two fish. One individual, regardless of its size, can limit itself to three liters of water.

These creatures are quite thermophilic, so the water temperature should be at least 25 degrees. Yellow fish cannot do without bright lighting. The water in which they live is always clean. It must contain oxygen. Individuals love to swim on top, but it is not necessary to improve the bottom of the aquarium for this. However, dense plants with bright colors are planted on light soil. Algae are planted so that there is free space in the aquarium so that the fish can swim freely. Wednesday you can:

• with artificial houses;
• driftwood;
• pebbles.

Pets will love hiding in secluded places. Sometimes they want to be alone. To do this, they will be able to take advantage of the created environment with all kinds of design elements.

Aquarium care

Water for mollies must contain oxygen, so you should use a compressor. In addition, maintaining cleanliness is required. This can be achieved by changing a quarter of the water in the aquarium daily. Untimely care will lead to deterioration in the health of the fish. She will develop toxicosis and her movements will become inhibited. Her fins will press together, she will stand in one place. When aquarium inhabitants begin to descend, this indicates that the water has already become polluted.

General cleaning should be carried out for mollies at least once every two months. For this purpose, settled water with an acidity of eight and a half units is used.

When cleaning the aquarium, add table salt at a rate of three grams per liter. It is used to imitate natural environment, in which mollies live. In addition, it is an excellent natural antiseptic. Fish living in such an environment rarely get sick and feel comfortable.

What do aquarium inhabitants eat?

Since these beautiful fish They eat everything, they can feed on any type of food. Naturally, they digest best:

• frozen or live bloodworms;
• cyclops;
• Daphnia.

Only using these components for food can lead to the death of your pet. In order for an individual to develop normally, herbal supplements and crushed algae are included in her diet. Then normalization of metabolic processes in fish cells will occur. In this regard, the inhabitants of the water should eat varied.

This individual is capable of being without food and favorite treats for a long time. Just don’t do experiments, because due to hunger or overeating, pets experience stress, which not all inhabitants of the aquatic space can endure.

Reproduction

A specific feature of this type of fish is the ability to be both female and male. Sexual maturity occurs in fish when they reach one year of age. You can find out that spawning is approaching by looking at how the female behaves. She begins to retire and hide in snags and stones. There is a gradual rounding of her abdomen. This indicates that the caviar is beginning to ripen.

When these signs appear, the female should be removed. The new place should have 24-hour lighting and regular water changes. The fry develop within a month and immediately show viable signs. At this time, the water should have a temperature of thirty degrees. The fry are given a variety of food.

From one spawning, the female gives birth to about sixty fry. Then she is returned back. Babies require special care with regular water changes. Live dust from cyclops, rotifers, and crushed daphnia is used as food.

Period aquarium fry can be divided into pairs and placed in separate aquariums.

Barbs should not be allowed into an aquarium with mollies because they will begin to bite their tails. This can lead to conflict that results in serious injury and death.

Black molly (Poecilia sphenops, Mollienesia sphenops) is a very common aquarium fish from the poeciliaceae family. It is difficult to confuse it with other representatives of viviparous fish - business card The fish became coal-black, as if velvet, the color of the body and fins.

In a large aquarium with varied vegetation and mangrove driftwood, the black beauties swimming steadily and looking simply magnificent.

Natural habitat

Wild molly sphenops is significantly different in color from what we are used to seeing in aquariums. Its color is dominated by silver-gray colors, sometimes brownish or olive. Small black spots are randomly scattered throughout the body. The size of the fish is small - maximum 12cm.

It is common in brackish and fresh water bodies Central America from Mexico to Colombia. There are also small populations on the islands of the Caribbean.

Sphenops appeared in aquariums at the end of the 19th century, but it was possible to obtain offspring from them in captivity only in 1910 in Germany. Everyone's favorite black hybrid, or black molly, was bred by American aquarist Bill Sternke in 1936. The fish came to Russia 12 years later.

Appearance

Black mollies have an oblong body, slightly flattened on the sides. The dorsal fin is small, the tail is wide and rounded. The head, compared to the body, is relatively small, the eyes are large.

The molly's mouth is wide, underlip protrudes noticeably upward. Such the shape of the mouth structure allows the fish to easily eat green growths from snags and stones, pinch plants, swallow larvae and insects from the surface of the water.

