Balloon Mollies And Brackish Tanks

[poopsydrew]

Hey all,
I am planning on breeding some balloon mollies in the near future. I know most mollies thrive in slightly brackish enviroments, however, I was reading an article on brackish tanks and fish (I believe Neale wrote it )and it said that some short fin mollys actually do better in freshwater. So I was just wondering if the balloon mollies should be kept in brackish or fresh, and if brackish what SG would you reccomend? Thanks in advance.

Drew

 

[nmonks]

I'm not sure I'd ever say any mollies do *better* in freshwater!

What is true is that most mollies are found in freshwater habitats *in the wild*. Brackish water habitats are an extension of where mollies live, rather than the heartland.

Now, the problem is that aquarium conditions are not identical to wild conditions. Specifically, mollies seem to be very sensitive to high levels of nitrate. Likely anything above 20 mg/l. Since almost all community tanks have well above that level, mollies kept in freshwater community tanks tend to get stressed by the nitrate and get sick. (As a point of reference, the water out the tap in Southern England will likely have around 50 mg/l nitrate, so even "new" water is dangerous, let alone the conditions in the aquarium.) Salt reduces the toxicity of nitrate (and nitrite) which is why mollies are so much hardier in brackish water -- the nitrate doesn't affect them any more.

The other issue is that the mixing up of genes in breeding fancy mollies mean that virtually none of the stock sold today is "a" species. So going by wild conditions helps you not one jot.

Bottom line, if you want 100% success with your mollies, keep them in brackish water at around SG 1.003-1.005. Sure, you can keep them in freshwater if you want, but you have no guarantees they will do well. This is especially true if you expose them to high levels of nitrate, low pH, and low hardness.

Cheers, Neale

 

[poopsydrew]

Neale,
Thank you so very much for your prompt response! You have to be the most educated and knowledgable person this website I will def. keep them in brackish water at the SG you requested. Since they are sensitive to nitrate, i was thinking the tank would do well with some plants...any sugggestions for some good plants for a brackish tank that is going to breed mollies? Once again, Thank you Neale, you have saved the day once more.

Drew

p.s. Sorry just thought of this. The lfs i will be purchasing them from keeps them in freshwater. How would i go about slowly acclimatising (sp?) them to their new brackish enviroment?

 

[nmonks]

Thanks for the kind words.

In brackish water you don't need to worry about the nitrate levels. The salt detoxifies the nitrate/nitrite and the mollies couldn't care less. This is why mollies are used to mature marine tanks. The higher the salinity, the more indestructible they become.

If you want to add plants, there's a nice pinned topic in the Brackish forum all about the subject.

Acclimating mollies to brackish water is a doddle. Place in bucket with the water from aquarium shop. Add half a cup of brackish water from the aquarium every 2-5 minutes (or some variation therein, such that you're slowly adding water to the bucket a bit at a time). Do this for about half an hour. Net mollies out of bucket, place in brackish aquarium. I've acclimated mollies from freshwater to marine, and vice versa, in under an hour, no problems. It's probably more stressful for the newbie brackish water aquarist than the mollies!

Cheers, Neale

 

[poopsydrew]

Thanks for the kind words.

In brackish water you don't need to worry about the nitrate levels. The salt detoxifies the nitrate/nitrite and the mollies couldn't care less. This is why mollies are used to mature marine tanks. The higher the salinity, the more indestructible they become.

If you want to add plants, there's a nice pinned topic in the Brackish forum all about the subject.

Acclimating mollies to brackish water is a doddle. Place in bucket with the water from aquarium shop. Add half a cup of brackish water from the aquarium every 2-5 minutes (or some variation therein, such that you're slowly adding water to the bucket a bit at a time). Do this for about half an hour. Net mollies out of bucket, place in brackish aquarium. I've acclimated mollies from freshwater to marine, and vice versa, in under an hour, no problems. It's probably more stressful for the newbie brackish water aquarist than the mollies!

Cheers, Neale

lol a doodle. Once again thanks I will check out the section on plants. Thanks for your instructions, sounds pretty easy. The only question I have left (I promise last one) is what kind of salt to use...aquarium salt? I know there are different types so any advice from the expert would be great. Thanks Neale!

Drew

p.s. Just read marine salt is best....will await to confirm that with you...

 

[nmonks]

Correct, you should always use marine salt mix. Only marine salt mix raises the pH and hardness, as well as the salinity. Tonic (aquarium) salt is nothing more than cooking salt.

Cheers, Neale

p.s. Just read marine salt is best....will await to confirm that with you...