Assorted Male Sailfin Molly 6.5cm

Assorted Male Sailfin Molly

Sailfin Mollies would quite possibly be one of the best entry-level fish for aquarists. These mollies are also incredibly striking fish that reach a great size, look stunning, and offer so many amazing traits aside from being just a 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 offer a very rewarding experience.

Though the years of selective breeding, the sailfin molly now comes in an assortment of colours but the most common colours are generally varying shades of red, white, orange, and black. Because of all the ranging colours, it looks stunning to have a large group of these fish in an aquarium. These sailfin 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 the Molly is widespread from South America to Mexico.

Tank Recommendations for your Assorted Male Sailfin Molly

Being a fish that grows to around 12 cm but remains relatively easy to care for, the sailfin molly can be kept in a fairly small aquarium with the 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, sailfin mollies are 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 sailfin 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 these 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 would prey on the mollies such as Oscars and very slow-moving fish like discus or Borneo suckers which would be outcompeted by the sailfin mollies.

Feeding your Assorted Male Sailfin Moly

The sailfin molly is a 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 floating pellet or flake, supplemented with frozen bloodworms, black worms, or even live foods like baby brine shrimp.