The scales, fins, and even the eyes of this species are painted deep black. Fish that have the slightest whitish inclusions or shiny scales are considered defective. The most expensive specimens have an even matte color.

Sexual dimorphism in mollies.

The size of an adult male rarely exceeds 5 cm, while the female can reach 8 cm. The body of females is more rounded, especially during pregnancy. You can distinguish males and females not only by their size, but also by their anal fin: in the female it is fan-shaped, in the male it is pointed and elongated.

Along with the classic black molly, the lyretail form called the black lyre is very popular. Distinctive feature The lyretail black mollies are characterized by elongated lateral rays of the caudal fin, which due to this resembles the musical instrument of the same name.

Compatibility with other types

Intraspecific aggression is practically absent in mollies. In one aquarium they can easily be kept with the following species:

• other viviparous (guppies, platies, swordtails);
• labyrinthine (cockerels, gourami, lalius);
• battles;
• tetras;
• iris;
• rasboras;
• labeo;
• zebrafish;
• catfish.

Compatibility table for mollies and other aquarium inhabitants.

It is extremely contraindicated to keep goldfish, African and South American cichlids, and astronotuses together with molly.

Black mollies love clean, oxygenated water. The aquarium where they live should be well lit (12-13 hours a day). It should contain both places densely overgrown with greenery and open spaces for swimming. If the planting is too dense, the males will become aggressive and chase each other.

In addition to plants, it is advisable to decorate the aquarium with various kinds of shelters and driftwood. A favorite pastime of mollies is scraping algae from their surface..

Be sure to tightly cover the aquarium with a lid, since mollies have good jumping ability. There are frequent cases of death as a result of jumping out of the water, especially for sick, restless fish.

Mollies will feel comfortable in an aquarium with a volume of at least 60-80 liters. To avoid overpopulation, the number of individuals is purchased at a rate of at least 10 liters per couple. The best option kept in a group with a predominance of females.

Black molly prefers fairly hard water with the following basic parameters:

• acidity – 7.0-8.0 pH;
• hardness – 20-30 dGH;
• temperature – 24-27°С (at high temperatures water, the lifespan is significantly reduced).

Some aquarists add table water or sea ​​salt, at the rate of 1 tablespoon per 200 l. If this is advisable, it is only if there are no other freshwater inhabitants in the aquarium that are unlikely to like the increased salinity.

Feeding

Black mollies are omnivores. Their diet should include products of both animal and plant origin. They happily eat dry, frozen and live food (tubifex, bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia).

Without the plant component, the diet of mollies will not be complete. They can be given flakes that contain spirulina, as well as scalded dandelion (leaves), zucchini, cucumber, and lettuce.

Adult mollies are usually fed once a day, fry - in small portions 2-3 times.

Reproduction and lifespan

For breeding, choose healthy adults.

Males reach sexual maturity at the age of 8-12 months, females a little earlier - at 5-6 months. Using a tube-shaped anal fin (gonopodium), the male introduces seminal fluid into the female's body, fertilizing an incredible number of eggs at a time. Some of them immediately begin to develop, while others freeze until subsequent breeding. Even in the absence of a male in the aquarium, the female can carry several more generations of fry.

Pregnancy lasts 35-50 days. It can be identified by the female's rounded abdomen and a dark spot in the lower abdomen. Closer to labor, the behavior of the molly changes - it begins to look for secluded corners in the aquarium and tries to avoid other fish. Having noticed this, it needs to be planted in a small container with settled water and small-leaved plants.

Black mollies are viviparous fish, more precisely, ovoviviparous.. They produce well-formed fry rather than spawn. The eggs are fertilized inside the female's body and develop inside the egg, feeding on substances from its yolk. Such embryos do not have a close connection with the maternal body, like placental viviparous ones.

When the embryonic stage of development comes to an end, the fry hatch from the eggs while still in the womb, and only then leave her body. The number of young depends on the size and age of the female; at one time, a large adult molly can give birth to up to 100 new individuals. Newborn fry are quite large - 4-9 mm, and are immediately colored coal-black. Sometimes white individuals appear in slender black rows - this is not a disease, but jokes of genetics.

Video: birth of mollies

Immediately after birth, young mollies rest on the bottom of the aquarium or in the thickets aquatic plants and only after 20-30 minutes they begin to swim slowly. For the first 2-3 days they do not need feeding, as they receive the necessary nutrients from a special yolk sac. Starter food: brine shrimp, cyclops, egg yolk.

