Advice Needed

[Fish_Girl]

Today i got my first tropical fish-3 balloon mollies, and 3 honey gouramis. i was told these are fine kept together along with many other community fish. however i have just read through the pinned thread that says mollies need salt? is that true?

right now they are in a 54 litre tank-with pump, filter and heater-is this all ok? im so worried that i wont care for them right! if they need salt, then i wont be able to give it to them will i? with the gouramis and other types of fish i want to keep?

sorry for so many questions, just dont want to end up doing something wrong before ive even started!

 

[bleechme]

I know some people who have raised them without salt before and the fish do ok, But it is reconmended that you add some salt for them.

 

[Fish_Girl]

thanks for your reply. my concern is that i couldnt add salt to my tank now as the gouramis are in there, and i plan to get other fish that couldnt have salt in their water?(atleast i think they cant!!) im really worried now-should i get a smaller tank for the mollies and move them into that and add salt? im such a worry wort!

 

[bleechme]

That would be best if you moved them. But a little salt won't really hurt any scaled fish. They use salt to lower stress from fish too so I don't think it would really matter. Now it's your decision or you could keep asking for help. since I'm not really good with mollies,( never had them before)

 

[Annastasia]

54 litres is really the bare minimum for those Mollies. More would be better. Moving them into a smaller tank isn't going to be very good for them. Balloons don't need salt so much as the other types, but it is still recommended to have salt. What kind of water do you have?

Edit: Bleechme ~ You're right, salt won't hurt scaled fish. It's the unscaled fish you have to worry about. What fish are you looking into getting Fish_Girl?

 

[BigIan]

salt is recomended, BUT i know plenty of people who keep mollys with no salt and they thrive, they constantly fill the tank with offspring so something must be right in their

 

[dwarfgourami]

salt is recomended, BUT i know plenty of people who keep mollys with no salt and they thrive, they constantly fill the tank with offspring so something must be right in their

Depends on what kind of water you have- and what kind of mollies. I tried to keep black mollies in soft acid water without salt, and yes they did breed, but they were also riddled with ich and constantly coming down with infections, so I wouldn't say it was an unqualified success.

Balloon mollies might well do better, and your water is probably harder than mine was, so you might do better, hard to tell.

 

[Fish_Girl]

Thanks for your replies guys.

54 litres is really the bare minimum for those Mollies. More would be better. Moving them into a smaller tank isn't going to be very good for them. Balloons don't need salt so much as the other types, but it is still recommended to have salt. What kind of water do you have?

Edit: Bleechme ~ You're right, salt won't hurt scaled fish. It's the unscaled fish you have to worry about. What fish are you looking into getting Fish_Girl?

i didnt realise it was the bare minimum-do you mind me asking why? they are such small fish i really didnt realise. i was planning on eventually getting some neons, corydoras, maybe guppies and female betta. was also thinking of getting a pair of ADF (will be researching all before i do!) do you think that is too many for my tank? i was told the tank was good enough for 25 fish(though i dont want that many)

 

[dwarfgourami]

Is your tank the Juwel 60 by any chance? More suitable for c. 7-8 small fish the size of a platy, in that case. Mollies, even balloon ones, do grow quite a bit bigger though. 25 fish is a wild exaggeration (on the part of your fish shop, I assume).
I have one Juwel 60, in which I keep 7 young platies and 5 amano shrimp; also, a Juwel 70, which houses 4 peppered cories, 1 guppy and 4 platies. I consider both these fully stocked.

 

[Fish_Girl]

Is your tank the Juwel 60 by any chance? More suitable for c. 7-8 small fish the size of a platy, in that case. Mollies, even balloon ones, do grow quite a bit bigger though. 25 fish is a wild exaggeration (on the part of your fish shop, I assume).
I have one Juwel 60, in which I keep 7 young platies and 5 amano shrimp; also, a Juwel 70, which houses 4 peppered cories, 1 guppy and 4 platies. I consider both these fully stocked.

WOW seriously? yes it is the juwel 60, and it was the fish store that told my OHs Dad he could keep that many in it(i dont think he ever got to that point in that tank though) i cant believe its only suitable for 8 fish-i have 6 in there now and they look lost! i suppose i should have realised-i mean pet shops are always giving out the wrong advice and selling cages WAY too small for animals so no difference there!!

guess i wont be getting too many more fish then do you think 3 corydoras and a pair of ADF would be ok to get still? these are the ones i REALLY want.

 

[Annastasia]

Thanks for your replies guys.

54 litres is really the bare minimum for those Mollies. More would be better. Moving them into a smaller tank isn't going to be very good for them. Balloons don't need salt so much as the other types, but it is still recommended to have salt. What kind of water do you have?

Edit: Bleechme ~ You're right, salt won't hurt scaled fish. It's the unscaled fish you have to worry about. What fish are you looking into getting Fish_Girl?

i didnt realise it was the bare minimum-do you mind me asking why? they are such small fish i really didnt realise.

Because they'll grow, some reaching around 3", and you want to give them swimming space.