Molly Tank

[matt_99]

Hi all...

Looking to setup my spare 20 g with a few mollies, we wanted mollies from the start but realised that there were lots of thers we also wanted that didn't like BW, so never got them.

Tank is approx 20G and trying to see what tankmates I could look at to go with them.

Something different would be good. Thanks.

Matt

 

[matt_99]

a single largeer fish to go in would be good....

tank is 25" wide, 12" deep and 21" High

 

[angelfishguy]

an angel?

 

[Assaye]

Are you going brackish or fresh? What is your pH and hardness like?

A 25" tank isn't big enough for an angel. As they can reach 6 inches+ they need a 36" tank. The height is good, just not the length.

 

[matt_99]

Ph has settled at 6,8 , GH is 7-14 and KH is 3. Temp around 24.

 

[Assaye]

Ph has settled at 6,8 , GH is 7-14 and KH is 3. Temp around 24.

Mollies want a high pH (7.5 upwards) and hard water. Your KH is low which I believe will give you a fairly unstable pH. It's not really idea molly conditions, tbh, and they are one of those fish where a little attention should be paid.

Have you thought about some more flexible livebearers?

 

[matt_99]

Ive already got platys... like the guppies but really definately having the mollies, one way or another.

just resetting the tank up as ive had to move it and getting salt adjusted so will see what comes out after that.

 

[Assaye]

Ive already got platys... like the guppies but really definately having the mollies, one way or another.

just resetting the tank up as ive had to move it and getting salt adjusted so will see what comes out after that.

If you want to add salt for the mollies you need to do some very careful research into brackish tanks. It's not just a case of running a freshwater tank with aquarium salts. If you do run salts, you won't be able to have freshwater species.

 

[matt_99]

have been doing research and found this...

Debate

 

[Assaye]

have been doing research and found this...

Debate

Yep, that's what I would expect as I said, hard water is considered a very good environment for mollies and livebearers in general. The thing you want to avoid is soft water which generally comes with a low pH. As mentioned in the article, using coral sand should lift the hardness and pH of the water.

 

[matt_99]

hmmm.. looks like too much onfusion and with a relatively short life maybe not the fish for me... thanks for the help... back to the drawing board!

 

[Assaye]

hmmm.. looks like too much onfusion and with a relatively short life maybe not the fish for me... thanks for the help... back to the drawing board!

I really enjoy swordtails. Some have stunning colours and they're pretty active fish. I find them pretty easy to care for and while they like the same kind of water as mollies (so hard water with a higher pH), they're much more adaptable.

With softer water and a lower pH, you could consider some dwarf cichlids such as apistogrammas? Perhaps a single male. Stunning fish with some incredible patterns and colours!

 

[nmonks]

This is too soft for mollies. Although not the only way to deal with this, adding marine salt mix -- not aquarium or tonic salt -- will raise pH and hardness alongside salinity. You only need a bit, maybe 3-5 grammes per litre. That'll be cheap and easy to do.

Mollies are compatible with lots of fish, especially if you add some marine salt mix. In a low-end brackish aquarium of suitable size you could keep them with orange chromides, knight gobies, bumblebee gobies, Toxotes microlepis, Hoplosternum catfish, butterfly-goby waspfish, to name but a few. My Brackish FAQ would give you some more ideas, though you might need higher salinities for some of them.

20 gallons isn't much for mollies though. It's adequate perhaps for shortfin mollies, but much too small for sailfin mollies.

Cheers, Neale

Ph has settled at 6,8 , GH is 7-14 and KH is 3. Temp around 24.

 

[Assaye]

20 imperial gallons (90 litres) should be OK for sailfins as long as it is 36". 20 USG (76 litres) would be too small.

 

[nmonks]

Hmm... not sure I agree. A female sailfin can get pretty darn big, and the males are very aggressive towards one another. I prefer to allow a fair amount of space to mollies, rather more than platies or Limia. As you say, the length of the tank is the key issue though.

Cheers, Neale

20 imperial gallons (90 litres) should be OK for sailfins as long as it is 36". 20 USG (76 litres) would be too small.