Molly Mating Questions?

[joselaz5780]

So my friend has a 20 gal which he has given to me and it is cycled(water from before) parameters are fine and everything etc... Well this 20 gal isn't supposed to be a mating tank for me since all i have in it are 5 sunburst male platies two male swordtails and 8 albino cories, except for one female silver molly which doesn't seem to bother the males(they seem to ignore her and she doesn't seem to mind since she is happily swimming on her own) I have a black molly which i recently adopted from my friend and i was thinking of putting the black molly in the 20 gal. Will this rise up problems between males? Will the two mollies mate?

 

[the_lock_man]

The simple answer to the last question is YES. The more complicated answer is yes they will, and lots of times.

In my experience, mollies could be boisterous between themselves, but generally left the other species alone, but you can only tell by trying - fish have individual temperaments, just as much as humans do.

 

[KrystaK]

+1 above. Fish generally tend to keep to their own species - unless it's feeding time and then it's an all out brawl

But generally fish of different species don't interact, so adding another molly won't hurt.

Yes the mollies will most probably mate if the other one is a male - unless he's a Lyretail mail, in which case his anal fin and breeding parts may be to bendy to use properly in which case it will be very hard for him to breed.

 

[OldMan47]

A simple black molly will not cause any real conflict in your tank. In fact, if you have adequate cover for fry in your tank, the black molly adds a bit of diversity that might otherwise not exist in your tank.