Mollies

[Bethany]

Hello, I have had Freshwater fish like Plattys, Tetras, etc. for around a year, and I bought a couple mollies last week and they died! I talked with the people at the pet store and they have told me several things to do differently and I bought 4 mollies today, 1 is a siver mollie and her belly is huge, they said she was pregnant! The others are black and a dalmation. I was wondering if anyone could tell me how to tell the differance between male and female, and some tips about how to manage my tank?? Thank you.

 

[tlkng1]

Hi Bethany

Telling the diffence in livebearers (Mollies, Platies, Swordtails etc) is relatively simple; the male has what is referred to as a gonopodium. If you look at the bottom of the fish, you will see a rod shaped structure; this is the gonopodium and is lacking in the female.

To tell if a fish is pregnant, look down at it from the top. If pregnant, the fish will have a bowed out appearance. As an aside, livebearers seem to be prolific breeders and I have yet to buy or have any livebearers that AREN'T pregnant. A female can actually have babies and still remain pregnant. Someone gave me the whys and wherefores of this a long while ago but suffice to say, if you have males and females together, you are going to have a constantly pregnant female

Mollies are a brackish fish and like a little salt in the water. I know some people who have actually adapted them to a full saltwater environment throw gradual increases. There are many out there who give different levels of salt but I found that about a teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon of water seemed to make my mollies happy. PLEASE research this a little bit before adding salt. This is the amount that works for me but as paranoid as I am, I tried different levels, slowly. Unfortunately, you cannot have live plants if you decide to add salt; I have yet to find any that can handle it and professionals I have spoken with are unaware of any that are commercially available.

Also, not all fish like salt in the water so mollies are actually better off in their own tank if you plan on any breeding. They can live without the salt quite nicely, but their breeding potential seems to lessen without the salt.

Due to some water parameter issues in my large tank, I have my mollies in a smaller tank right now. My pH is at 7.8 and I maintain a temp between 74 and 76. My fish are active and seemingly healthy and yes, I get a regular wave of fry every 8 weeks or so.

Sailfin Mollies are my downfall.......

Terese

 

[OrangeCones]

Unfortunately, you cannot have live plants if you decide to add salt; I have yet to find any that can handle it and professionals I have spoken with are unaware of any that are commercially available.

Terese - There are a lot of live plants that can be grown in a brackish aquarium. Not as many as pure freshwater, but there are choices.

The easy to grow include: Java fern, Java moss, watersprite and green hygro (Hygrophila polysperma). The first two are slower growers, the last two faster, depending on the light amount. Java moss is very commonly used in live bearer tanks to help save fry. It can be left floating or attached to rocks or driftwood or other decorations. Gives the fry a place to hide and less likely to be eaten by the parents.

There are about 30 other brackish-adaptable plants commonly available commercially, but they are more demanding and need higher lighting that comes with a standard aquarium set-up, which means fertilzers and CO2 injection, so more complex to keep them healthy.

 

[Bethany]

Terese and OrangeCones,
Thanks for replying! I actually bought 2 live plants yesterday and can't remember what they are exactly but I hope they live. I added 1 teaspoon salt per 5 gallons yesterday, and they're still alive!!
What do you all mean by "Brackish" and "Planted Aquarium"? I had my water checked last week and mt Nitrates were high and my Ph was low. I did a 50% water change and added Easy Balance, Water Conditioner, Ph 7.0, ( I read that they like a 7.5 Ph) Salt, and maybe some Stress Coat. How can I raise my Ph levels? And should I remove both mollies when she has the fry? Thanks a bunch!!

 

[OrangeCones]

What do you all mean by "Brackish" and "Planted Aquarium"?

Brackish is some point between totally fresh water and ocean water. There are a lot of variations, different levels of salt.

Planted aquarium just means you are keeping live plants in the aquarium.

I had my water checked last week and mt Nitrates were high and my Ph was low. I did a 50% water change and added Easy Balance, Water Conditioner, Ph 7.0, ( I read that they like a 7.5 Ph) Salt, and maybe some Stress Coat. How can I raise my Ph levels? And should I remove both mollies when she has the fry? Thanks a bunch!!

I have never used any of the chemicals you are using, with the exception of Stress Coat (I used that with a saltwater reef tank when adding new fish).

There is no need to add anything other than a dechlorinator to your tap water. PRIME is a good one to use as it keeps ammonia in a non-toxic form that will not harm your fish.

Depending on the type of salt you used, it could raise your pH. Stability is more important than a specific pH number. I've bred mollies in pure fresh water, brackish, and pure saltwater. They did best in brackish because it mimics where they are naturally found in the wild.

