The Balloon Molly: Needs to Be in Brackish Water

Most people do not know what brackish water is. This means that the fish is not in a freshwater tank or a saltwater tank. The tank is actually a freshwater tank which is turned into a brackish fish tank by placing a little bit of salt into the water. You will not have to add as much salt as your average saltwater fish but you will need to purchase a hydrometer to make sure that the salt level is correct. There are many different types of fish that you can purchase which belong in brackish water. One such fish is known as the Balloon Molly, despite what you might think about this fish.

This fish looks like a balloon. It resembles a very large guppy but it also gets a lot larger than your average Fancy Guppy. This fish also has a more torpedo shape with larger and longer fins. This fish will reach about three inches in length. You can place several of these fish together but you want to make sure you have a big enough tank to keep all of the fish. If you have a 40 gallon fish tank you can keep about 10 or 12 fish inside of this fish tank without overcrowding the fish tank and leading to stress and problems.

You will need to keep the temperature around 70 to 80 degrees. You will need to purchase a heater that will keep the tank at least 70 degrees. To avoid heating up the water too much you will want to make sure that you place a timer on your fish tank. This will turn the light on and off and keep the light on for as long as you want it on for. Set the timer to come on for 6 hours. This will help to keep the tank from overheating which will in turn kill all of your Balloon Mollies in your fish tank.

You can purchase one of these fish for around $3. You can find them at any local pet store but do not purchase the fish unless they have it in a brackish tank. Ask them what they keep the salinity level at to make sure that the water is brackish and not completely saltwater. If the fish is already stressed out and you move the fish into your tank it will probably get sick and die. When it comes to feeding this fish, you will want to feed it a variety of fish flakes as well as some different types of frozen foods such as brine shrimp.