Scientific Name: Poecilia sphenops
Common Name: Balloon Molly, Balloon Belly Molly, Belly Mollies, Pot Belly Molly
Adult Size: 3 - 4 inches
Life Expectancy: 3 - 5 years
Habitat: North and South America
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons
Ideal Tank Conditions:
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Temperature Range: 75 - 82°F
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pH Range: 7.5 - 8.5
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Water Hardness: 10 - 25
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet & Nutrition: Omnivores that prefer a simple but protein-rich diet. They can a balanced diet including flakes and pellets, live foods, or frozen foods such as bloodworms, shrimps, daphnia, and mosquito larvae. They can also be fed vegetables such as spinach, zucchini, or spirulina flakes. Advise feeding algae wafers or pellets in their diet to mimic their natural behavior and fulfill their instincts.
Breeding & Spawning: These are livebearers so it is fairly easy provided that they're given the right meaty foods, proper aquarium size, and ideal water quality conditions. They're very peaceful fish, ideal for community tanks, however, they eat their young ones. Therefore, it’s best to separate Molly babies from their parents. The female Molly is able to reproduce 40 to 50 tiny babies. Thus, breeding becomes a breeze. Also, the breeding tank should have live plants to maintain the’s health and provide your fish with lots of hiding places.
Gender: The male fish are smaller and slimmer than females. Male fish also have modified anal fins that fertilize the females during breeding. Comparatively, females are bigger in size and have round anal fins.
