Velifera mollies: description, photo, maintenance and care

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Probably every aquarist has heard of such a fish as a mollies. But its variety of velifera mollies is much less known in our country. 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 associated with unnecessary difficulties and troubles. So it will be useful for any aquarist, both experienced and beginner, to learn about it.

Appearance

First of all, we will give a description of the mollies fish, the photo of which is attached to the article.

In terms of color, it does not differ much from the usual lyre molly - the body usually has a yellow color, from light to dark. But there are also marble, orange, white and black individuals. The dorsal fin in males is very high, sometimes even larger in area than the body. Of course, thanks to this, the fish looks very impressive.

Females are much larger than males. In the wild, they reach a length of 17 centimeters - males are a couple of centimeters smaller. True, in aquariums, even veryspacious, the fish never grow to that size.

The caudal fin is very beautiful: orange in the center and turquoise or blue on top. Sometimes it is girded with a black stripe at the bottom, which emphasizes the elegance and elegance of the fish.

So, it's safe to say that people who consider velifera mollies an aquarium decoration are not exaggerating at all.

Habitat

Today, this fish can be seen in small reservoirs in South and Central America and beyond. It inhabits rivers from Mexico to Colombia. But according to experts, it was originally found exclusively in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Mainly lives in small rivers flowing into the Caribbean Sea. During strong tides, a large amount of water enters some of them, due to which the salinity increases markedly. Therefore, fish can live perfectly in fresh water and in s alt water - we will return to this issue a little later.

At the moment, thanks to the activities of people, it is 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 reservoirs of these countries and, thanks to the mild climate and an abundance of food, they quickly took root, gave birth and became an invasive species.

Gender issue

Very often, aquarists (and not only beginners) are interested in how to distinguish a female from a male mollies. The question is really extremely serious - when buying fish, experts recommend starting a flock right away, consisting of approximately the same numberboth sexes.

Of course, the simplest and most noticeable sign that clearly separates males from females is a chic sail on the back, which gave rise to the full name of the fish - sailing velifera mollies. In females, the fin is much more modest, so it will be difficult to confuse them.

However, this distinctive sign can only be observed in adult fish. What about the youth? 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 which time the anal fin in males is transformed into a gonopodia - a sexual organ that allows them to fertilize females. Already by its presence, you can determine with maximum confidence who is in front of you - a male or a female.

Suitable water

In general, velifera mollies are not too demanding on water indicators, but in order for the fish to feel as comfortable as possible, you should not go beyond them.

Optimal water pH is between 7 and 8.8. The hardness should be quite high - between 8 and 25. If the water in your area is too soft, then it would be useful to put some natural shells in the aquarium. They will not only create additional comfort and 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 - incold winter months, and also 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 fluctuations that can undermine their he alth.

To s alt or not to s alt?

Another very important issue related to water in a mollies aquarium is salinity. As mentioned above, velifera mollies are fish that live well both in fresh water and in slightly s alty water. Therefore, the breeder has a rare opportunity to independently make a decision on this topic. Moreover, each option has certain advantages. Here's a reason for each.

Experts say that s alt water promotes brighter colors in fish. That is, individuals living in s alt water look much more beautiful, which is important for any aquarist. The s alt content should not be high - about 1 gram per liter of water. That is, one teaspoon of s alt (without a slide) is enough for about 7 liters of water.

On the other hand, relatively few aquarium fish live in s alt water. If you want to put in an aquarium not only mollies, but also representatives of other breeds that thrive only in fresh water, then it would be better not to add s alt to the water.

Building the Perfect Aquarium

Choosing the right aquarium, equipment and decor is an extremely important parameter for fish. And mollies, the maintenance and care of which became the topic of our review, are no exception at all. How to avoid mistakes here?

Let's start with volume. The capacity of the aquarium should be at least 80-100 liters. In such a volume, a flock of 15-20 mollies, as well as a small number of large or medium-sized fish, with which they can get along well, may well live. The upper bar is not limited at all. In fact, the larger the aquarium, the better. The fish will feel more comfortable and cozy, which will grow to a more impressive size.

