Mollies in a community tank?

[SkiFletch]

Hey all, been thinking a lot about what species I want in my final tank and I really like the appearance of Mollies so I'm here to ask about their compatibility with other fish. As in my sig, I have a 20 gallon tall tank and was considering putting them in with my male Dwarf Gourami and maybe a bottom feeder of sorts. My main concerns at this point are 3 issues:

Salt - I've read some issues surrounding mollies and how they like some salt in the water and can even tolerate brackish or near-marine salinities. Will they tolerate very low salinity since I'm pretty sure Dwarf Gourami's are not very tolerant of salt.

Compatibility - Will Mollies and a Dwarf even get along? I've also heard that some species of Molly get a little aggressive, but I also sometimes hear that about Gouramis (usually towards other anabantoids though...). Would they play nice, or not?

Size - Are they going to get too large for my 20 gallon tank, and if so how long would it take them to outgrow it? days? weeks? months? years?

Lastly, if not Dwarf Gouramis, are there any other types of fish they get along with well? Even if its not possible now, perhaps when I get my 40 gallon I can design its species around Mollies.

Thanks for any of your thoughts and inputs, its appreciated as always.

 

[Annastasia]

The salt issue is pretty debatable. Basically, it comes down to how they were raised. They can be kept without salt, though it's usually advised you do. If you want to keep them with non-salt tolerant fish, try to get some that have been raised in pure freshwater.

Compatibility will depend on the kind and sex of Molly, and the sex of the Dwarf Gourami. I'm going to assume Male Dwarf, as females are hard to find. For the Mollies, if you get all females and no males, they should play nice enough. I'd stay away from Sailfins though, as they tend to be more inclined to be aggressive.

On the size.....yes, depending on the type. Balloon will be fine for life, though some people don't like the way they look. Regular Mollies would probably be okay in there for a few months. Or until you get your 40 Gallon. Sailfins, just no. Wouldn't even start with them.


Other common Livebearers usually get along with Mollies, with the exception of Endlers. Cories are good, as are most Catfish. Tetras, Rasboras, and other schooling fish are fine, as long as they aren't incredibly nippy. Most of your community fish will get along fine with Mollies, it's more if you are going to be limited by the salt factor.

I think I answered all your questions there, let me know if I missed any.

 

[SkiFletch]

That helped a lot anastasia. I was pretty sure saifins were too big, but what about lyretails? My LFS told me tonight when I was there that their Mollies are kept with a mixture of one tsp per 10 gallons of salt which I understand is pretty small so I'd imagine I could ween them off it if everything you've said is true?

Btw, how do you sex mollies?

 

[Annastasia]

That is pretty small...but sometimes when you take them off salt, if they have been on it, they'll get subdued, and can sometimes get shimmies. I'm not very familiar on the Gourami's salt tolerance, so are you sure he can't handle that little bit?

What kind of Lyre-tails? All those kinds of Mollies come in Lyre-tail form, so it depends.

And you sex Mollies just like any other Livebearer. The female has a fan-shaped anal fin, and the male has a pointed one.

 

[SkiFletch]

Not sure what kind of lyretails actually. They didnt have the really big elongated dorsal fin like sailfins, nor were they really tall with big bellies. Is there a third type of molly?

 

[Annastasia]

Yes. The common, regular, normal-looking Molly. They come in Lyre-tails too, so I'll assume you mean those. Yes, they should be okay in there until you get the 40 gallon. Then I'd move them.

 

[SkiFletch]

Yey . Think I'll try some of the gorgeous creamsicle ones they have

 

[Annastasia]

What did you decide to do about the salt issue, though?

 

[SkiFletch]

Well after speaking to my LFS, they keep almoast all species of fish (including mollies and dwarf gouramis) in that same 1tsp/10gal salt content. They have exceptions to that rule and listed a few but I dont remember what they said . I'd imagine they do so to perhaps combat disease, but I didnt get into detail of asking them why.

Being that as it may I've kept the tank at that minor salinity through out the life of the dwarf I have for the past 10 days so it shouldnt be much of a shock to any mollies I put in there. Now I just have to wait for my cycle to complete... Ammonia levels came down to 2ppm today for the first time (standard 4ppm) so perhaps my bacteria are catching up

Anyhow, back to the waiting game

 

[Annastasia]

Awesome, sounds great.

Cycling is a waiting game...that's why, after my first tank, I clone all my tanks now.

But don't worry, once it's done, you'll be glad you waited. Because you'll have years of sucessful fish-keeping ahead of you. Keep us updated on the Mollies and your tank!

 

[SkiFletch]

Will do Anastasia, thanks for all your help and input

 

[campion]

I have several mollies in my tank, 92L and thigs are fine.
The other friends of the mollies I have in tank are..
Tigter barbs, Green barbs,Angel fish,blue gouramies, and a few others, and they are all one big happy family.
If you have a male molly make sure you have at LEAST 3 females for him, otherwise he will just cause grief to the female by constantly chasing her and mating her. I had to get a few more females for my sailfins to play with, because I was very worried about the other females getting stressed,etc.

 

[SkiFletch]

Sweet, thanks