Golden & Black Molly 5cm

Golden & Black 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 beginner fish. With quite literally hundreds of colour variations, mollies make a downright fantastic fish to add to a community aquarium or a species-only aquarium as they are filled with activity, and personality and look stunning. 

The golden and black molly is arguably one of the most contrasting fish with their split gold and black colouration. Starting from the face and going to the dorsal fin, the bright gold colouration is present which is broken up by black scales that lead into the jet-black tail end. Each fish will have varying levels of gold and black but the contrast they offer is simply stunning regardless of the aquarium setting. The gold & black mollies especially would make for a great breeding project to see if the colours can be developed to be more refined or isolated colours to specific parts of the body. 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 black and gold 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 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 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 Molly is widespread from South America to Mexico.

Tank Recommendations for your Golden & Black Molly

Being a fish, which grows to around 10 cm but remains relatively easy to care for, the black molly can be kept in a fairly small aquarium with the minimum being 75 Liters. 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 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. As mentioned, mollies are in fact considered to be ‘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 black and gold 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 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 which would prey on the mollies such as oscars and very slow-moving fish like discus or borneo suckers. 

Feeding your Gold and Black Molly

The black and gold molly are very easy fish to feed. They will take a wide range of 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.