White Molly Fish has been a frequent guest in hobbyist home aquariums for many years. These fish are picky about care and nutrition and are also easily bred without creating specific conditions.
We must not forget about the calm nature of mollies, they are perfect for a general aquarium. In our article, we will tell you about the popular form of mollies – The white molly fish!
Table of Contents
General Information
The classic color variant for the mollies has always been considered velvet black. However, people engaged in breeding new breeds always strive to create something new and unusual.
This is how white mollies were born. This name is collective and is applied to the white forms of both Sailfin Molly (Poecilia latipinna) and Giant Sailfin Mollies (Poecilia velifera), not to mention various hybrids.
It is important to note that white mollies are not albinos.
Except for body color, white mollies are no different from their congeners. This is all the same unpretentious fish that gets along well with other decorative species.
Mollies are viviparous fish thus, The development of eggs occurs in the womb of the female, and already fully formed fry are born, ready for independent feeding.
This makes it easy for even novice aquarists to get offspring. Also, the simplicity of breeding gives everyone a chance to feel like a breeder and the opportunity to get a new color form of fish.
Appearance
White mollies have a body that is elongated and laterally compressed. The head is small, the mouth is upper. The eyes are large, black, and stand out in contrast against the background of the white body.
The dorsal fin can be either small or well developed. It can be transparent or white dots. The caudal fin is rounded or lyre-shaped. White Mollies can grow up to 10 cm in length, females are larger than males.
In white mollies, sexual dimorphism is pronounced: the anal fin in males is transformed into a special tubular organ – the gonopodium, while in females it remains a standard triangular shape.
The life span of white molly in an aquarium is 3-5 years.
White Molly Habitat
White mollies are the result of the work of breeders, thus you will not find them in the wild. Ancestral forms live mainly in Central America.
At the same time, the fish feels calm both in fresh and slightly salty water (places where rivers flow into the ocean). The ability to tolerate a slight increase in salinity came from the natural forms of white mollies.
In-home aquariums, white mollies can be found all over the world. They come on sale from special fish farms or local breeders.
White Molly Fish Aquarium Decor
To keep white mollies, you need an aquarium with a volume of 50 liters or more. It is better not to keep the fish alone, it is recommended that there are two or three females for one male.
This will reduce intraspecific aggression. The aquarium should be equipped with a lid, as actively floating mollies often jump out of the tank.
Pebbles of a medium fraction are laid at the bottom of the aquarium. It is best if it is dark in color, then the fish will look brighter. The decor is selected according to personal preference.
Natural driftwood and stones will look good. It is advisable to make more shelters, females who are not ready for spawning can hide in them. White mollies occupy the upper and middle layers of the aquarium.
Don’t forget to put live plants in your mollies aquarium. Fish go well with them, only occasionally they can pinch delicate leaves in some species.
Feeds with a high content of plant components must be included in the diet of fish so that mollies don’t pinch plants of the aquarium.
The lighting is selected based on the needs of the plants, the fish themselves feel good even in bright light. The mollies love clean water with a high oxygen content, so be sure to install a filter and compressor in your aquarium.
White Molly Fish Care
White mollies are hardy fish that easily adapt to various water conditions. The main thing is that the changes in indicators are not abrupt. Mollies do not like water that is too soft, it is better if it is of medium hardness.
Once a week, You need to replace 20% of the water in the tank. To prepare tap water, it is recommended to add Tetra AquaSafe conditioner, which instantly removes chlorine compounds and heavy metals and makes the water safe for mollies.
Optimum water parameters for the aquarium: T = 23-28 ° C, pH = 7.0-8.0, GH = 10-20.
White mollies can tolerate a slight increase in salinity (up to 2-3 g / liter of water). But it should be remembered that this should not be done in shared aquariums, as not all species will be able to withstand it.
Such recommendations can often be found, but they are not mandatory, because white mollies feel great in freshwater.
White Molly Fish Tank Mates
White molly fish is peaceful and friendly fish, therefore they are among the best candidates for a general aquarium.
It is recommended to keep white mollies with tank mates like Swordtails, Odessa Barbs, Tiger Barbs, Denison Barb, Zebrafish, tetras, Rainbowfish, Harlequin rasbora, and peaceful catfish – Hypostomus, Corydoras, etc
You should not keep your white mollies with large predatory fishes like Oscar Fish, Flowerhorn Fish, Parrot Cichlid.
If you want to maintain a clean line of white mollies, then you should not combine them in the same tank with other color forms.
Although the combined content of black and white mollies looks very impressive.
Feeding White Mollies
White mollies are omnivorous fish; food of animal and plant origin should be present in their diet. Fish easily accept any kind of food: live, frozen, natural vegetables.
However, they have many disadvantages – imbalance, the ability to carry infections. They can also quickly degrade water quality.
Therefore, it is best to stay in the high-quality dry food. They contain the whole range of nutrients, enriched with vitamins and functional additives.
Due to the good digestibility of the components, the pollution of the aquarium with fish waste is reduced.
You should feed white mollies two times a day with a small portion of the feed and make sure It is completely eaten by the fish in a few minutes.
It is also recommended to keep a fasting day for mollies once a week. On days like these, they can be beneficial by eating up some algal growth in the aquarium.
Breeding
Getting mollies’ offspring at home is easy. These are viviparous fish, they do not need to create specific conditions for reproduction.
If you have a couple of fish, sooner or later you will be able to find small fry hiding among small-leaved plants, soil, or decorations.
It is very easy to distinguish the male of the white mollies from the female. Just look at the fish’s anal fin. If it looks like a tube (gonopodia), then you have a male in front of you, but if the fin of a standard shape is a female.
White mollies become sexually mature at the age of about a year, females a little earlier. The male chases the female for some time, and then, with the help of the gonopodium, introduces the sexual products directly into her abdominal cavity.
Fertilization takes place here, after which a fully formed fry will be born.
It is better to transfer a female ready for “childbirth” to a special jig or a separate spawning aquarium. This will increase the chances of survival of the offspring because, in the common aquarium, the fry can be eaten not only by neighbors but also by the mother herself.
FRY
Signs indicating the imminent appearance of fry: swelling of the abdomen, an increase in the dark spot near the anal fin (poorly noticeable in black species), swelling of the anus, and frequent solitude of females in dense vegetation.
An interesting fact: the male reproductive products can be stored in the female’s body for a long time, gradually fertilizing the eggs. Therefore, the appearance of offspring is possible even if there is only one fish in the aquarium.
The development of eggs in a female’s body takes about a month. The higher the water temperature, the faster the incubation goes.
The fertility of female white mollies is high – from 50 to 350 fry. The fry is capable of self-feeding immediately after birth. TetraMin Baby fry feed is perfect for feeding.
William Smith is an Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology & holds 5+ years of experience in fishkeeping. Inspired by his grandfather’s aquariums, he created CichlidTips.com to help both novices and seasoned fishkeepers. His expertise spans aquarium setup, maintenance, fish behavior, and health. William constantly researches to provide up-to-date and accurate content, aiming to make CichlidTips.com a trusted resource in the fishkeeping community. He encourages engagement with fellow enthusiasts for mutual growth and improvement in this captivating hobby.
