Common Name: Amzaon Molly

Scientific Name: Poecilia formosa

Family: Poeciliidae

Origins: Belived to be the wild hybrid of Pacific Mexican Molly (Poecilia butleri) and Sailfin Molly (Poecilia velifera)

Maxiumum Size: 7 inches (18 cm)

Minimum Tank Size: 20 US Gallons

Water Conditions: Termpature: 73-82 deggrees Farenhiet; hard (100/150 mg/l) and alkaline (pH 7.5)

Temperament: Placid and generally social, though over observation by me, may chase weaker fish

Care: Fairly Easy, though not recromended for begginers

Feeding: Prefers Live foods and Veggies, will eat flakes though.

Sexing: Just like all other live bearers, look for the gonopodium in the male, or the gravid spot in the female

Breeding: Impossible, males are sterile

Other Additional Information: This is one of the rarest Mollies out there. It was named after the all fabled, all female tribe, for the females are the only ones who can reproduce. Only one out of every 10,000 of these fish are male.

Picture:

That's my Amazon Molly, still yet to name him

I give credit to Aquarium and Pond Fish for some of the information

>>> Breeding: Impossible, males are sterile

This is not true. The Amazon Molly has a very unusual reproduction system. Females produce eggs with two full sets of chromosomes, they are, in effect, "pre fertilised". The species is thus parthenogenic - all of the genetic material comes from the female and all specimens are female. They will not produce young however, until they have mated with a male of related species. The sperm from this mating does not join with the eggs, but it's presence stimulates the eggs to develop. Thus it is quite easy to breed P. formosa as long as it is kept with males of a related species, (P. latipinna P. mexicana P. sphenops P. chica, and P. vittata will all court and mate with P. formosa).

The fish in the picture is not Poecilia formosa, it looks like Poecilia latipinna or velifera. P. formosa has short fins, and is a grey fish with just a few darker scales.