Freshwater molly fish have been a favorite of aquarists for quite some time. In addition to having a large variety of species to choose from, these fish are also well-known for requiring less attention during the care-giving process.
Although it is true that they require little in the way of maintenance, we nonetheless urge that owners educate themselves with as much information as they can get their hands on. This will not only help to ensure that they are happy and healthy, but it will also free up some of your time.
To get started, check out this comprehensive tutorial on how to care for molly fish, along with feeding advice!
What Do Molly Fish Eat?
Mollies are natural omnivores. Live aquarium plants, algae, and various invertebrates are among their favorite foods. In most cases, they will be able to consume everything in your tank. The fact that they are easy to use is the key reason why beginners adore them. Feeding and caring for Mollies is a rewarding experience.
Mollies are awesome, and they have excellent eating habits to boot. Due to their high activity levels, they typically require more calories per day. In case you’re wondering what to feed your Mollies, here are some suggestions.
Commercial Foods
Freeze-Dried Foods
Your mollies will thrive on a diet of freeze-dried brine shrimp, tubifex, and blood worms. Freeze-dried meals can be given once or twice weekly, but only in very little amounts and spread out over several servings. They are a healthy substitute to fresh foods because harmful bacteria and parasites are eliminated during the freeze-drying process.
Flakes
When you choose a high-quality flake, you can easily meet your mollies’ nutritional needs. You can get your mollies a wide variety of flake feeds. They’re easily accessible and provide protein and other nutrients that fish need. The label will have a full list of ingredients for you to see so you can be sure of what you’re giving your fish.
Veggie Pellets and Tablets
Since molly fish are omnivores, they need both meat and plant-based meals for optimal health. The algae, spirulina, and plankton included in veggie pellets and tablets provide the necessary greens for your fish. Veggie pellets are a great supplement to their diet because they are rich in vitamins and minerals.
Homemade Foods
Veggies
Vegetables are an important element of a molly fish’s diet. Mix together whatever vegetables you have (carrots, cucumber, broccoli, zucchini, etc.). Frozen vegetables work just as well for this. Put the paste into a freezer-safe container. Small pieces of the frozen paste can be broken off and fed to your mollies.
Cultured Foods
Brine shrimp are the greatest cultured food for mollies. It’s great for both molly fry and full-grown fish. There’s a lot of protein in it (about 60%), and you can grow it in your own kitchen.
Beef Heart Paste
Beef heart paste is a go-to when it comes to homemade fish food, and it’s a fish superfood, but its high-fat level means you should avoid giving it to adult mollies. Adult mollies can eat it occasionally as a snack, and you can give it to the young. You may make a nutritious and delicious smoothie with just a blender, some beef heart (trimmed of fat), shrimp (instead of gelatin for a smoother texture), spirulina powder, and vegetables. Create a paste with the ingredients, freeze it, and then break off little pieces to feed to your fish.
Egg Yolk
Due to its high-fat content, feeding adult mollies excessive amounts of egg yolk is not suggested in the same way that feeding beef heart paste is. But it’s fine to give them on sometimes as a snack. To make the paste, you need only hard boil an egg, scoop off the yolk, and mash it into a paste. Carefully add only small amounts, as it has the potential to contaminate the water supply.
What Human Food Can Mollies Eat?
Mollies are classified as omnivores, meaning that they consume both plant and animal matter. In the wild, mollies will eat things like insects, shrimp, and even plants. Still, there are some things you might want to put in your Mollie’s tank that she can actually eat. Mollies can eat some human food, but it shouldn’t make up the bulk of their diet. Let’s find out if molly fish like any of the foods we eat.
Spinach
Spinach is a great choice because it’s both tasty and nutritious. Spinach has plenty of protein, calcium, and other vitamins. It’s undeniably one of the healthiest plant-based options for Molly’s diet. Feed your Mollies some spinach that has been boiled until it is wilted but still has some texture.
Cucumber
Cucumbers are completely fish-safe and are loaded with beneficial nutrients, including vitamin C and vitamin K. They like eating cucumbers because of their cool, refreshing taste and watery texture. If you want to feed your mollies cucumber, make sure to wash it carefully first to get rid of any potentially harmful chemicals or additives.
