Black Red Tail - Freshwater Molly 3.5cm

Black Red Tail - Freshwater Molly

Mini Mollys are incredibly overlooked fish as they often get overshadowed by the larger common mollies. These adorable little fish are in fact naturally occurring in the wild and are not a short body or genetic anomaly which is the most surprising thing! Just like so many aquarium fish, these have a range of different colours they come in due to captive breeding. One other but contrasting colour variation of the mini molly is the black-red-tail molly. These fish also stay small at only 5 cm which makes them great for smaller aquariums.

These Mollys are a great and just downright contrasting strain with a jet-black body and just the slightest red rim on the fins. These are a newer strain in the aquarium hobby and will be fantastic to add to a brighter aquarium given how well these fish will stand out. They also offer a lot of utility behaviours such as cleaning up hair algae on plants which makes them the perfect planted aquarium fish!

Black red tail Mini Mollies are also live bearers much like other species in the Poecilia family meaning they give birth to live young. One other amazing fact about these fish is they can live in full fresh, brackish, and saltwater which just shows how hardy they are. The wild habitat of the mini molly is widespread from South America to Mexico.

Tank Recommendations for your Black Red Tail Mini Molly

Being a fish that grows to only 5 cm and remains very easy to care for, the golden mini molly can be kept in a small aquarium with the minimum being 40 litres. A sand or gravel substrate would be fine for these fish as well as they spend most of their time exclusively at the top of the aquarium. However because mini mollies like alkaline or high pH. environments a crushed coral or aragonite sand would be optimal. They will also enjoy plants in the aquarium with great options being ferns, Anubias, pogostemon, and vallesneria as these are large and denser growing plants and allow for great natural breeding grounds and places for fry to grow.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The Mini Molly is a very peaceful aquarium fish that can get along with a wide range of tank mates both in fresh and saltwater conditions. They are great with a wide range of community aquarium fish however slower moving fish should be avoided as mini mollies may outcompete them.

Usually Compatible

Rainbow fish, mudskippers, platies, danios, loaches, and a lot of other common aquarium fish.

Sometimes Compatible

Smaller-sized fish such as neon or cardinal tetras, bottom-dwelling fish such as Corydoras, and certain slower-moving species like millstream loaches.

Rarely Compatible

Large and aggressive species that would prey on the mollies such as oscars.

Feeding your Black Red Tail Mini Molly

The black red tail mini molly is very easy to feed once it is settled into the aquarium. It will readily eat a wide range of foods but would prefer to have a floating nano pellet or flake due to its top-dwelling behaviour. Giving them a nutritional food with good protein will ensure optimal health, this can further be supplemented with frozen foods like Brine or Mysis shrimp.