Male Molly Aggression

[princessJJ23]

We have had a group of 5 male sailfin mollies for a few months now,they have always had the odd moments of chasing each other around the tank and displaying to each other but it has got worse in the past couple of days.It used to be one in particular who would chase mostly the smallest one around,he never seemed to be bothered,but now they have all started doing it!!The water parameters are fine and none of the other fish are acting any different so I know its not that.Im guessing that they are maturing and possibly wanting some female company but we dont fancy being overrun with fry!Any other suggestions?

 

[carla85uk]

My mollies chase all the time, they dont do each other any harm though, but we have female mollies in there as well. when i first got them they did it lots, but i think they were kind of finding the leader of the pack kind of thing.

 

[princessJJ23]

We thought thats what happened with the biggest one,he established his dominance from day one and loved chasing the little one round,he was never bothered and managed to get away.The others would just chase each other round but now they have started to display as well,even the little one is having a go and his dorsal fin is tiny!Quite funny to watch but its just worrying me now as its pretty much constant

 

[princessJJ23]

Well overnight we have lost a tetra....just before we went to bed we watched the worst male literally rip the little guys whole tail off,and then proceed to start scrapping with anyone who came near him.The others all joined in and now two of them have splits in their tails.Im really at a loss for what to do now as they are stressing all the others out,not to mention the worry that they will tear each other apart,or another fish.....

 

[krissykat]

Do you have any way you can seperate him from the others?
another tank or a floating box etc

what other fish do you have in there?

 

[princessJJ23]

We've got a quarantine tank,we put the worst one in it for the day yesterday as he pulled a houdini and got into the filter!He bashed his face up a bit and was very quiet so we moved him as the others were harrassing him.It didnt seem to make a difference to the others behaviour as the next biggest one decided he wanted to be boss.Other tank mates are scissortails(steer completely clear of the mollies),glowlights(also stay away),rainbow shark(getting very stressed as hes usually the boss of the tank and hasnt taken very well to being pushed out),sailfin plec(very unhappy,the mollies are stealing all his food),ghost shrimp(not noticed whats going on lol),dwarf gourami(also seem unaffected)

 

[roadmaster]

We have had a group of 5 male sailfin mollies for a few months now,they have always had the odd moments of chasing each other around the tank and displaying to each other but it has got worse in the past couple of days.It used to be one in particular who would chase mostly the smallest one around,he never seemed to be bothered,but now they have all started doing it!!The water parameters are fine and none of the other fish are acting any different so I know its not that.Im guessing that they are maturing and possibly wanting some female company but we dont fancy being overrun with fry!Any other suggestions?

I believe you have identified the root cause,lack of females. Separating them or placing them in a larger system might help. Is what males will do in absence of females to woo.

 

[princessJJ23]

What do you mean by larger system roadmaster?I think we will have to put them on the classifieds section on here and separate them.Its such a shame as up til now they have been really entertaining little fish!!

 

[roadmaster]

What do you mean by larger system roadmaster?I think we will have to put them on the classifieds section on here and separate them.Its such a shame as up til now they have been really entertaining little fish!!
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Did not see any mention of tank size, sorry if I missed it in possibly another thread. A larger system (larger tank),, can sometimes help along with floating plants either real or artificial to allow the hounded fish someplace to rest.Is especially helpful when males are hounding females. Gives them a place to escape to.Think lot's of floating cover.

 

[princessJJ23]

We already have a 190 litre tank that is heavily planted so this is why i couldnt understand why there was so much chasing going on,there are plenty of hiding places but none of them seem to bother

 

[roadmaster]

We already have a 190 litre tank that is heavily planted so this is why i couldnt understand why there was so much chasing going on,there are plenty of hiding places but none of them seem to bother

I see, Sounds like rehoming some or all, might be only recourse.
Probably of little comfort but in the absence of females,,I have observed nearly all livebearer's Guppies,mollies,platies,and swordtails exhibit similar behaivor.Swordtails in particular ,don't seem to get along with other males.

 

[princessJJ23]

Would keeping one on its own be a bit mean??Im happy to rehome 4 of them but I have become really attatched to the smallest one,but obviously not if it made him unhappy.Thanks for all your advice roadmaster

 

[roadmaster]

Would keeping one on its own be a bit mean??Im happy to rehome 4 of them but I have become really attatched to the smallest one,but obviously not if it made him unhappy.Thanks for all your advice roadmaster

Then I'd keep him.