Cultivation

  Water quality is very important for growing moths. 
They need basic and medium hard to hard water. In nature, they inhabit everything from freshwater lakes, river basins and their outflows into the Caribbean Sea and coastal areas of the sea. So - what kind of water we will have them in depends mainly on the breeder who raised them and / or the origin of the fish.
Suitable plants: Najas gaudelupensis, Echinodorus tenellus, Echinodorus quadricostatus, Cryptocoryne aponogetifolia, Cryptocoryne pontederiifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii var. Wendtii, Limnophila aquatica, Bacopa caroliniana, ... all these plants require strong light and are good biological water filters.
The aquarium should have at least 200 liters, brightly lit (algae), a place for swimming and vegetation, the bottom sprinkled with carbonate sand, if desired, the addition of sea salt from 0.5-3g / l of water.
Mandatory large enough open space somewhere in the middle. Let's avoid overcrowding!
   Moths are one of the more sensitive fish among live births and what soon becomes sick. This is due to environmental stress of various kinds, and fish "get sick" of "shimmies". This is not a disease but a condition of a fish that is in poor condition. Fish are affected and show this in behavioral changes (rocking in place, glued fins, difficulty breathing, vibration and twitching)
Because it is not a disease but a state of stress, there is only one cure. Determine the cause and eliminate it (poor water quality, wrong parameters, soft or acidic water, toxins, copper, ...). The fish will recover completely quickly after the bad condition is eliminated. Of all the live-bearers, moths are the most affected, as inexperienced aquarists do not understand what these fish need. Moths need hard, alkaline water with a pH above 7 and a temperature above 22 ° C, in addition to low nitrates and no ammonia and nitrites, they need large and not overcrowded aquariums with a slight directional flow.