The liberty molly (''Poecilia salvatoris'') is a fish species from

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...

. It is one of the short fin molly species in the ''

Poecilia sphenops ''Poecilia sphenops'' is a species of fish, of the genus ''Poecilia'', known under the common name molly; to distinguish it from its congeners, it is sometimes called short-finned molly or common molly. They inhabit fresh water streams and coas ...

'' complex, and had been often regarded as a variety of ''P. sphenops'' until recently. Males and females are colored similarly, but the males' coloration is stronger. The body is silvery but speckled with blue and orange. The fins contain black and blue as well as either red or yellow. The red color version is probably the source for the common name "liberty molly" as a result of the combination of red, white and blue colors. Maximum length is about , with females generally larger than males. According to Dr.

William T. Innes William Thornton Innes III, L.H.D. (February 2, 1874 – February 27, 1969) was an American aquarist, author, photographer, printer and publisher. Innes was the author of numerous influential books and hundreds of articles about aquarium fish, aqua ...

, who regarded the species as color variety of ''P. sphenops'', the liberty molly was first imported for the aquarium hobby in 1935. In the aquarium, the liberty molly can be aggressive towards other tankmates and nip the fins of other fishes in the tank. According to Innes, this aggressiveness and the loss of color intensity over captive generations led to the fish losing popularity in the hobby. Males in particular are aggressive towards each other.

Tropical Fish Hobbyist ''Tropical Fish Hobbyist Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''TFH Magazine'') is a bimonthly magazine geared to hobbyist keepers of tropical fish, with news and information on a variety of topics concerning freshwater and marine aquariums. The magazine w ...

recommends keeping the liberty molly in a species tank, in a ratio of at least two females per male, stating that three males and six females would be suitable in a 30-gallon aquarium. The liberty molly is prone to jumping, and so the tank should be covered. It needs vegetable matter in its diet.

References

Poecilia Fish described in 1907 Taxa named by Charles Tate Regan Vertebrates of El Salvador Fish of Central America Live-bearing fish Ovoviviparous fish {{Cyprinodontiformes-stub