Mollie Question

[LionessN3cubs]

I have what I believe to be a female dalmation mollie and a male black mollie...along with 3 platies in my tank.

I keep reading how easily mollies breed but mine COMPLETELY ignore each other. I guess I COULD be wrong on the sex of what I thought was the male because that one constantly has the sex fin rolled up again his/her body. The platy male and female are always together..I expect babies from them soon.

My tank was cycled fishless method...water stats are all perfect..0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, ph 7.6 water temp at least 82 and nitrates kept under control by regular water changes.

I DONT have salt in the water because the LFS where I purchased them didnt use it...I dont mind adding it tho as long as I can figure out how much to put in and not hurt my platies or my apple snail.

Is it normal for a male/female mollie pair to ignore each other so completely?

 

[davefish]

Hi, that is a bit strange as they are normally very horny.

A few possibilities...
Your water temperature seems a bit high. Why have you got it this high? My understanding is that 70-82F would be the limits of the range, and you say that you always have it at least 82F. I'm not sure what the official line is, but I know my mollies are very horny and they are at 76F. Might be worth a go, or some research to check who's right.

How long have you had them? I tend to find that they take a while to get in the mood after being put in a new tank. Maybe patience is the key.

Maybe you have sexed them wrong. The male should have a much larger main fin (the fin on its back - can't think of the correct term for it) than the female I think. It sounds to me like you have sexed them right from your description of the sex fin though.

I do tend to find that my mollies prefer to go with their own type, and yours are different types. Without any options though, they should go for whatever is available. They aren't normally that fussy.

Apparently salt does help, but it's certainly not necessary, and it's obviously easier not to bother with it.

Your pH seems good as I think they prefer slightly above neutral. Do you know your water hardness? I think they like hard water as this somehow makes up for having no salt. Perhaps if you have very soft water they wouldn't be keen.

Sorry that probably isn't much help, it's just a bunch of thoughts. Best of luck!

 

[omega59]

82F is not too bad, and some fish simply do not mate with one another for whatever their reasons are lol. i have mollies and never used salt in my tank and they are just fine. i have a male and a female balloon mollie who never mate, this is fine with me as long as theya re healthy