Lyretail Black Molly 5cm

Lyretail Black Molly

 

The black molly is already one of the worlds most popular aquarium fish because of how bright, easy to care for and how readily they are available. Silver mollies make for a down right fantastic fish to add to a community aquarium or a species only aquarium as they are filled with activity, personality and look stunning. The lyretail moly takes all these features and enhances them with the beautiful crescent like tail.

 

As their name suggests black mollies are straight up jet black from head to tail. These fish can be so dark that the features of them like the pectoral fins, gils and eyes seem invisible as it all looks the same. It almost looks like a silhouette swimming around in the aquarium especially when they are against plants or a darker background. To take this further the lyre tail Molly has a pair of extensions on their tail fin which essentially look like streamers. 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 lyretail black molly an be expected to reach around 10 cm which make 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 that 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 Lyretail Black Molly

Being a fish which grows to around 10 cm but remain as a relatively easy to care for. The lyretail black molly can be kept in a fairly small aquarium with the minimum being 70 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 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 placed 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 lyretail black molly is a very peaceful aquarium fish which 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. As the lyretail silver mollies have extended tail fins, any fin nipping species should be excluded as they may pester the Molly.

 

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. Tiger barbs and similar fin nipping species should also be avoided.

 

Rarely Compatible

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

 

Feeding your Lyretail Black Molly

The lyretail black 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 high a floating nano pellet or flake due to their top dwelling behaviour. Giving them a nutritional food with a good protein will ensure on optimal health.