In an aquarium, the black molly lives on average 3 years, which is not much compared to its closest relatives, the velifera molly, which can live for 8 years. Life expectancy is greatly affected elevated temperatures content and monotonous food, poor in vitamins.

Diseases

In most cases, black mollies are affected by one or another disease due to the fault of the owner, or rather, due to his irresponsibility. Violation of detention conditions leads to a number of serious diseases.

A striking example of this is gas embolism, which occurs when fresh water is suddenly added to the aquarium. tap water. Excess oxygen causes blockage blood vessels. The fish behave restlessly, their gills darken, their eyes sometimes become cloudy and bruises appear.

Many aquarists use Bicillin-5 to treat various diseases of aquarium fish.

Violation of the normal conditions for keeping black mollies often leads to fungicidal (fungal) and bacterial infections which appear in the form of mucus, white plaque, ruffled scales, ulcers, bruises. Modern medications, introduced into the water in a timely manner, will help to quickly cope with the problem.

Mollies will become the first violin of any aquarium ensemble. Anyone will pay attention to the small velvety black fish scurrying around one another or regularly nibbling algae from driftwood. The cheerful disposition, mobility, unpretentiousness and ease of reproduction have made the black molly one of the most popular aquarium fish.

Black mollies This is a fairly common fish that lives in our aquariums. She has a peaceful relationship with any neighbors in the aquarium. And the ease of caring for the fish makes it possible for even a novice aquarist to have one. The homeland of this fish is the fresh waters of America, where natural mollies of gray and speckled gray color live. In our country, the most common form of fish is with a black velvet body color, which was bred artificially.

Description of the fish

Mollies have an elongated body slightly flattened on the sides. There are two types of dorsal fin:

1. Small.
2. Large.

• Tubifex;
• Bloodworm;
• Artemia.

You can buy a little more of it and spread it out in a thin layer in a bag and put it in the freezer. After freezing, before feeding, break off a piece and immediately after thawing feed it to the fish in the aquarium. You should not freeze this food twice in a row.

You can also feed mollies with dry food - daphnia. But the main thing here is not to overfeed the black mollies. Eating green food is important for her, that is, the aquarium must have live algae that the fish will happily bite.

Compatibility with other fish

The black molly is a very peaceful fish that lives well in an aquarium in combination with others. peace-loving fish. Looks beautiful both with its other types and with:

• Pecilia;
• Tetras;
• Danio.

But if you need to breed this fish, then the best thing for it will be to keep it in an aquarium separate from other fish.

Sexual differences between male and female

You can distinguish male black mollies from females using the anal fin. The male's anal fin is elongated and seems to be curled into a tube. The female has a large round anal fin. This sexual organ is called gonopodium.

In more early age, before puberty, if there is a need to distinguish males from females, then you can judge by the size of the fry. In one litter, the male will always be smaller than the female and his color will be brighter.

Reproduction and breeding in an aquarium

Black mollies breeding, which occurs through mating of a female with a male and subsequent viviparity of fry. Under suitable aquarium conditions, females can spawn up to 100 fry in one sitting. And this can happen every 40 days. This is how long females carry their young. One fertilization is sometimes enough for several broods of fry. The fry are born as black as their parents. Sometimes they come across gray fry, but if it is necessary to subsequently breed fry of normal color, then the gray ones are removed from the general aquarium.

In order for the fry to be healthy and full-term, the water in the aquarium should not rise above 28 degrees Celsius. Because an increase will provoke premature birth, and fry that are not fully formed may die. The approach of birth can be determined, as with all cyprinids, by the female’s abdomen, which takes on a square shape just before birth.

Advice. In order for mollies to be purebred during breeding, one aquarium must contain only one species of mollies. Otherwise, mating will occur randomly and, as a result, the quality of the resulting fry will be unpredictable.

Also, immediately after spawning the fry, the female is separated from them, so these fish do not care about the offspring and the female is able to eat part of her fry.

Feeding of the swept fry begins a couple of hours after throwing and the first food is well-ground dry daphnia or live dust.

Aquarium fish black mollies This is a rather unique fish that appeals to many aquarists. If you adhere to the basic rules of care, then it will not cause any particular difficulties in maintaining and breeding it.

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