Freshwater

100
Part II: Fish and How to Care for Them
Figure 8-3:
Mollies
come in a
huge variety
of colors
and
patterns.
If you want to breed this fish, you should have a ratio of one male to three
females for best results. Having more females helps to ensure that breeding
will occur, and will keep the male from harassing one female constantly.
Harassment can lead to stress, illness, and death.
Swordtails can reach average lengths of up to 5 inches in captivity and will
live 3–5 years in good water conditions.
Sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna)
The sailfin molly (Figure 8-3) is a beautiful species native to the brackish
waters of the United States and Mexico. The male’s dorsal fin, when erect,
looks like the sail on a ship. Keep mollies in a well-planted tank and provide
extra vegetation in their diet.
This species can be aggressive toward smaller fish, but generally makes a
great community member. Good tankmates include corys, swordtails,
angelfish, tetras such as the red serapae, and platys.
Mollies enjoy slightly salty water, so you can add about one teaspoon of salt for
every 5 gallons of water to make them happy. Keep the water between 78–82
degrees. The sailfin molly is omnivorous and swims in all levels of the tank, and
generally grows up to lengths of 4 inches during their 3–5-year lifetime.
The one thing we really like about all mollies in general is that they come in
such an amazing variety of colors and patterns (marble, patches, metallic, tricolors,
and so on). Their round bodies are cool to watch as they make their
way through your aquarium.
Make sure that the other species you keep with livebearers can tolerate the
extra salt before you add it to their aquarium. If not, mollies can live well
without it.