The filter should also be considered. On the one hand, he will be able to collect organic garbage - leftover food and feces from fish. Also, the filter creates, albeit weak, but a current. Thanks to this, mollies feel more active, swim more, which contributes to muscle building, excellent he alth and, consequently, strong immunity.

Small pebbles or coarse river sand can be used as soil. The main thing is that they do not have sharp edges. Mollies are not averse to collecting food that has fallen to the bottom, and may well get hurt on them. In addition, it is advisable to choose a soil that is not too shallow in order to provide at least some access of oxygen to the roots of plants - without this, they may well die. Also, the space between the particles of coarse soil is clogged with organic matter, which serves as a top dressing 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 with plants. It is not always possible to track the moment when the female mollies begins to give birth. Unfortunately, they are not the best parents and may well enjoynewborns. And dense thickets make it possible for at least a small number of juveniles to survive.

What to feed them?

Now we come to one of the most important points in the content of yellow mollies - the composition of the diet. They are slightly more difficult to feed than most popular livebearers like guppies, platies and swordtails.

Of course, the ideal solution would be regular bloodworm feeding. Live food contains almost everything necessary for the fish to feel great. Also, a pipe maker is a good choice - you can usually buy it, live or frozen, without any problems.

However, in addition to live food, mollies also need greens - the fish are quite demanding on vitamins. If there is not enough vitamins A and D in the diet, then they may well get sick or start nibbling 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 the mollies. Young dandelion, lettuce, nettle, and even cabbage leaves are also good choices. But they need to be scalded with boiling water (to disinfect and make softer), and then finely chopped. However, fish should be taught to such a diet from childhood. Otherwise, they will start to refuse greens.

If it is not possible to give the fish live and green food, you can also use dry food. But in this case, try to buy special fortified granules. Yes, they cost more. But they do not containonly balanced nutrients, but also vitamins.

According to some breeders, mollies eat well cereals - rice and oatmeal - scalded with boiling water. But they deteriorate quite quickly, so 15-20 minutes after feeding, you need to clean 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 mollies. This was discussed above. A couple of producers (at the age of 8 months, the most beautiful and largest) are divided into different containers 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 will do. There should be a lot of algae here.

After a week, the male is returned to the aquarium, and the female is left in the spawning area until spawning. Usually a strong fish can bring 40-60 fry. The female must be removed immediately after giving birth so that she does not eat the juveniles. Although there is an opinion that mollies do not eat fry, this is far from always the case.

Working with youth

Mollies do not cause much trouble. The main thing is to provide them with good feeding. At first, brine shrimp nauplii and cyclops will be the best choice. When the fish grow up, you can switch to young daphnia - an excellent food for young fish. After another two or three weeks, a small bloodworm or tubifex should be introduced into the diet. After a month, juvenile mollies are old enough toshe could be given the usual tubifex, bloodworms and finely chopped earthworms (it is advisable to wash them in advance or hold them in cottage cheese for several days).

Suitable neighbors

In general, mollies have no problems with compatibility. But still, not all neighbors are suitable - these large beautiful fish get along rather poorly with some.

First of all, you should consider whether you use s alt water in the aquarium or not. In the first case, it is advisable to choose only sea fish - their choice in our stores is not very large. But for freshwater, picking up neighbors will not be difficult at all.

Any small and peaceful fish will be a good choice. For example, guppies, platies, neons, zebrafish. But swordtails and Sumatran barbs cannot 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 aquarium inhabitants 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 talking about diseases that can cause problems for goldenlyretail mollies.

In general, they usually have good immunity - if they are not disturbed by aggressive neighbors and they are fed well and variously. However, if the composition of the water is not suitable (too low acidity and hardness), then immunity drops, fungal and bacterial diseases may occur. The easiest way to treat is to eliminate care errors. You can also put sick fish in relatively hard s alty water - about 2 grams of s alt per liter of water. S alt usually destroys microorganisms that cause bacterial and fungal diseases.

Conclusion

This concludes our article. As you can see, the maintenance and care of Velifera mollies are quite simple. This means that you can easily create ideal living conditions for these beautiful fish.