Mollies In Nano-reef?

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

mollies are far cheaper.

Damsels are very territorial. I`ve still got my 1st 4 that started out with, and with every fish ive bought since they have shown them that they are boss. but non have which have died. They tried to beat down me black spotted puffer,and the puffer showed them it was quite funny. The regal tang had problems settling in because of them. but with me tank being massive they soon settled down.. it seems no matter where the damels set there territory, they like to have the whole tank regardless..

You can get yellow-tails for $2.00 or less. What species of damsel are you talking about? The yellow-tails are the only ones I know about that are shy if kept singly, but I dont know about a group. One is a good number though.

 

[Dragonscales]

In my opinion, they would make a great fish for someone new to nano-reefs.

Personally I don't think they are a good fish for someone new to the hobby to keep in saltwater or a nano. Seeing as most mollies in the hobby are kept in pure freshwater they will take quite a while to acclimate properly. Sure, they are pretty hardy and will probably survive if you do it fast, but does that justify it? Besides which, if they were to get whitespot, etc as a result of stress from acclimatising them too fast then it could cost you your whole livestock which, depending on the fish, could cost a whole lot more than a few $1.50 mollies. That said, a person new to saltwater or even just nanos for that matter, will have enough on their plate without worrying about slowly adjusting salt levels over a matter of weeks/months (depending on the molly source).

 

[Lynden]

Mollies by no means need to be acclimated for more than a day. Mine came from a wal-mart store (god forbid) and i acclimated them within a few hours. If they get ich, simply emerse them in freshwater for a few minutes. And its not like they will be in pain during the acclimation process; mollies evolved to do this.
However, mollies are aggresive and not the most interesting of fish when in small groups; I would probably go with a goby, and a clownfish pair if I were you.

The comment about the fish needing to be mated pairs to get along isnt exactly true. Many fish get along fine if they are not in a mated pair. If they couldnt get along in a non-mated pair, then how would they become a mated pair?

Also, dwarf lions can be kept in tanks as small as 25 gallons, as long as they have room to swim.
And when damsels and lions are put together, especially if the damsels are sargeants, dominos, or humbugs, the lions may actually be the ones being beat up. Lionfish have been killed by damselfish many times; sometimes the lion would be introduced to berid of the damsels, but the damsels would bite and nip, until the lion died of stress.

-Lynden

 

[Navarre]

I have nothing against mollies as an addition to a marine setup (be it nano or regular... except perhaps adult size) but my concerns are the reasons for their purchase. If someone is going into the marine hobby and getting a fish because its inexpensive and then choosing a fish that is not a standard reef fish (when there are perfectly other acceptable cheap reef fish) indicates:

1. A marine setup is not cheap. and buying the absolute cheapest fish indicates that the same applies to the husbandry and equipment and this is a dangerous path to take.

2. Once the fish is introduced and providing all goes well, the hobbiests will then want more expensive fish and probably more brighter colours.. afterall a tank with just mollie may as well be freshwater right? This means you walk right into a problem as a nano can only sustain 2,3 perhaps 4 fish at best. If a hobbiests purchases 2 mollies then it leaves very little rom for another reef fish to accompany them. If they are male/female of course then forget adding anything elese as they will soon outpopulate the entire system

I would personally keep clear of damsels and mollies as a nano fish. (even damsels grow suprisingly large). I would look for gobies, blennies, dottybacks and grammas as a better option.

Never buy livestock simply because its cheap. Buy stock that will compliment each other and work well in the setup of the system.

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

Mollies by no means need to be acclimated for more than a day. Mine came from a wal-mart store (god forbid) and i acclimated them within a few hours. If they get ich, simply emerse them in freshwater for a few minutes. And its not like they will be in pain during the acclimation process; mollies evolved to do this.
However, mollies are aggresive and not the most interesting of fish when in small groups; I would probably go with a goby, and a clownfish pair if I were you.

The comment about the fish needing to be mated pairs to get along isnt exactly true. Many fish get along fine if they are not in a mated pair. If they couldnt get along in a non-mated pair, then how would they become a mated pair?

Also, dwarf lions can be kept in tanks as small as 25 gallons, as long as they have room to swim.
And when damsels and lions are put together, especially if the damsels are sargeants, dominos, or humbugs, the lions may actually be the ones being beat up. Lionfish have been killed by damselfish many times; sometimes the lion would be introduced to berid of the damsels, but the damsels would bite and nip, until the lion died of stress.

-Lynden

Ok, for the last time, its the yellowtails that im talking about, not damsels in general.

I dont know about how fish become a pair, but I do know that the same species of clown dont get along at all so I figured that it was just something that when they saw a certain fish, they decided to mate with it before they wanted to fight it.

 

[Lynden]

Ok, for the last time, its the yellowtails that im talking about, not damsels in general.

I dont know about how fish become a pair, but I do know that the same species of clown dont get along at all so I figured that it was just something that when they saw a certain fish, they decided to mate with it before they wanted to fight it.

I know that you mean well, but some of your posts are incorrect and opinionated. Amphiprion clownfish are among the easiest aquarium fish to pair, as they change sexes in order to do this. Amphiprion clowns are only extremely rarely agressive to eachother, and most will get along very peacably, even in my case, when the second clown was introduced almost 5 months after the first. They even share the L.T. anemone I bought recently

And I will say also that I am talking about yellowtails, there is no need to remind me.

-Lynden

 

[RoyalGrammaPrincessHannah]

I have read about people tring to pair these clowns, and even when trying with more than 2 ended up with some dead. And yellow-tail damsels are the shyest fish I have ever owned and have had two of them. All the ones I have observed for long periods of time never were bullying any of the other fish in the tank. I guess your experiences are just opposite of mine. Oh well

 

[Navarre]

I would not entertain putting a damsel in my system (ok chromis and clowns exempt) even a yellow tail. They are aggressive mean and quarrelsome. This doesnt mean that all of them are of course but they all have a reputation and the risk of having a problem fish hiding out in your rockwork is more than i would want to take. Yellowtails are probably the least aggressive by and large of the damsels but sadly i have also seen these little critters nip and harrase fully grown emperor angels If they are added last then this usually doesnt hppen but if not then they will defend their territory from all intruders and the range of their territory depends on the size of their tank.. what i mean is no matter what size it is the see it as "theirs"! Of course, all fish are individuals and this doesnt mean that there arent placid ones among them, just be warned when getting them, you might get more than you bargained for.