Probably every aquarist has heard of such a fish as molliesia. But her kind of vellifer mollies is known in our country much less. And in vain - this beautiful fish, as well as its many varieties, can be a great addition to any aquarium. It is important that its content is not fraught with unnecessary difficulties and troubles. So it will be useful for any aquarist to find out about it - both an experienced and a beginner.
Appearance
First of all, we will give a description of the fish of mollinsia, a photo of which is attached to the article.
In terms of colors, it is not very different from the usual lyre molly - the body usually has a yellow color, from light to dark shade. But also marble, orange, white and black individuals are found. The dorsal fin in males is very high, sometimes even larger in size than the body. Of course, thanks to this, the fish looks very impressive.
Females are significantly larger than males. In the wild, they reach a length of 17 centimeters - males are a couple centimeters smaller. True, in aquariums, even very spacious, fish never grow to such sizes.
The caudal fin is very beautiful: in the center is orange, and on top is turquoise or blue. Sometimes it is surrounded by a black strip below, which emphasizes the elegance and elegance of the fish.
So, we can confidently say that people who consider Welfer mollies the decoration of the aquarium are not exaggerating.
Habitat
To date, this fish can be seen in small reservoirs of South and Central America and not only. It inhabits rivers ranging from Mexico to Colombia. But according to experts, it was originally exclusively found on the Yucatan Peninsula.
It mainly lives in small rivers flowing into the Caribbean Sea. During high tides, a large amount of water gets into some of them, due to which salinity increases markedly. Therefore, fish can perfectly live in fresh water and in salt water - we will return to this issue a little later.
At the moment, thanks to the activities of people found in different countries of the world. For example, in the Middle East, New Zealand, Southeast Asia, Australia. Apparently, fish from aquariums got into the natural waters of these countries and, thanks to the mild climate and plenty of food, took root pretty quickly, gave offspring and became an invasive species.
Sexual question
Very often, aquarists (and not only beginners) are interested in how to distinguish a female from a male of molliesia. The question is really extremely serious - when buying fish, experts recommend starting a flock immediately, consisting of approximately the same number of representatives of both sexes.
Of course, the simplest and most noticeable sign that clearly separates the males from the females is a gorgeous sail on the back, which gave rise to the full name of the fish - velifer sailfish mollynesia. In females, the fin is much more modest, so it will be difficult to mix them up.
However, this distinguishing mark can only be observed in adult fish. What to do with young people? Everything is more complicated here. In general, females from childhood are slightly larger than males. But size is far from the most reliable indicator. It is better to wait a few weeks from birth, by this time the anal fin in males is transformed into gonopodia - the genital organ that allows them to fertilize females. Already by its presence it is possible to determine with maximum confidence who is in front of you - male or female.
Suitable water
In general, the vellifer mollies is not too demanding on the water indicators, but you should not go beyond them to make the fish feel as comfortable as possible.
The optimum pH of the water is from 7 to 8.8. The hardness should be quite high - from 8 to 25. If the water in your area is too soft, then it’s worth putting a few natural shells into the aquarium. They will not only create additional comfort and bring elegance, but also slightly increase rigidity.
Finally, another important parameter is the temperature of the water. In general, the range is quite large - from +22 to +28 degrees Celsius. Therefore, maintaining it for most of the year is not difficult. But still it will be useful to have a heater - in the cold winter months, as well as in the off-season, when the central heating is turned off, sometimes you have to turn it on to protect the fish from sudden temperature jumps that can undermine their health.
To salt or not to salt?
Another very important issue related to the water in the aquarium for mollies is salinity. As mentioned above, the vellifer mollies are fish that live beautifully in both fresh water and slightly salty. Therefore, the breeder has a rare opportunity to independently decide on this topic. Moreover, each option has certain advantages. We give reasons for each of them.
Experts argue that salt water contributes to a brighter color in fish. That is, individuals living in salt water look much more beautiful, which is important for any aquarist. The salt content should not be large - about 1 gram per liter of water. That is, one teaspoon of salt (without a slide) is enough for about 7 liters of water.
On the other hand, relatively few aquarium fish live in salt water. If you want to plant not only mollies in the aquarium, but also representatives of other breeds that feel fine only in fresh water, it would be better not to add salt to the water.
Create the perfect aquarium
Choosing the right aquarium, equipment and design is an extremely important parameter for fish. And mollies, the content and care of which became the topic of our review, is no exception. How to avoid mistakes here?
Let's start with the volume. The capacity of the aquarium should be at least 80-100 liters. A flock of 15-20 mollies can live in such a volume, as well as a small number of large or medium fish, with which they can get along normally. The upper bar is not limited at all. In fact, the larger the aquarium, the better. The fish will feel more comfortable and cozy, thanks to which they will grow to more impressive sizes.
It is also worth considering the filter. On the one hand, he will be able to collect organic garbage - the remnants of food and feces from fish. Also, the filter creates a weak, but current. Thanks to this, mollies feel more active, swim more, which contributes to muscle building, well-being and, accordingly, strong immunity.
