Mollies

[AdAndrews]

DO MOLLIES NEED SALT, AND IF SO WHY?, JUST WONDERED AS I WISH TO KEEP ONE IN MY TROPICAL COMMUNITY TANK

CHEERS

 

[Truck]

HI!! they are naturally found in brackish water, but have adapted to fresh, but salt can help keep fin rot away, read the pin, in the livebearers section

 

[AdAndrews]

thanks, ive just read it after setting up this post

 

[OldMan47]

Actually some mollies, very few actually, naturally occur in brackish water which is not just salty but contains some sea salt. They adapt quite readily to any sea salt concentration from pure freshwater to pure ocean water. Most mollies do not come from brackish conditions but they are also not so common in the hobby. There are over 20 distinct species of molly that have been named. Of those 3 are fairly common in the hobby and 2 of those 3 are easy to move back and forth from fresh to salt.
I have robust mollies in good health that regularly produce beautiful fry with no salt at all in their water. I keep my mollies with fish that do not tolerate salt well so I don't use it for them. Anecdotal evidence of salt needs for mollies are usually based on observations of fish that improve when sea salt is added to the soft water in which the mollies were being kept. The real need that mollies have is somewhat hard water with a high pH. Since sea salt will produce water of a pH over 8.0, the mollies in soft acidic water definitely benefit from the salt. The same effect can be obtained by just boosting the water's pH and making sure that it is not overly soft but that seldom is explored by salt pushers.
A recent drop by one of my females is posted here, mother and fry. My guess is that salty folks have not seen healthier looking mollies.

One of the real benefits of keeping mollies in fresh water is that they love plants and need them in their diet. Plants that we see in the aquarium hobby will not grow in brackish water.