Are Mollies agressive at all?

[laggerzero]

When I put mollies in my tank recently I noticed that my betta had its fins to its side and half of one was missing. To my amazement, I saw the mollies charging at my betta. Is this normal? I have read in various places that mollies are non-agressive fish. What should I do?

 

[MAM]

mollies are usually peaceful fish, but they can be a bit mean at times. mine don't take too kindly to new tank residents and will torment them for days until they've established that they are top fish. even to their own kind they can be quite mean. its really normal actually.
i'd move the betta to his own tank first of all. but, if he was living peacefully before, then remove the mollies.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

unfortunately,
mollies can go either way, (semi-aggressive or community)
they are always labeled as community but in a smaller tank, they can be quite the little devils
just think of them as platy with attitudes 8)
so to answer your question
yes it is normal for some to be little @ssholes!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i forgot to ask
how big is the tank?
and what all is in it?
if the mollies are fine wwith all of the other fish then get the betta his own little 2.5gallon tank
if the mollies are being persistant little jerks then either get rid of them, or if it is a larger tank you could put a well circulated divider in there

 

[laggerzero]

The betta has been in there for awhile and I have had no problems with him. So I am assuming it is the mollies. my tank is 5 gallons which I would think is big enought for them to form there own territories. I will probably have to return them tomorrow. The only problem is that I don't have another tank to put them in. What would be the best thing to put them in overnight?

 

[laggerzero]

I have 4 Danios, 2 guppies, 1 betta, and the three mollies.

 

[MAM]

which is WAY too much for a 5 gal. no wonder!! that is not enough room even without the mollies. take them back or get a bigger tank.

 

[Epicenter]

I can say (from seeing his tank) it suits his fish quite well minus the mollies (those things already got his guppies sick, and now they mess with the Betta. I say toilet those bastards.) The danios and guppies school together and Mardock (the betta) mostly keeps to himself, but the other fish don't seem afraid of him. The shrimp keep to themselves as well (as shrimp tend to do.) I thought I had some photos on my comp, but I guess not. Lagger, you got any? ..

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i agree that you have way too much in that tank
a good rule to follow for smaller tanks and newer fish owners is 1" of fish per gallon
you have 17" on a 5gallon AND apparently shrimp aswell
it is not healthy for them to be so crowded
it may not LOOK crowded but the bioload would be too much
getting rid of the mollies would be a start
then you'd be down to 11"
then i would buy a mini tank for your betta
chopping it down to 9"
you should be alright there if your not having any agression and you are doing regular water changes
for the saftey of your fish PLEASE take my advise!
over here you can buy a 2gallon for a betta (with a filter/light/air pump) for under $20 from walmart
if you can't afford that,
bettas can live happily in a large jar!

as for the mollies PLEASE don't flush them
it is very inhumane!
give them back to the store
HELL,
GIVE THEM AWAY FOR CHRIST SAKE!!!!!!!!!!
they could make someone with a large, planted tank very happy
they could be perfect for someone else!
the reason they were aggressive in your tank is that they were VERY overcrowded!

EDIT: when i say you should be alright at 9" that is still pushing it, i just mean they will survive as the VERY MAXIMUM!

 

[noelberg]

Mollies in a small community with a betta can be a bad combo - they will often harass the poor guy. Betta communities are veeeery tricky, as I have learned. I'm beginning to think that bettas are only ok with smallish peaceful tetras or peaceful bottom catfish/suckers in a 10-20 gallon tank. This is just my experience.

GL

 

[laggerzero]

I haven't had shrimp for awhile now. 1 of the mollies did die to to a bite from the betta. Now I am concerned about my betta though. He is lying around at the bottom of the tank a lot and seems kind of beat up (mostly around his mouth and side fins). Is he going to be alright.

Concerning the larger tank, I will consider it when I fork up some more cash.

Thanks all for the replys.

 

[laggerzero]

regarding the new tank... What kind is the best and how much is it going to cost? I don't have a lot of money so I need to know.

 

[laggerzero]

This is a perfect tiem for a fungus outbreak to occur. Several of the danios are now sick and I am treating the tank now with medecine. I guess I am learning the hardway; I am open to suggestoins on that new tank. Will I nead to get a new filter and heater?

 

[Epicenter]

I'd *REALLY* have to disagree. Lagger's tank is impressive. The danios school with the guppies (nothing I've ever seen happen!) .. and they all seem quite content. Ammonia levels are not bad at all (he makes sure to test and treat the water often.) Same for pH. I can't stand to see Bettas in a tiny tank-- it's depressing. When trapped like that, they mostly stop moving except to eat-- they seem to go into a hibernation-like torpor wherein they do NOTHING! I *hate* seeing them like that.

As for the mollies .. if they attacked my fish they'd get stern treatment. If I were in a lousy mood, the attacker molly would likely get THE ROYAL FLUSH. But Mardock (the betta) took a big gash out of it. So I think it learned its lesson .. ;D

I run a similar tank minus the Betta. Approx. 6 guppies and 5 danios, plus 4 ghost shrimp on the bottom to keep things tidy. Same model of tank (not same brand, but same design). I use a Whisper 2-5gal filter on the 5 setting, an air pump with single stone, and a high-quality ceramic heater. I keep the water at 84 and the guppies are always very fertile like that. An infection wiped out most of the fish so I had to start anew-- very depressing picking out dead fish when nuking the empty tank with alcohol-- but all is well now. Looks like I might have more babies soon. One of the bigger guppies is demanding her privacy and hiding in a corner as far from the current as she can-- keeping to herself. Seems quite suspect she's pregnant. Or just antisocial.

But yeah, no real major problems .. the fish get along great as can be expected. No major biological stressors and I am very good at picking up on minute things like that. His tank even seemed in better harmony than mine minus the mollies which I did not bear witness to.

 

[SailfinGirl]

I would just like to say that my 4 mollies and one Siamese Fighter lived very happily together in a 4.4 gallon tank. Of course its only since I joined this forum I learned this is way too small a tank it has now been remedied with the deaths of 2 mollies and a betta from childbirth and an unexplained disease