If you want to to save the fry, you should remove the parents. Any fish that could eat them may try. By adding a lot of Java moss (which is one of those very salt tollerant) you can save a lot of fry and leave the parents in the tank.

 

[Bethany]

Where can I find the Java Moss?

 

[tlkng1]

I just checked my post.....I meant to say I add one teaspoon of aquarium salt per 10 gallons of water, not per gallon

OrangeCones, thanks for the plant update. So much for my "professionals"

Going on OrangeCone's notice that brackish plants were available, I found a good good site, unfortunately, they are out of Java Moss as well: Brackish Water Plants

In the meantime, there are several "fry saver" type artificial plants that can serve until you can get the live moss. Try your local fish store, preferably a specialty fish store and not the standard PetCo/Petsmart. The Pet Place is also indicating they are out of the artificial Cypress Mat, which is what I have, but I got it locally. Aquarium Guys.comn hads the Cypress Vine in stock: Cypress Vine. This is a smaller version of the mat but the cluster is pretty large..had this one before I got the full mat. Use two or three of them together to increase the hiding area.

Basically, any artificial plant that has a lot of little leaves in clusters, similar to the Cypress ones, will work for fry.

I still remember the first time I had a fry "outbreak." It was quite the education watching them grow from something very tiny, to juveniles where I could actually tell the gender.

Terese

 

[homebunnyj]

You should quit messing with your pH. The pH swings caused by adding those pH adjustment products can lower your fish's resistance, making them more vulnerable to disease. Just about any pH, stable, is better for fish than pH swings as you attempt to monkey around with it. What is the pH of your tap water, both fresh from the tap and after sitting out overnight? What is the pH of your tank when you aren't trying to adjust it? Once we have this info we could give recommendations on steps to raise it if necessary.

You don't need the Easy Balance or the Stress Coat, or as mentioned above, the pH balancing products. IMO Easy Balance is a stop-gap measure for people too lazy to do water changes. Obviously that isn't you.

You said your nitrates were high. How high? If you can't keep them below 40 or so (preferably 20) with weekly water changes your tank could be overstocked. A nice water change is the preferred way to reduce nitrates... in fact, the only recommended way that I'm aware of.

Do you have tetras in with the mollies? Tetras don't tolerate salt very well. If you want your mollies to benefit from salt you need to have them in a tank without the tetras.

 

[Bethany]

Thanks everyone.....I am SO upset. My pregnant Silver Mollie just died! I haven't made any changes to my water NOTHING! The black Mollie that was in with her is just fine. I don't understand?......PLEASE HELP.

 

[Bethany]

Judy, Thanks! I will check my water levels as soon as I can make it back to PetSmart. I just do not know what to do! My 3 other Mollies are fine, and this makes 2 pregnant Mollies I have lost!

 

[tlkng1]

Bethany...

So sorry about the silver but trust me, if you have a male and female molly, you will get babies eventually.

Now, let''s go back to basics here. First, put somne of your regualt tap water ina container, a cup of some sort, and use a little dechlorinator, then, do tests for pH, Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites.

Second, when was this tank set-up? Were fish added before the cycling was completed? As you add bio load, it could be increasing your ammonia and nitrites. Next, how low is your pH? Mollies, and almost all of the livebearering fish, prefer a pH between 7.0 and 8.2 depending on species where tetras like more acidic water between 5.5 and 7.0 depending on species.

Form youir posts, you have more acidic water coming from your tap; not sure if you know the pH scale. 7.0 is neutral. Below 7.0 is considered acidic, above 7.0 is considered basic or alkaline. Raising pH GRADUALLY is the key but first you have to determine where you are starting from. For example, my tap water pH is 7.8. Despite using many different types of regulators, I could never get it down to the magic 7.0 for a community aquarium, soooooooooooo, I had to work with what I have and I changed my tank inhabitants to those that prefer a higher pH. My water is also on the hard side. Hard water makes it difficult to adjust the pH as, in my case, it might drop for a few hours but then the dissolved minerals due to the hard water just push it back up again.

If your water is hard and the pH isn't steady after you add the regulators, then you need to soften the water. However, before trying that, please send your initial readings form the tap and the exact readings you are getting form your tank. This might help to isolate the problem.

I know it's frustrating. I don't know of anyone who hasn't gone through this at least once.

Also, do you have a shop that is fish specific rather than Petsmart; this might be a better place to ask your quesitons. As well, if you go to LiveAquaria.com, you can e-mail their professionals. I have found their advice is on the money when it comes to problems and they have helpoed me solve problems in the past (Click on Contact Us) ; Contact Us. They usually answer within 12 hours or so, and will keep helping you until you can solve your problem.

Terese