Mollies are undoubtedly beautiful fish to look at. Their vibrant color and excellent body structure make them magnificent to watch when they swim. Similarly, baby Mollies follow a similar path lane as their parents but will always leave questions about what you should look at when the breeding season begins. Do you know what a baby Molly fish look like?
Baby Mollies are transparent with a little hint of colors they inherit from their parents. You will find blackish eyes in their small bodies and have very little detail all over. However, some of them hinted at where their fins are and a sharper tail area in the beginning.
Moreover, Baby Molly fish can be a tricky question to answer. Therefore, this blog post will assist with Baby Molly’s fish appearance and can help you determine if your baby molly is a boy or girl.
What Does a Baby Molly Look Like?
Baby Mollies are a type of fish present in the Amazon region. You can identify them by bright and vibrant colors, including red, yellow, blue, or orange belly coloring.
Baby mollies have round bodies with no discernible spines on either side of their caudal peduncle (the section between the tail fin and the body). They also have dorsal fins that are smaller than their pelvic fins.
Size Of Baby Molly Fish
Baby molly is of half an inch size when the female molly gives birth to them. After that, they usually grow around one inch long in the first six months, but many factors can affect your baby’s growth rate, like water temperature and tank conditions.
Colors Of Baby Molly Fish
Well, it depends on the type of parent molly they have. Most of the time, you won’t see any colors in these fish, hence the transparency in the first few weeks.
While some come in dull colors like orange, red, yellow, or blue, depending on the colors, they are supposed to inherit from their parents.
Molly fish are a great beginner’s fish for anyone who wants to start breeding in the aquarium with live fish. These are the most popular tropical freshwater pet because of their vibrant colors and ease of care.
Body Structure Of Molly Fish
Baby Mollies have round bodies with no discernible spines on either side of their caudal peduncle (the section between the tail fin and body).
Fins Of Baby Molly Fish
Baby Mollies have dorsal fins that are smaller than their pelvic fins. Sometimes the fins are not evident when these fish are born and develop later on after you start taking care of molly fry.
Tails of baby Molly Fish
Honestly, the tail is not that visible in the first weeks; you might go in a shock to find a tailless molly fish. But I am here trying to warn you to brace yourself beforehand and have a little patience.
Does Baby Molly Fish Look Different From Their Parents?
Now, I need to understand what you mean here. If you are talking about right after they are born, of course, they don’t get exactly the photocopy version of the adult molly.
Do human babies look like their parents? However, they are smaller and are yet to develop in various ways. Hence, your fish are not that different than us.
Baby mollies are smaller and transparent, while adult mollies are quite big, plumper, have vivid colors, and of course, are the ones you see in most pet stores.
Trust when people say these babies will grow up to turn into what their parents look like. It will often look like the nearest parent to them when it is time for them to be born.
For example, if you breed two female mollies together with orange bodies with black spots, their babies will probably all have orange bodies with black spots. Baby fish do not always look like the parent they are born from, but this is how it goes.
Interbreeding Changes The Look Of Baby Molly Fish
Baby molly fish are generally magnificent. Baby mollies can have a lot of different colors and markings in all kinds of combinations.
But the look of baby Molly changes a lot. They will continue to change as they grow up. As long as their parents were healthy specimens, you will not see any significant changes in their appearance.
Baby fish will always look no different compared to adults. They retain the same general shape and color patterns.
But sometimes, you’ll notice that baby Molly looks slightly different from what they looked after birth. The main reason for this is interbreeding – especially when the fish cross breed with another type of Molly.
This change in appearance can sometimes go unnoticed because baby Molly is tiny when they are born, and their colors may appear dull or faded compared to an adult’s.
What Does A Full Grown Baby Molly Look Like?
A baby molly will overgrow and look very different from a full-grown adult. They will have small black eyes, while adults feature much larger ones that can be red or brown depending upon the species.
These fish generally reach an average length of about two inches, double their size at birth. Mollies typically live for four to five years, but a molly can live as long as seven or eight years with proper care.
Baby Mollies are generally greyish silver and have black eyes, while growing up develop similar photographic features as their parent.
Baby Mollies typically reach an average length of about three to four inches after 1 or 2 years, double their size at birth.
How To Improve The Look Of Baby Molly Fish?
Baby molly fish will grow into an adult within a month, and the length of their bodies should be around two inches.
Although baby Molly Fish care is much like caring for regular Mollies, they are also social creatures that enjoy playing with other baby mollies or live plants in your tank.
However, a few steps you can follow to improve the look of baby Molly fish are:
- First, don’t overcrowd your tank with Baby molly fish.
- Ensure that you have a proper filtration system in the baby molly tank to make it well-oxygenated, clean, and healthy for baby Molly Fish’s growth.
- Treat them as social creatures to play together but don’t keep too many of them at once.
- Provide a healthy diet to Baby Molly Fish; add some snails and shrimp to make it look good.
- Ensure that you clean the gravel at least once a week so they don’t swallow anything while feeding on food particles from the bottom of the tank or aquarium.
- Baby molly fish will look brighter and healthier if you keep them in water with live plants. However, keeping them without live plants is not a good option for baby Molly Fish care, as Baby Mollies enjoy playing around with the leaves of these aquatic plants.
- Finally, you can change 50 percent of your tank water every week to avoid Baby molly fish diseases.
Some FAQs
How Long Does It Take For Baby Molly Fish To Grow?
Baby Mollies can grow around two inches, typically in about three months.
How Many Babies Do Molly Fish Have At A Time?
Molly fish can give birth to up to 40-100 babies. However, it is not very common for them to have this many babies. Most Mollies will only produce around ten babies at a time.
Are Baby Molly Fish A Good Pet?
Most aquarists love baby Mollies because they are cute and friendly. Thus, they make an excellent pet for those who want to keep fish in their home.
Baby Molly fish can also live in a tank with other Baby Mollies, fish of the same size or smaller, and also with guppies. Molly Fish are hardy creatures that adapt to most conditions, and so are their babies.
Do Baby Molly Fish Need A Special Tank?
You do not need a special tank set up to keep Baby Mollies. But these fish need a tank with 30 gallons of water and a filter to help cycle the tank. You can even save these baby fish with other fish that are similar in size and non-aggressive.
Conclusion
Summing up, Baby Molly fish has a unique look. Mollies are one of the most popular types of tropical fish, and it is easy to see why with their lively personalities and beautiful colors! Baby Mollies can live for several years if taken care of properly even live in fresh or saltwater. Mollies are omnivores, so they eat both plants and small animals and even love to snack on algae!
Hopefully, you have learned a lot about Baby Molly fish during this post! If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below.
Thanks for reading!
Good Luck!!
Happy Fishkeeping!!!