Black And White Mollies

[raza]

Hello - I have got 8 mollies in a 2ft tank all setup, there pretty big. Was wondering when they would start breeding. Has anybody got any tips on how to get them to breed or does it just happen?

 

[Rex740]

It mostly just happens. Some females may already be pregnant from the store. Do you know how many males and females you have? Mollies also enjoy a little salt so if you add a bit of aquarium salt it may entice more breeding and better health.

 

[raza]

I think i have 5 females and 3 males by the looks of there anal fins. How much salt would you recomend And could you tell me the name of the salt im new to breeding mollies. Also if you have any tips on what they like in there tank that would be useful. I read that they like bog wood, i lifted a large piece out of a container full of rain water out of the garden earlier, and realised it was full of blood worms or something, hundreds of them! i tried to wash the wood with some boiling water but the wood didnt look too clever was covered in dead worms and big black lumps Anyway Thanks for the reply.

 

[OldMan47]

Check your water qualities before deciding to add any salt at all. If you have fairly hard water with a good high mineral content, forget adding any salt at all. I have water that runs about 12 degrees of hardness, a pH of around 7.8 and a mineral content of 325 ppm of TDS. In my water, salt would be a gross overkill for mollies. Commonly available pet shop mollies, not the wild types that have specific requirements, can easily tolerate full salt water conditions, like you might see in a reef tank. Mollies, at least the more common aquarium varieties, are quite euryhaline, which means they are widely adaptable to water of various mineral concentrations. If you decide that your mollies simply must have salt, please make sure that you use the same salt that would be used to make salt water for someone who has salt water fish. Since mollies can live in pure ocean water, the salt used to make that water is the best match to a common molly's needs. For wild type mollies, do not assume it is safe to add salt. Some of the wild mollies are no more tolerant of salt than commonly available corydoras or scalares (angels).

 

[raza]

Check your water qualities before deciding to add any salt at all. If you have fairly hard water with a good high mineral content, forget adding any salt at all. I have water that runs about 12 degrees of hardness, a pH of around 7.8 and a mineral content of 325 ppm of TDS. In my water, salt would be a gross overkill for mollies. Commonly available pet shop mollies, not the wild types that have specific requirements, can easily tolerate full salt water conditions, like you might see in a reef tank. Mollies, at least the more common aquarium varieties, are quite euryhaline, which means they are widely adaptable to water of various mineral concentrations. If you decide that your mollies simply must have salt, please make sure that you use the same salt that would be used to make salt water for someone who has salt water fish. Since mollies can live in pure ocean water, the salt used to make that water is the best match to a common molly's needs. For wild type mollies, do not assume it is safe to add salt. Some of the wild mollies are no more tolerant of salt than commonly available corydoras or scalares (angels).

ok thanks for the advice. I think il just forget the aquarium salt, as they look just fine at the moment and i wouldnt want to kill them off!

 

[micko]

I find a ratio of 1m:3f works very well. I've never added salt to them, cannot get them to stop breeding at present I have around 60 fry and more platty fry in a separate tank. I'm having to keep the females in the fry tank because I don't want mollys anymore and I'm trying to re-home then. Please bear in mind that a 2ft tank with 8 adult mollys will soon become well overstocked when they have fry.

 

[Rex740]

Yeah, I have wild sailfin mollies. Quite sensitive fish, never expected it as I used to get the domesticated variety. Nothing beats a wild fish though.

 

[generkon]

Yeah, I have wild sailfin mollies. Quite sensitive fish, never expected it as I used to get the domesticated variety. Nothing beats a wild fish though.

Where did you get the wild mollies?

 

[TCfishies]

I find a ratio of 1m:3f works very well.

Everything I read says you should have more female mollies than males. But I just have one of each (silver mollies) and they get along fine. She follows him around as much as he follows her.

She arrived pregnant from the shop and had the fry just one week later. Unfortunatly I was not prepared for this and they ate them all (the zebra danios may have helped)

I was hoping one or 2 would make it, but they seem to have sex all the time so I'm sure there will be more soon.

Next time I'll try to separate them ,But I don't know what I'd do with 30-50 mollies!!!

What do you guys do with all the fry? Do you sell them back to the shops? Give them away??

cheers

TC

 

[OldMan47]

What I do with fry of all kinds is take them to my local club auctions. Even though lots of the other people there have a surplus of one or another kind of fish, we are all on the hunt at all times for something we don't already have. The fish I sell at auction help me pay the auction bill at the end of the sale.

 

[TCfishies]

What I do with fry of all kinds is take them to my local club auctions. Even though lots of the other people there have a surplus of one or another kind of fish, we are all on the hunt at all times for something we don't already have. The fish I sell at auction help me pay the auction bill at the end of the sale.

Sounds like a great system!