Black Molly

[Ami]

Common name/s: Black Molly

Scientific name: Poecilia sphenops

Family: Poeciliidae

Origin: BW estuaries and streams from Mexico to Columbia

Maximum size: Female up to 12.5cm (tends to be smaller in captivity) and male up to 7.5cm

Care: BW preferred, min 10g, although can tolerate FW however more prone to illness. Hardish water, lots of plants and swimming areas. pH 6.8-8.0, temp 76-84f

Feeding: Omnivores – ensure vegetable matter provided, will graze

Breeding: Females have a much rounder body and can grow larger;
Male has a gonopodium and will hound females into breeding;
Female is fertilized and then gives birth after around 45-60 days;
Can store sperm and produce multiple broods from one mating;
If stressed, they can re-absorb the fry or may result in a still birth;
Fry are free swimming and grow rapidly;
Feed crushed flake food.


Comments: Peaceful and inquistive fish! Although not an actual shoaling species, they are happy in a large group but can also be kept as a small group of same or mixed sex. Many people try to keep them as single sex groups, however if the fish are young enough then you could have a few instances of changing sex!

NB: many people keep these in FW aquaria and although they can survive okay, they may suffer from illnesses such as ich on a regular basis. At the other extreme, they've been used to cycle full marine tanks!

Excellent addition to my BW tank and has added a lot of interest for both me and my cats!

 

[nmonks]

Hello Ami --

Great write-up. I'm sure this'll be useful. I applaud your comment that these fish do better in brackish than fresh. Black mollies are among my favourite fish, and good specimens have an amazing velvety black colour that makes a fabulous contrast with the other fishes and especially plants.

A couple of additional things worth mentioning:

1) These are hybrid fish; while they certainly have some Poecilia sphenops in them, there's lots of other molly species in their genetic make-up. They don't occur in the wild, at least not naturally, though I understand that feral populations do occur where some black mollies have accidentially (or otherwise) gotten into the wild.

2) You can buy "vegetarian flake" food, and this has a high algae content and makes a superb staple for these fish. Most other fish will eat it too. Cichlids in particular really enjoy a bit of algae in their diet (most are at least somewhat vegetarian in the wild).

Cheers,

Neale