Mollies are very interesting viviparous fish. It is very pleasant to breed them in an aquarium, because these fish are both beautiful and interesting. When deciding to start breeding, first of all determine which type of mollies you like best. Most often found in amateur aquariums Mollienesia sphenops and Mollienesia velifera, she is also sailing. Find a couple of good manufacturers. You can buy them on the market or at the pet store, but you need a female and a male, and for this you need to be able to distinguish between them.
It is necessary
Fin names
Instructions
Step 1
Consider the fish in the aquarium. Find where the anal fin is. It is located on the belly of the fish, near the anus, closest to the caudal fin. This fin is unpaired. In the female this fin has a triangular shape, in the male it is rolled up into a tube and is called "gonopodium". This fin serves for internal fertilization, since the fish is viviparous. On this basis, you can distinguish the sex in all viviparous fish.
Step 2
In some species of mollies (for example, in Mollienesia sphenops), males are slightly smaller than females. At the same time, there is a regularity: the smaller the male, the more active and the more capable of producing healthy offspring. In sailing mollies, the male, on the other hand, is larger than the female.
Step 3
An adult male Mollienesia velifera can be distinguished by its huge sail-like dorsal fin. From this fin the fish got its name - sailing. At the same time, the female's dorsal fin is the most common, not particularly large.
Step 4
Be attentive in the store and in the market. Not always beautiful fish are capable of reproduction. It happens that the owner of the aquarium buys luxurious "mollies" with paired fins ending in large tassels. Unfortunately, the anal fin also ends in a tassel. This fish is an industrial hybrid of guppy and mollies. It's called guppinesia. This hybrid is sterile, and trying to breed fish of this breed is useless.
