Among a large number of aquarium fish, in addition to the well-known swordsmen, white mollies is another popular variety. But not only this color is preferred, others, on the contrary, like black representatives of the home marine fauna.
In addition, these fish are distinguished by their unpretentiousness and reproduce without throwing eggs, that is, they are viviparous. Many lovers also like to breed such a variety as guppies. And mollynesia, or, as it is still lovingly called, molly, is their closest relative.
Fish Description
By its appearance, white mollinesia resembles a snowflake due to the shade of scales. Regardless of the variety of fish, females will always be larger than males, with the exception of the mollies of Peten. Under natural conditions, females can grow up to 16 cm, while male representatives, as a rule, can grow no more than 10 cm.
However, in an aquarium, their dimensions are much smaller, one and a half times - from 4 to 6 cm, depending on the species. There are dwarf fish, the length of which reaches no more than 3 cm.
In the natural habitat, the fish are modestly colored - there is silver mollies, sometimes with a yellow tint, while the stomach has a lighter color in contrast to the back. Also found in nature are yellowish-gray fish.
In addition to the main background, there are gray-bluish, bluish-black or yellow-green spots that are scattered throughout the body. Despite such a modest color, both males and females look quite attractive.
As for the shape of the body, it has an elongated and laterally compressed shape. The head is small, the mouth is upper, but the eyes are rather large. The fins in most cases are short, except for the type of velifer, which has a very developed fin on the back.
Due to the efforts of breeders, a variety of mollies was obtained in various shades - black, yellow, snow-white, etc.
Habitat
The natural habitat of these fish is Central America and the south of the USA. Nevertheless, some species have been found in the northern part of the country, as well as in Mexico (Mollinesia sphenops). As a rule, these are saline reservoirs in Virginia, Florida, Texas, Carolina.
In Guatemala, you can meet fish mollinies species Peten and free. Sailing Mollinesia, or Velifer, prefers to inhabit fresh rivers and lakes of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. In the future, the fish spread to other countries:
- Singapore.
- Israel.
- Japan
- Taiwan.
Many species live mainly in aquariums and cannot be found in the wild. In the wild, mollinesia prefers fresh and brackish waters, and mostly swims in bays or sea coasts. These fish can be filled with brackish lower reaches of a number of rivers that flow into the Atlantic Ocean.
Care Features
For the content of white mollinsia there is no need to purchase an aquarium too large, with a capacity of up to 200 or more liters. After all, they have a fairly modest size. Large aquariums will come in handy for other purposes when breeding of more than one species is planned. On average, up to 6 liters (no less) of water should be provided for each pair of fish. In this case, the height and width of the walls should be the same size.
Mollinesia became widespread just due to the unpretentiousness of the conditions of detention. Even novice aquarists, who still have little experience in such matters, will be able to maintain them without much difficulty.
It is worth noting that these are collective fish - during the day they can swim alone or in small groups. But at night they gather in flocks near the surface of the water.
In addition, the aquarium should be densely planted with vegetation, where the fish will feel safe - there they can hide. At the same time, for proper care of white snowflake mollinsia, another important condition is the maintenance of biological balance in the aquatic environment.
Neighborhood
In addition to the fact that mollies are unpretentious in terms of content, they are also peaceful. Fish are able to get along with many representatives of the domestic marine fauna. However, they will not tolerate neighborhood with tiger-colored barbs. Otherwise, the conflict simply cannot be avoided. By the way, it is best that there are more females than males in a flock.
But in addition to barbs of mollies, they also get along badly with some other representatives of the fauna:
- cichlids;
- blackheads;
- goldfish;
- koi carps;
- astronotuses;
- shrimp
- tetradons;
- predatory catfish - sack-branch, clarius, red-tailed, orca.
Successful coexistence is possible when all the fish in the aquarium are the same size as the molly. Everything else, it’s worth picking up a fairly spacious aquarium, otherwise males will chase each other because of cramped conditions.
Feeding
Like other animals (not only the inhabitants of the water element), mollies fish need a varied diet. In this case, the menu from time to time should be diluted with food not only of plant but also animal origin. That is, the fish are for the most part omnivorous - they enjoy eating live, dry, frozen food. This is another advantage for which they are very much appreciated, in addition to unpretentiousness.
At the same time, you can’t give them food only of animal origin, since the basis of their diet is plant foods, which contain fiber. If it does not enter the body of fish for a long time, this threatens to disrupt the digestive tract. Therefore, they can even bite local plants.
Optimum technical conditions of detention
In order for the fish to feel good in artificially created conditions, it is necessary to create an environment that is as close as possible to the natural habitat. Many aquarists are interested in the question of how much white mollinsia bears fry. In particular, it is often asked by those who plan to engage in breeding for the purpose of further sale.
This is largely due to certain technical parameters that these fish need:
- Biological filtration - for comfort and safety.
- Aeration should be intense.
- The acidity of water (pH) is 7.2-8.5.
- The rigidity of the aquatic environment (dH) - from 10% to 35% - while deliberately lowering the minimum limit is highly recommended.