Broccoli
Broccoli, like other greens, is perfectly fine for mollies to eat. Broccoli has a high nutritional density and numerous health advantages. It contains a wide variety of minerals and vitamins, including fiber, vitamin C; antioxidants, B vitamins, A vitamins, and E vitamins; potassium, calcium, salt; zinc, magnesium, manganese, iron, and so on. If you want to feed your fish broccoli, you need to chop it up beforehand. Overcooking your broccoli can cause water pollution and lower tank water quality, so try not to do that.
Green Beans
Feeding your mollies green beans is a great idea. The high fiber content of these helps alleviate tummy troubles. Thus, green beans can be fed to fish more frequently than other vegetables.
Lettuce
Lettuce’s high nutrient, vitamin, and mineral content contribute to its many positive health effects. Vitamin C, which is full of antioxidants, also helps the immune system and keeps teeth and bones strong and healthy. It’s great for a molly’s diet because it’s low in calories yet abundant in fiber.
Zucchini
Zucchini is a favored food of mollies. So, adding them to their diet is a healthy and recommended way to keep their health in good shape. Additionally, it is a good source of fiber, potassium, manganese, and folate, among other vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. As an added bonus, it’s a good source of vitamins A, C, and K.
Carrots
The sugary taste of carrots is a major draw for Mollies. Mollies can eat cooked and sliced carrots. For your mollies, try cooking carrots for 10 minutes or longer in boiling water, then slicing them into tiny pellet-sized pieces before feeding.
Boiled Chicken
When used occasionally, boiled chicken is a healthy way to promote good eating habits. When you see your mollies aren’t eating as much, you can give them some boiled chicken. Chicken can help them regain their appetite, but due to the hormones and antibiotics given to chickens, it should be used sparingly.
Eggs
You can feed eggs to your baby mollies, but you shouldn’t give them to your adult mollies in huge amounts. Nonetheless, it works great as a special treat once in a while.
Beef Heart
Molly fries will thrive on a diet that includes beef heart. However, you can give it to your adult mollies on occasion as a treat.
Mollies can be fed human food, but only in moderation since this is not the natural diet for mollies. Feeding them fish pellets and flakes designed for mollies or food found in the wild will improve their health the most.
How Often Should Molly Fish Be Fed?
Spitting up food after being fed is a sign that they have had too much to eat. However, even when full, they will often still try to eat the food that has been spat out. Feed them once or twice a day, as most people do. They’ll be fine if you just give them that. You should break up the fish flakes into smaller pieces when feeding them flakes so that they don’t choke.
Remember that they won’t care if you feed them twice or once a day. They can finish a meal in under 5 minutes, and if you keep feeding them after that, they’ll just spit it out, contaminating the tank’s clean water.
Best Fish Food For Mollies
Mollies will consume practically anything you offer them. They will consume anything you put in front of them, even live animals and fresh produce. If you want your mollies to be healthy and robust, though, you’ll want to feed them the best food you can find. It’s challenging to find the best option among the plethora of foods currently on the market.
Keeping in mind the importance of a balanced diet when shopping for your mollies is essential. Some of the top choices for Molly foods are listed below.
Feeding Live Foods To Mollies
Live foods are the best option when it comes to feeding your mollies. Baby brine shrimp, daphnia, insect larvae, vinegar eels, and bloodworms are just some of the live foods available. The protein and nutrient content of live foods is superior to that of all other food types.
Feeding Freeze-Dried Foods To Mollies
It’s also good to feed mollies freeze-dried or frozen foods. This has the benefit of allowing freeze-dried food to be stored for a very long time. They are a great substitute for live foods in times when those foods are scarce, such as in the winter.
Feeding Mollies Fish Pellets
Pellets are another excellent option for feeding mollies. They are convenient, long-lasting, and easy to store. Multiple varieties of pellets can be found in stores. From tiny pellets to big ones, you can choose the right one for your needs. Moreover, pellets made with ingredients specific to the fish you keep are available.
Feeding Mollies Veggie Pellets And Tablets
Due to their omnivorous nature, molly fish require diets rich in vegetables. Whole vegetables are better for digestion, but veggie pellets or tablets are simpler to give.
Fish Flakes For Mollies
These flakes are the most widely used type in residential aquariums. This is because they are flexible in that you can feed multiple species of fish at once, and it’s a breeze to use. Numerous varieties of flake cereals can be found in stores. The vast majority are produced with premium ingredients and cater to your molly’s nutritional requirements.
