Minimum Aquarium Tank Size?
Mollies typically thrive best with 2-4 females per every 1 male. 5-6 mollies is the ideal amount of molly fish to have for a tank my size. I opted to getting a 20 gallon tank: not too small yet not too large for me to handle. You always want to have at least one gallon of water per inch of fish. Since mollies can grow to be 3 inches long, 6 mollies will be fine in 20 gallons of water.
Tank Mates? Keeping with Other Fish?
Other Mollies, Guppies, Platys, Swordtails, Gourami fish, Female Bettas, Endlers, Danios, Minnows, Tetras, Snails, Shrimp. All ‘livebearers’ like molly fish themselves get along great. They are all the same aggression levels and breed in the same manner. These are Platies, Swordtails, Guppies, Mollies and a couple more. You can’t go wrong with more livebearers with your mollies.
Best Food and Feeding Schedule?
We highly recommend the brand Omega One. Other fish foods on the market are sometimes full of “fillers” which aren’t good for fish. Spend a couple more dollars on a quality food for your fish. Omega one is quality food! And only feed once a day in the amount of what the fish can eat in a couple minutes.
Different Species, Types, and Variants?
Please visit this diagram found here to view the different species and variants.
Need a Heater? Water Temperature?
Mollies are tropical fish and come from habitats that are between 77-82 degrees Fahrenheit. That means you do need a heater. We recommend you buy a heater to the size of “5 watts per 1 gallon of water” of your tank size. We also recommend buying the eheim brand heaters because they are one of the best of quality and use less power than other brands. They have a larger heating element and work extremely effective.
Growth Size? Maximum Length
Genetics, smaller tank and if there are too many together will often prohibit growth. They have potential to grow that size, but not all will. I wish I could remember whose video I saw years back, was a walk through her fish room and she had some mollies that were over 6″ in one of her tanks. It’s a really cool sight.
Chasing, Nipping, and Aggression
You need to be careful because your fish will die if it becomes too stressed. This is why watching your fish and keeping an eye on them on a daily basis is important. When fish become too stressed out THEY DIE. So here are your options:
1. You can just remove the fish that’s chasing the other fish. Put the aggressive fish in a different fish aquarium. This is very simple if you have other fish tanks to utilize.
2. Try to deter the aggression in different ways. You can add a lot more hiding spots for the fish to hide. Fake plants, caves, and spots where the fish can hide instead of being stressed out all the time. You can also add other fish that may help deter the stress in other areas. You can also completely re-arrange the tank decorations and this may help.
Male or Female? Sexing?
Look at the anal fin – if there is a fin, it’s a female, if it’s a narrow “tube” it’s a male. I know that’s not the best answer.. but it’s literally that simple. Here is a diagram that will help you:
