Trouble Maker

[Bigdave84]

I have a trouble making Molly. He seems to be chasing and nipping the other mollies. ive seen a hatchery chamber i can also use to contain him, is this cruel to do or is it something that can help the situation. If so how would i go about feeding and how long would i leave him in there. As far as i can tell its a clear plastic chamber that sits on the bottom of the tank.
 
Bit more info for you all I have 10 mollies in total 6 adults (2 male 4 female) and 4 babies (sex currently unknown). He is clearly displaying signs of dominance will this chamber help?

In addition one of the females has been nipped quite a lot and has damaged fins and now hides behind the filter. Again would the chamber solve this?

 

[ncguppy830]

well first off you need a bigger tank not even a single molly can be in that tank size, try a 30 gall for all of them IMHO.

 

[Ch4rlie]

What size of tank do you have, can't seem to find this info anywhere.
 
But agreed with NC, you'll need a 30+ Gal / 115+ litre tank as Mollies are quite active so need quite a lot of swimming space for them to thrive.
 
So perhaps with a larger tank if your tank is too small, the aggressiveness of your male may reduce as more space to call his own basically and for space for the females to escape to as well.
 
That should be your first step in my opinion.
 
The chamber/hatchery would just be cruel really as the male won't be able to swim properly or mix with other tank mates.

 

[Bigdave84]

It is a 45 litre tank I was informed that I could have upto 10 mollies as they are small mollies and will only grow to 4 cm. Is this correct or have I been miss informed.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Sadly misinformed IMO.
 
As small juveniles, maybe ok for a while but would need moving to a bigger tank anyway.
 
An average molly fish grows to about 2 inches / 5 cm, so that puts numbers at around 4-5 maybe 6 fish in that tank. That is pushing the limits too.
 
Rule of thumb is usually 1 inch / 2.5 cm of fish per gallon / 4 litres, but some species of fish differs from this but as a general rule thats ok and how I work things out.
Better to underestimate than to overestimate numbers IMO.

 

[Meeresstille]

Even though the "inch per gallon" rule can somewhat be a guide it is really best to research the fish you're interested in and the recommended size of tank for the species among other things. 
 
Mollies can grow anywhere from 5 to 10 cm and they would be unsuitable for a tank size such as yours! They need a lot more room to swim, you'd need a tank 3 times the size of yours! The Mollies nipping each other could very well be a sign of stress, they know they don't have enough room in there and may be taking out the competition. 
 
Just a quick question since this also can cause problems in fish behavior and health: is your tank cycled? Cycling a tank usually takes 4 to 6 weeks where beneficial bacteria builds up in the filter to convert the fish's toxic waste into the less toxic form of NItrates!