Poecilia sphenops
Mexican Molly
NS
GNR
Collection Details
Specimens
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Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Cyprinodontiformes
Poeciliidae (Livebearers)
Poecilia
Poecilia sphenops (Mexican Molly)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal.
Distribution
Central and South America: Mexico to Colombia. Often confused with Poecilia mexicana (Ref. 1739).
Habitat Associations
Freshwater, brackish. benthopelagic.
Biology
Feeds on worms, crustaceans, insects, plant matter. The black variety (Black molly) is a very popular aquarium fish and is marketed throughout the world (Ref. 1739). In the aquarium it feeds on green algae and also readily accepts dried food (Ref. 1672). Minimum aquarium size 60 cm (Ref. 51539).
Max length: 7.5 cm SL; common length: 4.0 cm TL.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: internal (oviduct); bearers (internal live bearers). Produces 20 to 150 young after 28 days gestation.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2018-03-22. Resilience: High (tm<1; multiple spawning per year; Fec=20-150).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: highly commercial.
References
Lee, D.S., C.R. Gilbert, C.H. Hocutt, R.E. Jenkins, D.E. McAllister and J.R. Stauffer (1980) Atlas of North American freshwater fishes. North Carolina State Museum of Natural History. 867 p.
Wischnath, L. (1993) Atlas of livebearers of the world. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., United States of America. 336 p.
Velázquez-Velázquez, E., M. Maza-Cruz, A.E. Gómez-González and J.A. Navarro-Alberto (2015) Length-weight relationships for 32 fish species in the Grijalva River Basin, México. J. Appl. Ichthyol. 31:413-414. DOI: 10.1111/jai.12676
Comments On Poecilia sphenops