Balloon Molly Fish is a hybrid of the Sailfin Molly Fish which belongs to the family of Poecilia latipinna.
These are also known by the name of “Pot Belly Mollies”. Having a very peaceful temperament they are easy to keep especially for beginners. These are also some of the most underrated fishes ever.
What Color, Size, and Shape They Do Have?
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Balloon Mollies exist in a beautiful combination of White, Yellow, and Black colors. Their color variations are eye-catching which provides a very peaceful and calming effect to the eyes.
Talking about their sizes and how big they can become, Balloon Mollies are the smallest one in all types of Molly Fishes. The adult mollies are about 2 inches in length while the maximum of their size is about 3 inches or 7-9 centimeters.
Tank Setup?
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Caring Balloon Mollies, usually require a 30-gallon aquarium or tank size for their efficient growth, enough swimming space, and proper oxygen level.
While they can also survive in a 20-gallon aquarium, but the most important features they require for sustaining and growing in any aquarium or tank are proper light, heater, filters, and freshwater with mixed salt with some additional rocks and plants for increased betterment.
Balloon mollies must need an aquarium heater because these are tropical fishes that need maintained water temperature and the PH level should be appropriately managed.
What To Feed?
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Balloon mollies are omnivorous as well as herbivorous (which means they can also eat algae).
As mollies are very active aquarium fishes, so they need a lot of food, approximately 2 to 3 times within a day.
They can eat
- Peas
- Algae
- Lettuce
- Plants and some other green foods can help in improving their health.
Breeding
Balloon Mollies are the livebearer which means they need a large sized aquarium or tank to breed and give birth to tiny fry directly.
The male mollies have a pointed and larger dorsal fin and the female mollies are smaller in size and have a rounded dorsal fin which differentiates both from each other.
Male Uses the pointed fin to make female pregnant. The Pregnant female has “gravid spot” as the pregnancy signal under the belly as shown below.
Male mollies easily mate with several females which can produce 20-40 babies at a time. Balloon mollies can also breed with other types of mollies.
But only a few numbers of fry (babies) can reach their adulthood others can become the food of other adult fishes in the tank.
Here is a Tip for Fry babies: If you want to save the fry or baby mollies to increase your number of fishes you can also place the newly born babies in a separate tank to save their life from other mollies to eat them.
However, the process of breeding takes about 28 days in warmer temperatures while more time would be required if the temperature is cooler.
Also Read:- Things You Should Know About Silver Dollar Fish
Life Span:
Mollies usually survive for about 3 to 5 years while all the types of mollies have a different life span.
Considering the life span of Balloon Mollies, they have a shorter life span than other kinds of mollies.
However, the life span can vary in different conditions.
Mollies like to live in ideal water temperature, pH level, and proper filtered water conditions can also survive more than the others, but not in severe conditions.
Especially for balloon mollies, it is essential to keep them in a suitable water. It conditions like saltwater or brackish water rather than keeping them in freshwater.
They can survive more in freshwater because this prevents them from several diseases and illness conditions.
As mollies love swimming, balloon mollies can’t swim very faster compared to other types. That is due to their balloon shaped belly.
Balloon mollies require special care due to their shorter life span and slower activities. Than other mollies because some larger sized. Faster mollies can also block their feeding routines leaving them with less food to feed.