How to Raise Molly Fish for Food

Some fish thrive on live food, and will reject non-living food. In fact, some fish, called obligate piscivores will refuse all food aside from smaller fish. Raising mollies (Poecilia spp.) provides a steady source of food fish. Mollies have many positive traits as a feeder fish. They breed rapidly. They provide superior nutrition to goldfish and rosey red minnows. They are readily gut-loaded, or fed supplemental nutrition. And mollies can be adapted to saltwater.

Things You'll Need

  • Fish tank
  • Aquarium heater
  • Filters
  • Sea salt, kosher salt or rock salt
  • Hydrometer (optional)
  • Mollies
  • "Baby grass" or similar plastic aquarium plant
  • Spirulina algae, in flake or tablet form
  • Mysis shrimp (frozen)
  • Aquarium net
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Instructions

    • 1

      Assemble the aquarium. Bear in mind that mollies prefer higher temperatures (around 80 degrees F) than most fish. They also do their best with about one cup of sea salt per 10 gallons. Rock salt or kosher salt is a fine alternative.

    • 2

      Adapt the mollies to saltwater if necessary. To do this, add more salt at a rate of one tablespoon an hour until your hydrometer reads 1.025 g/ml. This is only necessary if the mollies are to be fed to saltwater fish.

    • 3

      Add "baby grass" or similar plastic plants to the aquarium. Plastic plants require less work and are better suited to salty tanks than live plants. These plants will give baby mollies a haven from their sometimes cannibalistic parents.

    • 4

      Observe the tank daily. Female mollies can give birth to multiple batches of offspring from a single mating. If you are feeding fry (baby mollies), you will have a steady supply quickly.

    • 5

      Gut-load adult mollies and fry. To do this, feed the mollies a combination of frozen mysis shrimp and spirulina algae. This will improve their nutritional value.