Chocolate Molly 5cm

Chocolate Molly

Mollies would quite possibly be one of the best entry-level fish for aquarists. After goldfish, they are one of the first tropical species that aquarists get into; however, mollies offer so many amazing traits aside from being just a beginner fish. With quite literally hundreds of colour variations, mollies make for a downright fantastic fish to add to a community aquarium or a species-only aquarium, as they are filled with activity, personality, and look stunning.

Whee most mollies tend to have an incredibly bright colour palette, the chocolate Molly, as the name suggests, is a uniform chocolate brown colour. The only mild contrast in these fish would be the slightly lighter fin colours and the eyes however, they are still a beautiful strain in their own regard. Putting these fish in a bright planted tank would really make them pop; they can also be mixed into a group of brighter coloured mollies to create a unique contrast too. Mollies are one of the larger growing livebearer fish, meaning they give birth to live young and are closely related to guppies and platies.

The Chocolate Molly can be expected to reach around 10 cm, which makes them a great, larger, peaceful fish to add to community aquariums. Mollies are also a great fish to add to planted aquariums, as they make for surprisingly good hair algae eaters, they constantly peck at plant leaves and almost scrub plants and rocks clean with their mouth, but are overall just a great fish for both beginners and well-seasoned aquarists to enjoy and experience. One other amazing fact about these fish is they mollies can live in full fresh, brackish, and saltwater, which just shows how hardy they are. The wild habitat of the Molly is widespread from South America to Mexico.

Tank Recommendations for your Chocolate Molly

Being a fish that grows to around 10 cm but remains relatively easy to care for, the black molly can be kept in a fairly small aquarium with a minimum being 75 Litres. However, a larger size is always recommended for these fish due to their size and active nature. A sand or gravel substrate would be fine for these fish as well. However, because mollies like alkaline or high pH environments, 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. As mentioned, mollies are in fact considered to be a 'hard water fish meaning they prefer the water to have an elevated PH and are not like a tetra. This higher PH of 7 - 8 can be achieved with a PH buffer or African cichlid lake conditioning salts.

Suitable Tank Buddies

The chocolate 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 slower-moving fish should be avoided as 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 apistogramma or angelfish

Rarely Compatible

Large and aggressive species that would prey on the mollies, such as oscars and very slow-moving fish like discus or borneo suckers.

Feeding your Chocolate Molly

The Chocolate Molly is a very easy fish to feed. They will take a wide range of molly food such as pellets, flakes, and frozen foods. Just like any fish, though, they should be fed a varied diet with a mix of different foods. The ideal diet would be a good quality micro slow sinking pellet or crushed flake, supplemented with frozen bloodworms or black worms, or even live foods like baby brine shrimp or micro worms.