Nervous Mollies

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#1
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#1
I put a trio of mollies in the 5.5g for breeding. The tank consists of:
2 female mollies
1 male molly
1 filter
1 heater (78 f)
Gravel
1 live plant (aponogeton)
1 plastic coral (for hiding in)
1/2 tsp of non-iodized sea salt per gallon (2.5 tsp)

Everything is fine, but ever since I set up this tank 2 days ago, the mollies have been just sitting under the filter and heater, and staying really still in a tiny clump. If I put my hand on the glass, they dart to the other side of the tank. They seem to be really nervous, but I'm not sure why.

The 2 mollies in the 10g are having a jolly old time chasing each other around, playing with the zebras, and running away from the betta.

The ones in the 5.5 acted like that when they were in there. The males were all fighting over who got to mate with the females, and went crazy for food. Now, everything is different. The male in the 5.5 isn't even interested in mating, and the completely ignore when I sprinkle food in the tank!

Why are they acting like this? Thanks in advance!
 

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O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#4
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#4
GooGirl said:
Everything is fine, but ever since I set up this tank 2 days ago, the mollies have been just sitting under the filter and heater, and staying really still in a tiny clump. If I put my hand on the glass, they dart to the other side of the tank. They seem to be really nervous, but I'm not sure why.
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GooGirl said:
Now, everything is different. The male in the 5.5 isn't even interested in mating, and the completely ignore when I sprinkle food in the tank!

Why are they acting like this? Thanks in advance!
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If this tank was just set up only 2 days ago, you are likely just starting the Nitrogen Cycle. Also, 5.5 gallons is way too small for the molly fish to live in. The way the fish are acting indicates ammonia poisoning.

I would recommend returning the the three fish to the 10 gallon tank for now. But the 10 gallon tank is also overstocked, so you may need to rethink the idea of breeding fish until you get larger aquariums.
 

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#5
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#5
The thing that I don't get is, why do the fish need so much space? As long as I keep the tanks regularly clean and vacuumed, why does there need to be so much space for mollies? Some say they are really active fish, but it seems that even if they are really active, there is a lot of extra room in the tank!

And, BTW, aqadvisor says that my 10g is stocked 88% if I do a weekly 24% water change. Also, the filtration capacity is 151%, so the tank is just fine at the moment. If I put another molly in there, it is stocked at 101% with weekly 31% water changes. If I put all of my fish in there, it is stocked at 127% with 85% filtration capacity!!!

I have successfully bred mollies in these tanks, and that's where I got these mollies. Why couldn't I do it again just because of how much space they need?
 

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#6
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#6
OrangeCones said:
The way the fish are acting indicates ammonia poisoning.
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You're right! I found a box of 'ammonia clear' tablets that are supposed to 'get rid of ammonia fast!'. I followed the instructions and dropped half a tablet in there (1 tablet treats 10g). I fed the fish, and immediately noticed a change. It hadn't even been 30 seconds after I put the tab in, and they were darting around eating the food. Thanks!
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#7
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#7
GooGirl said:
The thing that I don't get is, why do the fish need so much space? As long as I keep the tanks regularly clean and vacuumed, why does there need to be so much space for mollies? Some say they are really active fish, but it seems that even if they are really active, there is a lot of extra room in the tank!
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I think 5.5 gallons is too small for 3 molly fish, and adding them to the 10 gallon would overstock it. Just my OPINION.

Everyone has their own ideas on what is proper stocking levels, so stocking levels are up to you.


GooGirl said:
You're right! I found a box of 'ammonia clear' tablets that are supposed to 'get rid of ammonia fast!'. I followed the instructions and dropped half a tablet in there (1 tablet treats 10g). I fed the fish, and immediately noticed a change. It hadn't even been 30 seconds after I put the tab in, and they were darting around eating the food. Thanks!
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You're welcome. The binding of ammonia that the Ammonia Clear tablets does is temporary, so you will still need to complete the Nitrogen Cycle on the tank.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#9
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#9
If you don't have a test kit, you can't read the exact water parameters, so you should err on the side of caution, assume there's lots of ammonia going on right now, and do minimum 50% water changes daily until you do get a test kit and can verify that the nitrogen cycle has completed. You can also help things along by taking some of the filter media from an established healthy tank and putting it in the filter of your new tank.
So other people have asked why fish need so much room. It's because that's what animals need. Think about if you and two of your best friends were in a trailer with no open windows. It would get stuffy and cramped. Sure, you wouldn't die but you wouldn't be very comfortable. I think we should try and make our fish as comfortable as possible.
 

