Swimming In Current

[Jpedlow]

Hi folks, completely new to keeping fish, I currently have a 20L tank and a few plants and drift wood. I have 4 mollies and a better! My question is they seem to always swim to where the filter output stream is and get pushed back, do I need to turn it down or is this normal??

 

[Akasha72]

if they getting blown back and tumbling over then yes, turn it down, but some species of fish like swimming in a current and you can generally tell if they are enjoying it or if it's hurting them. If they remain upright and dart in and out of the flow then I'd suspect this is just play behaviour.
 
When you say a better ... do you mean a beta? I'll presume so and say I don't know much about them other than they don't like much current. Most beta keepers keep them with a sponge filter that doesn't create any current at all

 

[NickAu]

 
I have 4 mollies and a better!

Mollies cant live in a 20 L tank they get too big they need a 3 or 4 foot tank, a 20L tank is big enough for 1 Betta and maybe a few shrimp or a snail. With crowded conditions like that even the Betta will suffer, water quality will go down and things like finrot will set in.
 
My suggestion is that you
1  Put them in a suitable tank.
2 Return them to where you got them from.

 

[RainboWBacoN420]

I used to have mollies for my 15 gallon and they loved the airstone I had in there. they would swim through all the bubbles and try to swim against the force of it. My albino cories do the same thing in my 55 gallon with my HOB filter. I see them do it all the time, the neon tetra like to do it, too from time to time. I don't know if they do it for fun or if it feels good for them. But it's cute to watch them do it!

 

[Jpedlow]

Got the mollies as recommended by my local aquarium shop, and yes meant a betta just spell check, have a sponge filter too, was just checking if this was normal or not, the betta seems to do it for a while then swim off and head to other parts of the tank for a while, thanks for the replies folks!

 

[Byron]

I will comment on the mollies since it is being "debated" in a sense.  This fish, if healthy, will attain 3 inches for males and close to 5 inches (some report 6 inches) for females.  A 20g or 15g is not sufficient space.  Four mollies should have at the very least a 3-foot (90 cm) leng tank, and somewhere around 30 gallons/130 litres minimum.  [We have all been assuming "20L" meant a 20g long tank...I hope it is not 20 litres.]
 
It is indeed unfortunate that so many fish stores will sell us anything we ask for.  It pays to research fish before acquiring them, something we all learned by such errors; I know I did.
 
To the behaviour...it is possible this is a sign of trouble.  Mollies are extremely sensitive fish when it comes to ammonia, and when fish prefer swimming into the filter stream it can mean something is wrong with the water, and the fish are experiencing gill issues.  Can you test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
 
Byron.

 

[Jpedlow]

Maybe it isn't mollies I have then, the ones I have are tiny couldn't see them growing to 5 inches! The shop has been there for 40 years so as a newbie I was trusting them on their advice!

The "mollies" weren't swimming in the current they are zipping about everywhere else, was the betta that seemed to be swimming toward the current. Have only had the fish in for 2 days so it's all a learning curve, only have a ph tester but it is coming up at 7!

James

 

[NickAu]

 
the ones I have are tiny couldn't see them growing to 5 inches!

I have several Mollies in a 6 foot tank and can tell you that a healthy female is easily 5 inches long.
 
Also
Mollies need hard water and Bettas prefer soft.

 

[Akasha72]

I missed the 20L comment. If indeed the tank is that small I would agree with the others that this is far too small for mollies. I have a little 18x10x10cm tank which is between 25 and 30 litres and I wouldn't even consider putting anything more than babies in this tank - indeed that is what it is used for.
 
Firstly we need to determine if you do have mollies though. Can you post a photograph of them so we can identify what they are? The easy way to do that is to add from photobucket or such-like and link from there

 

[Jpedlow]

Won't be able to photograph for a while as I'm out all day and would need to set up photo bucket or something like that. Will see what I can do when I get home! Thanks!

 

[Akasha72]

great stuff  
 
Once you set up a photobucket account it's easy to link photo's from there. Just click on the photo you want to share and on the right there will be a list of what you wish to do with the photo. If you click on the second one down that says 'direct' it will turn yellow and say 'copied'. You can then come here and click on the icon below the smiley, if you hover over it it'll say 'image'. If you click on that you can then paste the copied image from photobucket here. We can then identify what the fish are that you have and help you further.

 

[Jpedlow]

Hi sorry about the long gap, I can't seem to get it to work, I'm trying to do it all on my phone and can't see the smiley option??

 

[Byron]

I upload photos direct from my computer.  When you post, click edit, then click the button "Use Full Editor."  That brings up the option to find the photo file on your computer.

 

[NickAu]

Can you please confirm tank size?

 

[Munroco]

Google images for mollies and see if any of the pics match what you have in your tank