Combining Molly With Algae Eater

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Jetosy

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i have a black molly that has been alone in a 2.5 for about 6 months or so and has been through ick, and popeye.
he/she is doing great, but due to infrequent water changes, and/or poor filtration, the tank is slowly growing algae.

i'm not in a position to get a different filtration system or tank right now, and due to growing big belly and weight restrictions, i don't get to do water changes as i'd like to. so it seems that my only other option would be to add an algae eater.

i was thinking of putting in a gold algae eater. would they get along?
 
if its the algea eater i think you are refering to then no.

heres a pic of 1 i fink you might be asking abouthttp://boogadave.free.fr/AQUARIUM/FISH_PICS/algea_eater2.jpg

if it is then they grow big,in the region of 8-10 inches i believe and are not suitable for a 2.5 gal and will get very aggressive when they get bigger.i cant rearly think of anything that would work well in a 2.5 gal to clean it,maybe corys but they like being in groups and if you had 3 or more you would be over stocked.im sure other members will have more suggestions and info.
 
An algae eater doesnt excuse you from doing water changes. Even if the tank is free of algae the water quality can be very bad, not to mention the poop on the floor.


no it doesn't 'excuse' me from doing water changes, the Doctor does that, but it would take care of the algae on the tank.


if its the algea eater i think you are refering to then no.

heres a pic of 1 i fink you might be asking abouthttp://boogadave.free.fr/AQUARIUM/FISH_PICS/algea_eater2.jpg

if it is then they grow big,in the region of 8-10 inches i believe and are not suitable for a 2.5 gal and will get very aggressive when they get bigger.i cant rearly think of anything that would work well in a 2.5 gal to clean it,maybe corys but they like being in groups and if you had 3 or more you would be over stocked.im sure other members will have more suggestions and info.


yep, that's the one. they get that big?! good thing i have them in the big tank ;)
thank you!
 
from what I understand about black mollies is
they are excelent algae eaters.
 
Yeah, my swordtails are constantly picking algae, I've heard most livebearers do the same thing. Although a 2.5 isn't suitable for a molly :/
 
A molly in a 2.5 gallon is already going to be suffering from less-than-perfect water quality, particularly if water changes are infrequent. I am not surprised that his health has not been good; both ich and popeye are often associated with poor water quality. The last thing you want to do at this stage is to add another waste producer.

You should be worrying a lot more about the water quality than about the more cosmetic problem of algae.

IMO mollies should not be kept in less than 20 gallons, certainly not in less than 10 gallon.

Are you sure you could not make arrangements for changing the water? in a 2.5 gallon, with twice-weekly changes, you could change about a pint at a time, perhaps in two goes even, it need not be much harder than lifting a tea mug to your mouth, which your doctor probably does allow. Or could you get someone to do it for you?

A Golden Algae Eater will grow to about 10 inches, and will get aggressive and territorial, so this is certainly not an option. They also stop cleaning algae once they are past the juvenile stage.
 
Sorry for any confusions, didnt realise you needed a doctor etc. I do appologise.

I thought your molly was in a 2.5g, or do you have another tank for it to go in?



the problem is that i am pregnant and can't get my tanks changed because of weight restrictions. i have to depend on others to do it, and they work 14 hrs a day so the last thing i want to do when they get homw is ask them to please do water changes.

i just wanted to do whatever i could do to help the tank cleanliness.
it's a 2.5gal that the molly is in, no heater, it keeps the temp of the room. i was told that mollies like cooler temps so i put him in there.
i'm wondering if the filtration system works at all.

i did change water as far as cup by cup and then refill it again cup by cup but i found that the only way it was getting clean was by taking it into the kitchen and taking out the plastic plants and gravel and washing them with water. they get all slimy in the tank.
therein lies my dilema. i can do the cup by cup water changes but it didn't seem to do any good and the good way is impossible for me to do.

right now i don't have another tank, but christmas is just around the corner ;)
 
A molly in a 2.5 gallon is already going to be suffering from less-than-perfect water quality, particularly if water changes are infrequent. I am not surprised that his health has not been good; both ich and popeye are often associated with poor water quality. The last thing you want to do at this stage is to add another waste producer.

You should be worrying a lot more about the water quality than about the more cosmetic problem of algae.

IMO mollies should not be kept in less than 20 gallons, certainly not in less than 10 gallon.

Are you sure you could not make arrangements for changing the water? in a 2.5 gallon, with twice-weekly changes, you could change about a pint at a time, perhaps in two goes even, it need not be much harder than lifting a tea mug to your mouth, which your doctor probably does allow. Or could you get someone to do it for you?

A Golden Algae Eater will grow to about 10 inches, and will get aggressive and territorial, so this is certainly not an option. They also stop cleaning algae once they are past the juvenile stage.


interesting. i didn't realize tha Mollies needed so much space. i was following the 1 in to 1 gal rule i've read about so much. would i be able to put the molly in the 72gal with the temp so high?


wow, so many replies, i'm asking questions after they're answered ;)

i would like to put the molly in the 72 gal but i read that they like colder temps. i would hate to move him from a 72-74 to a 78 deg tank and have him die.

would it be possible to put 2 neons in the 2.5 and move the molly to the 72?
 
No, neons need to be in groups of 6+. The molly will be fine, they get to at least 4'' so too big for a 2.5 anyway. Just make sure to acclimate, ie, put in bag/cup and add water from main tank gradually.
 
No, neons need to be in groups of 6+. The molly will be fine, they get to at least 4'' so too big for a 2.5 anyway. Just make sure to acclimate, ie, put in bag/cup and add water from main tank gradually.



the neons i have are only the 2. what is going to happen to them? i've had them since february and have noticed what looks like fin rot. i was keeping up on the tank changes, rock cleaning and such regularly until september. i noticed the fin thing on most of my fish in june and did the salt thing, and water changes. i added more stuff to the tank in case it was stress.
could it not be fin rot, and just that there are too little of them?
 
Nothing, as such, but they're likely to be fairly stressed, although they do have other species to school with. why do you need to move the neons into the 2.5? If you can't do wter changes, why can't you just leave it empty?
 
Nothing, as such, but they're likely to be fairly stressed, although they do have other species to school with. why do you need to move the neons into the 2.5? If you can't do wter changes, why can't you just leave it empty?


good thinking. i can leave it empty, and should if i can't take care of it good until after april.
i was thinking that moving the neons would help if they were stressed due to other fish. so i should just get more neons?


i also read that mollies like more of a brackish water, the fish store owner said that also. is this true?
 

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