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#10
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#10
But think of it my way: if you blow up the size of the fish and tank (with fish being the size of humans) the tank would be HUGE!!! As as long as the water got changed every once in a while, everything would be fine!

They are doing it again. The 10g has already been cycled and up for a couple of weeks, and I just put all of my mollies in there (and PLEASE do not lecture me about overstocking). The mollies are now all hiding in the decorations and are scared of everything. The water is fine, so I don't know what their deal is. They only seem to act that way when the females are around. If it's only the males in the tank, they are fine, and chase each other around! Maybe they are afraid of babies... :p

Again, why are they acting like this?

BTW, one of my possibly pregnant females has popeye.
 

FishDad

FishDad

Superstar Fish
#11
Mar 4, 2012
1,218
1
38
Cleveland
#11
How do you know the water is fine if you don't have a test kit? Even if you do regular water changes the ammonia can spike in just a few hours in a ten gallon tank. When I first got into this stuff my first tank was 10g and it was not easy to keep it healthy. Bigger the better I think.
 

T

Thyra

Superstar Fish
#13
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#13
I woke up last night thinking about your space issue. This is what I came up with: a molly is 3 - 4 inches long and a 10G tank is about 18 inches. That means the fish has 5 times its length to swim in. ( and about half that width) That would be like putting you - who is probably around 5 feet tall in a swimming pool with other people that is 25 feet long. If two or three of you were very active it wouldn't be any fun at all!
 

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#14
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#14
Actually, these mollies are 1 to 2 inches long. Only one is 2 inches, and one is a 1-inch runt from the last litter (if that's what you call a bunch of baby fish :p), and the rest are in between.. But I see what you mean. I'm also trying to find a space to put another tank, but I don't have many places to put them! Ooh, I just thought of a spot that would fit a 10g......

Oh, and the 55g now has a hamster in it, and soon another! :p

BTW, sorry to keep you from sleeping with my tank problems! :p
 

M

masterbaiter

New Fish
#15
Dec 24, 2012
6
0
0
#15
You should try dressing the female mollies in some sort of lingerie. Introduce roll-playing to them, as well. In my experience, the male molly feels emasculated because of the name, "Molly." Address your male mollies as "Melvins." Ok...Hope this helps. Good luck!
 

GooGirl

GooGirl

Large Fish
#17
Nov 20, 2012
222
0
0
Walla Walla Washington
#17
OK, the 2 females are in the 5.5g with almost all of the ornaments that I have! They look close to giving birth. The bigger girl looks like her stomach might explode! I put all the decos and plants in there so that the fry will have a place to hide when they are born. I can't get any good pics with a front-facing camera on a tablet so, sorry you can't see any pics!

I don't know what's wrong with them! Whatever I do, whatever I put in the tanks, whatever I don't, they always act like someone is hunting them in the 5.5g! They hide and act like I described earlier. If they were in the 10g, they are all happy and darting around! Why are they doing this?

I'm pretty sure that both tanks are cycled and they have the same water. Oh, and it's only the mollies that are acting like this, the betta and danios are fine.
 

CAPSLOCK

CAPSLOCK

Elite Fish
#18
Jul 19, 2004
3,682
33
48
39
Cape Cod
#18
Can you black out the back and/or a few sides of the tank? Make it seem less open and vulnerable to them? You can do simple like a black/dark plastic garbage bag taped to it, or a dark piece of poster board / construction paper, or you can even paint it (acrylic paint will scrape right off when dry if you don't like it). This is even more beneficial if they aren't up against a wall on at least one side right now.
 

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