Homemade Foods for Mollies
Mollies can be fed commercially available fish food, but homemade fish food can also be an option. Because of the control you have over the ingredients, homemade food is ideal for mollies. It’s not just good for mollies; it’s also good for plecostomus, Bettas, Cory catfish, and goldfish.
What Do Black Molly Fish Eat?
Black mollies can be fed a wide variety of foods, including many that you likely already have.
Algae
If your tank is prone to green algae outbreaks, adding Black Mollies will help keep the problem from getting worse because they eat algae.
Invertebrates
Given that black mollies are omnivorous, it is best to provide them with a diet that includes a wide range of invertebrates, plant matter, and some detritus.
Vegetables
While they can survive on a meat- and fish-heavy diet, Mollies, do need some greens to stay healthy. They’ll eat almost any green vegetable you give them, but you’re better off serving zucchini, cucumbers, and shelled peas. Attempt to serve vegetables at least once a week.
Flake Food
Black Mollys require premium flake food as their staple diet item.
Live or Frozen Food
Live or frozen foods such as bloodworms, blackworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp can be fed as a supplement to flake food.
How To Feed Your Molly Fish
Mollies are omnivores in the wild, eating everything from algae and plant matter to small invertebrates. High-quality flake food, as well as a wide selection of vegetables, should be provided in the home aquarium. Blanched zucchini medallions, cucumber medallions, and shelled peas are some of their favorite vegetables. A spirulina-based pellet or flake can be substituted for plant matter if you don’t have time to cut and blanch vegetables.
They need a special diet of live or frozen treats to get them ready for mating. Frozen bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp are their go-to frozen snacks. Live blackworms, bloodworms, daphnia, and brine shrimp are some of their most beloved treats, though they will enthusiastically devour anything you offer them.
Best Homemade Food For Molly Fish
To ease your mind about feeding your Mollies, you can opt for homemade treats instead of store-bought ones. Food that is made at home usually has more nutrients than food that is sold in stores. However, this is not final until you have included the proper amount of Molly food in your preparations.
So, here are the top homemade food choices you can make for Mollies:
Cultured Food
In this context, “cultured food” refers to food that has undergone fermentation. Fermentation is the process by which beneficial bacteria and single-celled organisms break down food into more easily digestible components for further cultivation.
Egg Yolk
The yolk from an egg is another homemade option for your Molly fish. It’s best to hard boil the egg yolk before giving it to Mollies. It’s best to wait until the egg is fully cooked before separating the yolk and mashing it. You can now feed Molly fish a very tiny amount of egg yolk. But be careful because it can contaminate tank water.
Beef Heart
Your Molly fish enjoy a homemade diet that includes beef heart as one of their favorite foods. One of the fish’s favorite foods also happens to be a superfood. Beef heart, spirulina powder, vegetables, shrimp (it works for better texture while blending than gelatin), and a blender are all you need to make this delicious and nutritious dish.
Greens And Veggies
Because of their omnivorous nature, a meat-only diet will not sustain Molly fish. In order to round out their diet, some elements from the vegetable kingdom are necessary. After you’ve gathered the right vegetables, it’s time to wash them thoroughly and throw them in a blender. The paste can then be stored in a freezer-safe container and frozen.
How to Prepare Natural Homemade Food for your Mollies
Homemade fish food is simple to prepare, and all the necessary ingredients can be found in any grocery store or garden.
Beef Heart Paste
Make your own beef heart paste in a flash with this easy recipe. All you need is a blender, some beef heart, and some shrimp to make this superfood. While most recipes call for gelatin, we find that shrimp provides a more workable paste. Make sure to remove any excess fat from the beef heart before using. Then, combine the beef heart and shrimp in a blender and pulse until smooth.
Make a thick paste by blending all the ingredients together. Then place the bag in the freezer. Simply break off small pieces and feed it to them when you’re ready to feed them.
Egg Yolk Paste
Mollies also enjoy the yolks of hard-boiled eggs. If you want to feed your fish a homemade meal, all you have to do is hard boil an egg. Then, scoop out the yolk and mash it into a paste. As this can be prepared in under five minutes, there is no need to pre-freeze it. Always use a tiny bit of paste when feeding the mollies. Too much at once can make the water unsanitary because the mollies won’t have time to consume it all.
Plant-Based Paste
Mollies benefit greatly from a diet rich in vegetables because it offers them nutritional variety. Mollies can be fed a wide variety of vegetables. Once you have gathered all of the vegetables, place them in a blender and process until a paste forms. Put the paste in a bag and stick it in the freezer. Simply break off small pieces as needed to feed them.
