Mollies

[lewismate]

hi peeps

do mollies need salt to survive or just to breed

 

[benmate]

they need salt to live but they will live without sometimes

 

[lilfishie]

they ca live without salt in there water but it does leave them more prone to illness, generally most find they do better and stay healthier in slight brackish conditions

 

[badenmate]

i have had mollies before they kept getting ill and they are a lot of work if you dont have salt in there water

 

[lilfishie]

i have had similar experiences, cuoldn't keep them for more than a few months

 

[OldMan47]

Mollies will do fine in normal fresh water and are a bit reproductive there, like this girl is. Her fry were born yesterday and I have not had salt in my tanks for at least the last 5 years.

What I find that my mollies do need is water that is sort of hard with a reasonably high pH. My water is about 15 degrees GH and a similar number of degrees KH. It also runs a fairly consistent pH of around 7.8. Sea salt has a rather high pH so it may give some of the same benefits but I keep my mollies in the same tank as some cories and an angel. Those fish are pretty intolerant of salt so I am never tempted to take out the salt shaker for mollies. On the other hand, mollies can be adapted to live in straight sea water and is a common fish used by saltwater enthusiasts to cycle their tanks.