Molly Questions

[channing]

So I just got some mollies today never had them before. I got a trio (meaning 1 male 2 females) of silver lyre tails and a trio of orange lyre tails.

I know they need salt but i'm confused. The pet shop sign said use aquarium salt but others say reef salt. They are with 2 yellow mystery snails and 10 ghost shrimp. So I if don't have to use it I wont or i'll use the least I need to. I don't want to kill the snails and shrimp.

Also will they breed with each other even though their different colors? The babies would be neat to see. And yes I know i'm going to have fry. The ones that the mollies and the shrimp don"t eat will be betta food or if their too big i'll sell them to my boss for store credit. (i work at a lfs)

 

[Kevinator]

I use aquarium salt with my Mollies and I have 5 mystery snails so you are safe there.

I have multiple colors of Mollies and yes the fry come out in different colors.

Good luck with them. We love our Mollies!

 

[theotheragentm]

Salt is designed to help neutralize the effects of nitrates in the water. It doesn't not protect from nitrates completely, but it gives you a bit of a buffer. Salt is not necessary if you are keeping up with your water changes. Most fish stores have common circulated water throughout their setups, so they're not even using salt. While your fish store is saying you need salt, they probably weren't even using salt. That being said, the Mollies would be acclimated to pure freshwater. I prefer not to use salt at all, just because it's another thing to worry about in the water.

Like Kevinator said, if you follow the one tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons, you shouldn't have enough salt to harm invertebrates or other fish. Just remember when doing water changes, the concentration of salt in the water is not something you remove when pulling out water, so you'd have to figure out how much salt to add. Again, it's just something I prefer not to deal with myself.

I won't say for sure as I don't completely know, but plants do not do well with salt in the water. I'm not sure about the concentrations, but it's another reason for me to avoid salt at all.

Good luck. Yes, your Mollies will all interbreed.

 

[channing]

Thanks a bunch. i just called the store and talked to someone about the salt and they said that the mollies were use to it. How do i wean them off it? or should i just go cold turkey? also will they be okay eating a meaty type food or do they need more veggies? these r kinda skinny so need to fatten them up.

 

[theotheragentm]

Ideally you want to acclimate the fish slowly over a period of time. If they're not already in water with salt in it, I wouldn't even bother adding the salt. If they are in water with salt, just do water changes of 20% or so each week and don't re-add any more salt when replacing the water. It will dilute the concentration each week.

For foods, a variety is always best. I feed my fish once a day, skipping a day every other week. I feed a combination of flakes, sinking shrimp pellets, or algae wafers. If you have skinny fish, you have a problem. Generally speaking, skinny fish don't exist unless they're sick. Don't overfeed. It makes keeping up with water changes more frequent of a task. Your fish will always look hungry when there is food around. It's natural. They're not starving.

 

[channing]

their healthy but skinny. I feed them twice today as much as they would eat plus they were eating the veggie wafer that was supposed to for the snails and shrimp. brats. theres no salt now so ill leave it alone.

 

[lynned1952]

their healthy but skinny. I feed them twice today as much as they would eat plus they were eating the veggie wafer that was supposed to for the snails and shrimp. brats. theres no salt now so ill leave it alone.

My mollies love frozen blood worms as a treat

 

[kittytehpirate]

My mollies even eat the betta pellets i feed for Rascal...xD! So now Rascal eats thier flakes too!

I keep a small concetration of "Conditioning Salt" in my tank (usually about 1/4 of a tablespoon in the gallon that i change water with.) and my molly-boy (Dezzi) and Rascal are bth doing well in it. My plants have started to die off, but that's fine because i plan to go get some java fern later this week.

 

[theotheragentm]

Your Java Fern will suffer the same fate as your other plants with salt in the tank unfortunately. Even though it is considered a hardy plant, it won't do well with salt.

 

[Kevinator]

My Mollies will anything that is put in there tank, they are not picky at all! I had some freeze dried blood worms stuck to my finger and they nibbled them off it!

 

[channing]

My Mollies will anything that is put in there tank, they are not picky at all! I had some freeze dried blood worms stuck to my finger and they nibbled them off it!

thats funny!! i have a female that doesnt get enough to eat so she is in the betta condo during feeding time to make sure she gets her share. im really want to see what a cross between a orange one and a silver one would look like. but i think these are young fish so ill have to wait awhile.

 

[theotheragentm]

Crosses will most likely look like a speckled fish.

 

[channing]

Crosses will most likely look like a speckled fish.

humm.. that would be super pretty. silver and orange dalmatian mollies. can mollies cross between types ballon + lyre tail. or such

 

[theotheragentm]

Crosses will most likely look like a speckled fish.

humm.. that would be super pretty. silver and orange dalmatian mollies. can mollies cross between types ballon + lyre tail. or such

Yes they can, although less common with the Balloon Mollies, because of their awkward shape.

 

[channing]

what other kinds are there? sailfins, ballon, lyre tail, normal. is there any good websites about them?