Mollies And Vegetables!?

[fry_forever!]

Hi. I've heard from quite a lot of people that you can feed mollies vegetables... Some people say you can't, or shouldn't, though...

What's the real answer? Are veggies good in a molly's diet? If so, what kinds do you feed them, how often, and how do you prepare them? Also, do you have to partially boil them to kill germs and parasites?

Thanks in advance for any help!

-fry_forever!

 

[helterskelter]

Cucumber, lettuce and pea's they love.

How ever with lettuce you have to blanch it first to make easier for them to break down.

in the with they eat a lot of algae's both in the water and from rocks and have a relatively long gut to give them time to break it down.

 

[LauraFrog]

I feed lettuce and spinach by washing in cold water, then pouring boiling water over it and letting it stand a few minutes, then drain, rinse in tank water, soak in tank water until it's cool and put it in the tank. Frozen peas - drop into boiling water to soften them, then peel off the shell and put them in the tank. Small pieces of potato, pumpkin, sweet potato, carrot... - cut grooves into it with a knife so there's something for them to grip, and use very small bits. I use toothpicks with hard vegies - a toothpick into the vegie, and then the other end into a piece of styrofoam to keep the veg near the surface. Zucchini - wash it, cut into small slices, put it in the tank.

The vegies aren't essential but it does seem to keep the mollies a little bit healthier if you provide some roughage in the diet. Most vegies will work, they like all the above. You should avoid using cabbage, anything with a pungent smell like onions or leeks, and anything with jelly in it like tomatoes or cucumber (although the solid part of these vegies is okay). You should also remove anything left in the tank after three or four hours - after this time they have lost most of their taste so the fish are less interested in them, and they will go slimy and foul the water. Hard vegetables can be left for up to 12 hours.

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Mollies will also peck at plant matter for algae. You could easily cultivate your own for them as a supplement to their current diet (IMO it's a better choice that algae discs if you ever go that route).

Many stores sell veggie clips for the vegetables.

Side note, peas are often used to relieve constipation, so even if you do not regularly augment your fishes' diets with plant matter, it also suffices as a "home remedy".

 

[fry_forever!]

Thank you. Finally I have gotten a straight answer! I will try to feed my mollies some veggies, but they really don't do good in my tanks for some reason, even though I have almost perfect water conditions for them. (No ammonia, nitrite, 20 ppm nitrate, 20 gallon tank, 7.5 ph, algae growing, 1 male per 4 females, etc, etc.) They are all dying from ich! And I have tried everything -- heat/salt treatment, medications: AND I followed the directions perfectly! They have had ich for a month now!!! And serious ich!!! Arghh! They never have babies either! My fish frustrate me soo much! Any advice!?

 

[helterskelter]

can u get a pic of them with spot's.

i treat every 3 days with protozin and it usual gone with in 10 days.

 

[dunchp]

Mollies can be susceptible to fungus / white spot.

I find that my mollies (wild types, not cultivated) will start to go downhill if kept too cold and will develop fungus / ich or similar.

You could try raising the temperature, but you have not said what temperature you keep them at.

As for fry, be patient but if they are getting ich then that would not help the situation. Try feeding them up on bloodworm and vegetable matter and other livefoods and don't stress them worrying about fry.

 

[LauraFrog]

What other fish are in the tank? Most mollies that you can buy are hybrids of several wild species. Some of the wild species live in freshwater, and others can only be healthy in hard brackish water. If the ones you have have got a big cut of brackish blood, they will not thrive in freshwater, especially if it is soft. How hard is the water and is there any salt in it? If it's just mollies and other livebearers in the tank, adding salt will really help (probably). If there are things like tetras and catfish then that option is out. Increasing the temperature will probably help as well, all mollies like to be kept warm.

 

[fry_forever!]

Thanks for all the advice! I have guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails and corys in my tanks. I know corys don't tolerate salt very well, but mine actually started doing better when I put salt in! (Yes, I have salt in my tank.) I just treated with a disease treater called "Life-Bearer", which supposedly cures flukes and anchor worms. I've used it before, and it's great, because it doesn't discolour the water or shock the fish. I really don't know if it works very well though... At least for ich... Have any of you guys ever used it? Is it good for treating ich?

http/www.bestpetsupply.com/graphics/Aqua...fe-bearer.s.jpg

Thanks again for all the help!