Saltwater Molly Theory

zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
this thread is also for Poniegirl since she is also trying this.
Day 1. Went great, they got acclimated over about an hour i think. They then tried to find ways out like every other FW fish you buy. After a while they rested. I found them snicking at some hair algae and eating some wich i thought was a great sign! i also saw them eat some mysis wich tells me they liked it. the pipefish was checking them out the second they got into the tank, he seems to like them.
Day 2. The silver female has VANISHED. the other two are doing great tho. sticking together and looking for extra food as i had hoped. there finding some, and also picking at a few algae spots occaisonally. i have no idea where the silver female has gone to...i don't see it on the gorund around the tank or anywhere in the tank. the horse has already checked the mollies out this morning and seems to be fine with them.
WORRIES: only one worry i have so far. it is of the mollies detritus. FW detritus is bad of course they crap alot. so, i may look into buying a big bunch of micro birttle stars sometime to jump my population of them a ton so i don't worry about the detritus. but thats the only problem i see at this time.
ponie girl, if you want please post your info too, so we can get more information about how mollies may be helpful for seahorse tanks or not.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
well 2 horses died so i figured adding three small mollies would just get me back to what i was at. i've been careful, hopefully i've not made any mistakes so far. they have been doing good all day.
still no signs whatsoever of the silver female.
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
I have quite a few thoughts on this theory, Zeke. When I mentioned this in my starting over, I did not think it would be an issue. I have thought and posted regarding SW mollies before, and generally folks have not been in favor.
I do not recommend, suggest, endorse jumping into this without many things happening first: a few of them,
1) Experience with live bearing fish. They reproduce PROLIFICALLY and you can find yourself overrun.
2) Quarantine the mollies more strenuously than you do other fish. The acclimation process should take place in a tank over days. The quarantine process should see the mollies in a separate tank for a month or more, if possible.
3) Purchase the mollies as though you intend to keep them as you do your other stock. They are animals.
Remember, when I bought the mollies, my seahorses had just died. The mollies were purchased as pets. The theory developed after. I have not kept them with SH yet.
I look forward to hearing how things go Zeke.
By the by, the mollies are now creating SW detrius, aren't they. They are saltwater fish.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
good point about the detritus..never thought of it like that really. i didn't really quaruntine them...i acclimated them over the time of an hour or longer....... >_>
soooo....if we put that in the past and pretend i didn't

[hr]
that part up, everything else is going great. there picking at algae occasionally and eating a few pieces of junk here and there.
the two still there are sticking together so i hope they like each other. one is silver and the other is orange but i think one is male and other is female, i just hope there pretty much the same so they can still breed fine, not much experience in mollies.
but i do have tons of experience in FW and livebearers. and have plenty of FW tank room if i get overrun.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
there doing great! been eating leftovers, i've seen them nibbling on algae.
i don't know if its me or if there skin looks more 'saltwater fish like'. i'm sure it's just me, but itjust seems there skin looks smoother and more like a saltwater fish or somethin

anyway there doing great and the seahorse seems to not mind them at all.
this seahorse has done better then any of the other horses i've had aswell.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
i think. i think i have a boy and two girls. i think you can tell by the shape of the back fin.
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
yeah i know, i've breed guppies alot. but mollies are harder to tell i believe. you can tell on mollies by there back fin, or atleast the type i have. there tailfin on the mail is like an arch and the female is just like a normal tailfin, dull and square.
how long does mollies take to have babies?
 
keri

keri

Active Member

the anal fin on the male is more pointed while on a female is is shaped like a fan. Females are almost always plumper. I think gestation is about 30 days? (The fish in these images are actually platies, but the fin is the same)

female
 
poniegirl

poniegirl

Active Member
Originally Posted by zeke92
http:///forum/post/2475511
yeah i know, i've breed guppies alot. but mollies are harder to tell i believe. you can tell on mollies by there back fin, or atleast the type i have. there tailfin on the mail is like an arch and the female is just like a normal tailfin, dull and square.
how long does mollies take to have babies?
So you have lyretail mollies? Like my male in this photo? He's the beauty at the top of the tank.
I agree with your earlier observation that the mollies look healthier, more vibrant in the saltwater.
The mollies are members of the brackish group and their natural environment is, I believe, between 1.19 and 1.22, give or take. They are not naturally strictly freshwater fish.
There are a few popular species in this group, Mono Argentus (nice fish to keep), discus for example (tough fish to keep). That is why we can do this. I don't know of other livebearing brackish fish.
My mollies seem to bear once a month. With so many females, it's difficult to be sure. I have three males.
I think I will be placing an add in the local rag to relieve myself of a few adults...
 
pete159

pete159

Member
i wonder if that would work with balloon mollies as I have a few of those in a freshwater tank.
well theres only one way to find out.
I'll keep you posted
 
zeke92

zeke92

Active Member
all mollies are still mollies, whether there ballon or sailfin, they have the same blueprints.
i highly suggest others get mollies, especially if you have extra tanks for babies. mine are eating algae and junk all over the place, i love them. i really hope i get some babies soon...i'm gonna keep an eye out for pregnant ones in LFSs too
 
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