Molly fish are the most popular type of saltwater aquarium going. This is because Molly fish play an important part in a healthy and balanced marine ecosystem, as they eat dead or decaying matter that would otherwise build up on rockwork surfaces and other places around the tank.
No, Molly fish doesn’t eat dead fish. These fish will typically scavenge for food at all levels from top to bottom of your aquarium. They will eat both raw meaty foods and vegetable matter in the wild depending on what they can find, so you need to provide a variety of food types.
If you are thinking of bringing a Molly fish home, you might want answers to many related questions. So, this post is all about Molly fish. But, first, let’s take a look at some of the most commonly asked questions.
Do Molly Fish Eat Dead Fish?
Molly fish are one of the most common types of saltwater aquarium fish. However, these fish eat dead fish is a myth. They will not usually eat other species than their own, and even then, they’re picky about what dead ones they’ll go for.
Molly fish are mainly omnivorous and will eat plankton, worms, or small crustaceans. However, they prefer to feast on the live prey that swims by rather than eating dead ones lying around the tank.
Besides this, Molly fish will also eat live plants, algae, and smaller fish when there is enough food. However, these fish will also eat some dead fish in an unplanted tank without favorable water parameters. So, if you notice your fish missing in a Molly fish\s aquarium, this is the reason.
Why Do Molly Fish Eat Dead Fish?
Most Mollies are omnivorous, which means that they will eat both plants and meats. However, they can also consume parts of animals like carrion because it has a long digestive tract with efficient bacteria to break down these materials in its gut. In addition, Molly fish are scavengers, and so there is no reason why Molly’s could not ingest dead animal matter if it were available to them within their habitat range.
However, there are many reasons why Molly fish eat dead fish. Such as:
When You Have No Other Option
In some cases, Molly fish will eat dead animals as their only available food source. For instance, if Mollys live in a habitat without plant material or other small prey items such as insects and worms.
A Lack Of Healthy Prey
Molly Fish are opportunistic feeders who will take advantage when they can. They may also consume carrion because it doesn’t have to expend the energy needed for active hunting while getting protein-rich meat into its diet. Molly fish do not need to be starving before eating dead animal matter. Likely many times, Molly eats carrion out of preference rather than necessity due to availability!
Opportunity Cost
If Molly fish consume carrion, it means they will not have to hunt as much for other prey. This is a common strategy for animals like the African lion that live in areas where food sources are generally scarce and unpredictable or seasonally available.
Molly doesn’t bother to hunt or find other prey when the carrion is so easy to get. So, it will consume carrion when it is available.
For Fun
Molly fish are also famous for eating carrion for pleasure too. They will do this on occasion, just because they enjoy the taste of meaty dead animals. This may happen often enough that Molly Fish has evolved a mechanism in their immune system that helps them better digest carrion and other animal matter-containing proteins from decomposing carcasses with high uric acid levels. So it’s not all about survival for Mollyfish, after all!
Carrion Is Rich In Protein And Nutrients
Molly fish can safely consume rotting flesh without getting sick or infected by pathogens like E-coli bacteria due to its ability to produce enzymes that avoid these problems. Molly Fish also tend to eat the softer parts of a dead animal first, which means Molly fish can feed on carrion without getting sick.
To Get Rid Of Competition
Lastly, Molly may also consume dead animal matter to get rid of competition for food resources. For instance, Molly might consume one species of small invertebrate while another individual eats the plant material in that same area. In this case, it’s more likely Molly would only take advantage if they were hungry and their usual prey wasn’t available.
Is It Good To Let Molly Eat Dead Fish?
Molly fish will eat dead, fallen prey. Molly’s diet varies depending on where it is located in its environment, and they are typically bottom feeders.
Mollies are scavengers who will consume both living and dead foods offered by their owners at home aquariums. They usually occupy the lower regions of tanks due to this. Molly fish are omnivores. It’s not necessarily good for mollies to eat dead foods, but it also isn’t bad if they do either.
