The body shape is very reminiscent of a baloon molly, but as far as I know, ther are no fullred strains of molly on the commercial market (or anywhere). My bet is on "balloon sword" or platy, but either way, it's got a very nice high fin!
ID Please
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Although I didn't know there were actually any "balloon" platies, this is what it looks like to me. Very impressive, too, full red with such nice finnage. How much did you pay for him?
When it gets down to it, the finnage and color are deformities too. We already do so much messing with the fish that we keep, lets not badmouth a trait just because we don't find it pleasing to the eye. Unless you're only keeping wild fish, you've already got both feet in the pool.
BTW, An exhaustive search of the net turned up nothing on velvet red molly cultivars. What is called a "red molly" is just the orange form that is commonly seen. Didn't find any pictures of balloon platies either, though there's lots of references to them on the web.
BTW, An exhaustive search of the net turned up nothing on velvet red molly cultivars. What is called a "red molly" is just the orange form that is commonly seen. Didn't find any pictures of balloon platies either, though there's lots of references to them on the web.
Karl, just because the molly is highly variable doesn't mean every color is available unless you count dyeing processes. Where have you seen a molly with that unusual finnage shape? That is no doubt a platy or swordtail. Only both species have that finnage shape even if you talk about their crosses. It is either a shortbodied or a balloon platy/swordtail. The case sounds absurd but the finnage shape is enough for me to say it is not a molly.
Point taken, but having a dorsal fin thats 30 or 40 times bigger than it's supposed to be can't be that comfortable either. Also, balloon shaped fish are fully capable of living long, full, and for all intents and purposes, normal lives if their needs are met. Coming from a fancy goldfish background, it peeves me a little bit that people badmouth certain traits, such as the "balloon" body, and the same people often won't bat an eye at hm bettas or guppies with such extreme finnage that they can hardly swim.