- Lighting - let it be bright, sunny or artificial (from 0.5 to 0.7 W / l).
- The daylight hours should be no more than 12 hours.
- As the soil, gravel of medium fraction can be used.
- The water temperature should be in the range from 22 ° C to 30 ° C.
If the conditions of detention for any reason were violated, the fish will react to this with their behavior. If there is very little oxygen, they are mostly collected at the surface itself. With severe water pollution, the activity of molliesia decreases noticeably - it becomes sluggish, presses the fins and can even freeze in one place.
Gender
If you need to breed white fish, you should know how to determine their gender. To do this, take a closer look, and you can find a number of differences between females and males:
- As already noted, females are noticeably larger than males. In addition, the females have a round belly; the anal fin has the shape of a triangle.
- Typically, mollies, like, however, all viviparous fish, are able to change sex depending on living conditions. Such a function is laid down by nature itself and is relevant in order to preserve the population in case of emergency.
- The anal fin in males looks like a tube.
Potentially mature parents can be prepared for posterity. In this case, you can do full breeding for sale. Only this process should be approached responsibly.
Features of the reproduction of white mollinsia
As noted above, mollies are viviparous fish, but pregnancy cannot do without caviar - it matures in their abdominal cavity. After this, a kind of intrauterine development of the fry continues, which subsequently is born at the appointed time.
Puberty in males occurs noticeably later than in females - from the 8th to 12th months of life. In females, this process on average takes 5-6 months. If conditions allow, then the fish can bring babies every month. For this purpose, males have a special organ called gonopodia. It has a gutter with which the seminal fluid is transmitted to the female. The organ is also equipped with a hook to hold in the process of fertilization.
Males in one copulation are able to fertilize a large number of eggs. At the same time, some of them begin to develop immediately after the process, while the rest expect the next spawning. That is, even in the absence of a male, a female of white mollinesia is able to give birth to fry, more than once, since the seminal fluid persists for some time. Without a male, a female can give birth to babies for another 6 months. In other words, nature has provided for everything here.
Separate "apartments"
Mollinsia can breed in a common aquarium with the rest of the fish, but for reliability it is better to plant a pregnant female in a different container. You can calculate the date of the approaching birth by the last spawning. Separate "apartment" is an aquarium with a volume of at least 5 liters, but all 10 is better. Under such conditions, her pregnancy will proceed more calmly and without stress.
Spawning should also be equipped with plants and various shelters. A mother can without hesitation gobble up her baby without a twinge of conscience if she manages to catch the “prey”. There should also be aeration and filtration with a gentle flow. The temperature regime should be maintained in the region of +26 ° C.
To increase the immunity of the fry of white mollinsia, slightly salt the water - for this, sea salt is added at the rate of 1 tsp. 20 liters. If the conditions for spawning are different from the limits of the norm, the female may even refuse to give birth. In the worst case, stillborn fry or premature caviar are born. In addition, the reason for the unsuccessful spawning may be a close capacity or high temperature - more than +28 ° .
30 days after the birth, the fry can be transplanted into a common aquarium, without fear that they might be threatened by anything.
Pregnancy
In females of mollinsia, the gestation period of fry can last about 60 days, but more often from 30 to 45 days. The “interesting position” of the mother can be determined by the corresponding signs - a dark spot in the lower abdomen and a gradually increasing size of the abdomen. In addition, she will hold on to the thickets of the aquarium.
The spawning process in most cases begins in the morning. The number of fry depends on various factors, among which are the age and size of the female. Moreover, if this is her first pregnancy, then the number of children will vary from 50 to 100, again, depending on the "size" of the female white mollies. Sexually mature females are able to bring up to 200 fry.
After the birth of the fry, the female can be placed in a common aquarium. Only it should be monitored for her condition, because male reproductive cells are still inside the female body. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that after some time another spawning will come again. Then the female will again need to be placed in separate "apartments".
It is better to feed a pregnant female than ordinary fish. Her daily diet should be increased, enriching it with vitamins and other useful and necessary trace elements. This also applies to males that have been selected for fertilization.
Young growth
Newborn mollies are almost invisible, because they are transparent and merge with the aquatic environment. However, there is no cause for concern - even when they are still very small, special care is not required. At the same time, it is necessary to monitor their development.
Unlike the fry of the same guppies, newborn malls are much weaker, and therefore they do not rise from the bottom immediately after their birth. Basically, they lie on the ground or leaves of plants. And in this regard, young molly needs a frequent change of water, as fry are very sensitive to its pollution.
Fry feeding
Immediately after birth, the offspring can already eat on their own, they do not need parental care too much.
The diet of fry of white molliesia, the description of which is presented in the article, of the starter feed may include the following:
- Cyclops;
- live dust;
- nauplii;
- brine shrimp;
- finely chopped pipe maker;
- shredded artificial feed.
Fry can be fed with the same foods as adult fish, only previously they should be finely ground. Cubs grow quite quickly and therefore need frequent refreshments throughout the day. Here you can draw a parallel with human newborns - because they also eat little by little, but often.