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| http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/sailfinmolly/sailfinmolly.html |
The sail finned molly belongs to the Poeciliidae family.
Their bodies are rectangular with a small head and a upturned mouth. The caudal fine is rounded and big. In mature males the dorsal fin huge compared to the females. The males and females are grey but in breeding season the males can be blue. They have black spots along the sides of their bodies. The fish has tiny small in rows.
The have short lifespans especially the males with only one year after reaching sexual maturity. The size depends on how many other sail finned mollies there are, the less you have the bigger they will be.
They are found in streams, marshes, swamps and estuaries. The water is usually shallow. The molly is able to survive in low oxygen areas by using the small layer of oxygen at the surface by using their mouths. They prey on algae, mosquito larvae which helps to keep the population under control and aquatic plants.
The males are smaller than the females. The males are more colourful than the females,as this aids in courtship. Reproduction is internal. The females have a four week pregnancy and give birth from ten to one hundred and forty live young. Once the young are born, they are on their own to survive.
Flmnh.ufl.edu, (2015). FLMNH Ichthyology Department: Sailfin Molly. [online] Available at: http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/sailfinmolly/sailfinmolly.html [Accessed 14 Apr. 2015].
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