Some Benefits Of Molly Eating Dead Fish
Molly fish will most likely eat all parts of a dead animal, which means that owners don’t have to worry about the remains in their tank.
Molly’s appetite for food is not as selective when eating something like a dead fish because it has already died, and its organs may be more degraded than those of living prey animals. This also makes them better scavengers in aquariums with no other live food source available for Molly to consume.
Some Downsides Of Molly Eating Dead Fish
Some Molly species prefer foods with higher protein content, such as worms or crickets. However, suppose Molly’s diet doesn’t contain this protein. Then they may still choose to hunt down sources on their outside of an owner’s home aquarium. Unfortunately, Molly may also eat other dead fish in a tank, and over time, the population of Molly reduces to only those who will scavenge for food.
Molly should not solely rely on eating dead foods since they are omnivores, meaning that Molly needs different types of proteins, minerals, and vitamins to survive.
What Is The Best Diet For Molly Fish?
You may be wondering what Molly fish eat. There are many types of Molly fish, and they can live in fresh or saltwater. Molly’s mainly eat algae, but also some other aquatic plants such as eelgrass and seagrasses. In addition, Molly’s will occasionally feed on a small crustacean that falls into the pond from time to time. However, it is not their primary diet source by any means.
The best diet for molly fish would depend entirely on whether your Molly Fish lives in freshwater or saltwater conditions. If you have Mollies living in freshwater ponds, they need less protein-rich food. There isn’t typically much meat-based food at those levels due to bacteria problems with the decomposition of dead animals after they have died. On the other hand, Molly Fish in saltwater ponds need a higher percentage of protein-rich food. It is because there are usually more meaty, dead animals floating around their environment.
Moreover, the diet perfect for Molly fish in your fish tank is veggies like lettuce, cucumber, spinach, and protein-rich food like shrimp, silversides, and bloodworms. Molly fish love to eat live plants for their natural habitat, so you might want to consider adding these into Molly’s tank as well.
Some FAQs
Do Molly Fish Eat Their Fry?
Yes, Molly fish eat their fry. They are omnivorous and consume anything they can get in a pinch, including their own young. In aquariums, owners often feed MOlly fry by placing some food on top to stay there until eaten. But they are never efficient enough. So, it is not good to provide Mollies with tiny bits of food in the water that they don’t need to be fed by hand.
Do Molly Fish Eat Their Eggs?
Molly fish, like many other fish species, eat their eggs. Mollies eat the fry from the nest of a fellow molly by swallowing them whole and alive (not always). Some fishes also eat Molly’s eggs too but not just Molly adults.
What Does Molly Fish Eat?
As we’ve mentioned before in this post, Mollies are omnivorous, meaning they will eat anything. Therefore, they typically prey on zooplankton and other tiny organisms.
Molly fish sometimes attack smaller fry in an aquarium if there is nothing else available for them to consume. But Molly eggs are never a viable meal for Molly adults or fry (despite most Mollies do eat their eggs). These fish will even eat the live plants, algae, other fishes, snails, etc., that they find on their tank.
How Often Should You Feed Your Folly Fish?
It would help if you fed Molly fish twice per day, Or else they could get their mouths on. So, it is important to keep in mind that they might not always want the same things. It would be best to have various food types available for them: live, frozen, freeze-dried, or dead prey items like brine shrimp, tubifex worms, or Daphnia.
Molly fish can go without food for a week and still be healthy. But they need to eat something every day. So, it would be best if you didn’t wait until their stomachs are empty before feeding them again.
Conclusion
Some Molly fish are cannibalistic. They will also eat their dead fellow Molly fish. Molly Fish that don’t have teeth or small ones may need to be very hungry before eating a dead Molly. But usually, Molly fish don’t need to eat Molly Fish.
If there is any other information you would like me to add, please let me know in the comments below. I hope this post was helpful for your research and that you found it interesting as well. Thank you so much for reading my blog post today.