As the soil, you can use fine pebbles or coarse river sand. The main thing is that there are no sharp edges on them. Mollinesia is not averse to collecting food that has fallen to the bottom, and it may well be injured about them. In addition, it is advisable to choose not too shallow soil to provide at least some access of oxygen to the roots of the plants - without this they could well die. Also, the space between the particles of coarse soil is clogged with organic matter, which serves as fertilizer for algae.
Speaking of algae. There should be a lot of them in the aquarium. It is best to choose a separate corner and plant it tightly. It is not always possible to track the moment when the female of mollinesia begins to give birth. Unfortunately, their parents are not the best and may well feast on newborns. And dense thickets make it possible to survive at least a small number of juveniles.
How to feed them?
Now we come to one of the most important points in the content of yellow molliesia - the preparation of the diet. In feeding, they are slightly more complicated than most popular viviparous ones, such as guppies, pecilia and swordsmen.
Of course, regular feeding with bloodworms would be an ideal solution. Live food contains almost everything necessary for the fish to feel great. Also, a pipe maker would be a good choice - to purchase it, live or frozen, usually without any problems.
However, in addition to live food, mollinsia also needs greens - the fish are quite demanding on vitamins. If there are not enough vitamins A and D in the diet, then they may well become ill or start to gnaw leaves from algae.
The problem is easily solved if it is possible to get filamentous algae. Some aquarists specifically breed them in a separate container, such as a jar, to feed mollies. Also, young leaves of dandelion, lettuce, nettle and even cabbage will be a good choice. But they need to be scalded with boiling water (to disinfect and make softer), and then finely chop. However, fish should be accustomed to such a diet from childhood. Otherwise, they will begin to abandon the green.
If it is not possible to give fish live and green food, you can use dry. But in this case, try to buy special fortified granules. Yes, they cost more. But they contain not only balanced nutrients, but also vitamins.
According to some breeders of mollinesia, cereals - rice and oat - eat scalded boiling water well. But they deteriorate quite quickly, so after 15-20 minutes after feeding, you need to clean in the aquarium, removing the remnants of cereals.
Fish breeding
To get offspring, you need to know exactly how to distinguish a female from a male of molliesia. This was discussed above. A pair of manufacturers (from the age of 8 months, the most beautiful and largest) are divided by different capacities and slightly increase the water - by 1-2 degrees Celsius. They also need to provide a complete diet - it is advisable to feed only live food. After 5-7 days, you can plant them in a common spawning aquarium - a small capacity of 25-30 liters is suitable. There should be a lot of algae.
After a week, the male is returned to the aquarium, and the female is left in spawning until spawning. Usually a strong fish can bring 40-60 fry. The female should be planted immediately after birth so that she does not eat the young. Although there is an opinion that mollies do not eat fry, this is far from always the case.
We work with young people
Molliesia fry do not deliver much trouble. The main thing is to provide them with good feeding. At first, nauplii artemia and cyclops will be the best choice. When the fish grow up, you can switch to young daphnia - a great food for young fish. After another two to three weeks, it is worth introducing a small bloodworm or a tubule into the diet. After a month, the young of mollinesia grows up enough so that it can be given the usual tubifex, bloodworms and finely chopped earthworms (it is advisable to wash them in advance or hold them for a few days in cottage cheese).
Suitable neighbors
In general, compatibility with mollies does not have any problems. But nevertheless, far from any neighbors are suitable - some of these large, beautiful fish get along pretty badly.
First of all, it is worth considering whether you use salt water in the aquarium or not. In the first case, it is desirable to choose only sea fish - their choice in our stores is not too large. But for freshwater, picking up neighbors will not be difficult at all.
A good choice will be any medium-sized and peaceful fish. For example, guppies, pecilia, neons, zebrafish. But the swordsmen and Sumatran barbs can not be called good neighbors. Quite active, and sometimes aggressive, they may well leave mollies without their chic fins and tail. And constant life under stress will not improve the mood of the fish.
Mollies Care
Caring for these chic inhabitants of the aquarium is not difficult. Six days a week to feed - preferably varied, twice a day. The seventh day is unloading.
After it, you can arrange cleaning - garbage is collected from the bottom, along with part of the water. It is advisable to replace from 1/6 to 1/3 of the volume of the aquarium per week - depending on its volume. That's all - the content of mollies is not too whimsical.
Possible diseases
Now it’s worth telling about diseases that can cause problems for gold lyre-tailed mollies.
In general, they usually have good immunity - if they are not bothered by aggressive neighbors and they are well-fed in a variety of ways. However, if the composition of the water is not suitable (too low acidity and hardness), then immunity decreases, fungal, bacterial diseases can occur. The easiest treatment is to eliminate care mistakes. You can also put sick fish in relatively strong salt water - about 2 grams of salt per liter of water. Usually, salt destroys microorganisms that cause bacterial and fungal diseases.
Conclusion
On this our article comes to an end. As you can see, the content and care of Welfare's mollies is pretty simple. So, you can easily create ideal living conditions for these beautiful fish.