Best Food For Molly Fry
Any food that is safe for adult mollies is also safe for molly fry. However, you should give them only tiny portions of the foods you give them. Because Molly fries have smaller mouths, any flakes should be crushed into a powder.
The best foods to feed molly fry to ensure their rapid and robust development are:
Infusoria
Paramecium, daphnia, and protozoans are just some of the microorganisms that fall under this umbrella term. Fish enjoy the food due to its size and high nutritional value. Due to their diminutive size, newborn mollies benefit from a diet of microorganisms like infusoria.
Baby Brine Shrimps
Baby brine shrimp are an ideal diet for young mollies because they are rich in protein (71%), fat (30%), and carbohydrates (23%). This kind of food is acceptable until week three. The brine shrimp are typically frozen by aquarists to kill any bacteria or parasites.
Foods that are Freeze-Dried or Frozen (From Day 21)
Until they are three weeks old, molly fry can continue to be fed baby brine shrimp. After that, you can switch to frozen or dry foods like bloodworms and daphnia. Vegetables like zucchini are a great complement to freeze-dried meals.
Worms
Among aquarists, worms are widely considered to be the most desirable food source. Such a wide variety of worms includes bloodworms, earthworms, white worms, grindal worms, and more.
Pellets and Flakes (From Week 8)
Finding high-quality, protein-rich products, such as flakes and pellets developed specifically for juvenile mollies, is essential. Molly fry will get the nutrients they need and have brighter colors with the right flake food.
How To Feed Mollies While On Vacation
Healthy adult molly fish can go two weeks without food if water conditions are optimal, so you don’t need to worry if you’re going on a week-long vacation and don’t have anyone to trust with feeding your mollies. On the other hand, unless you have a very old aquarium, Molly fry won’t make it past day 3. They may be able to go a week without food in an established aquarium.
The best way to handle feeding molly fry while you’re away is to set up an automatic feeder that releases food gradually once a day (so as not to foul the water).
FAQ
Can Molly Fish Eat Goldfish Food?
Since mollies and goldfish are both omnivores, it stands to reason that mollies can eat goldfish food. However, contrary to popular belief, goldfish do need a higher fiber diet than mollies do. Therefore, you can occasionally feed your mollies goldfish food, but you shouldn’t do it very often.
How Long Can Mollies Go Without Food?
Molly fish can go without food for up to two weeks if they are adults. However, molly fries have a much shorter lifespan and can only go up to three days without food.
Can Mollies Eat Tropical Fish Food?
Unless instructed otherwise, tropical fish food can be fed to freshwater fish. Mollies in the wild occasionally inhabit brackish water, so it is not an issue to feed them tropical fish food.
Can Molly Fish Eat Betta Food?
Sometimes mollies can eat betta food, but it’s not recommended. Betta fish, which are primarily carnivorous, need a diet that is much higher in meat-based protein than that of omnivorous mollies.
What Do Black Molly Fish Eat?
Black mollies get the majority of their nutrition from a variety of different sources, including small invertebrates, plant matter, and algae. Therefore, they will benefit from eating a diet rich in fresh vegetables and premium live food. All green vegetables are fair game for black mollies, but the most common ones offered to these fish by their owners are cucumbers, shelled peas, and zucchini.
What Do Dalmation Molly Fish Eat?
Although they are technically omnivores, these fish prefer plant matter to animal protein. Algae, rotifers, and other small crustaceans make up the majority of their diet when they’re free in the wild. Vegetable-based dried foods, blanched spinach or cucumber, and the occasional brine shrimp or bloodworm are all suitable for captive feeding.
What Veggies Do Molly Fish Eat?
Blanched zucchini, cucumber, and shelled peas are their go-to vegetables. A spirulina-based pellet or flake can be used in place of fresh vegetables if you don’t have the time to cut and blanch them.
Recap
Keep in mind that mollies are untidy, greedy, and voracious fish that will continue to eat until you take them away from their food. That’s why you need to watch the amount and quality of food you give them very closely.
The most important part of feeding mollies is figuring out if and how quickly they will eat the food you give them without letting it go to waste at the bottom of the tank. It’s a major problem because rotting food increases nitrate levels, which are toxic to your molly, and leftover food can contaminate the water. This is potentially fatal.
