Worried Mollies

[nlafleur]

My mollies recently had a fry, and afterwards they haven't really been the same. I did a water change and added the amount of salt required to bring the salt level to 5g/l. The mollies still seem to be nervous whenever I'm close by, they hide underneath the heat or behind some ornaments I have at the bottom of the tank. They used to chase each other around the tank. Now, when I get close by they try and hide and stay still. The fry doesn't seem to care if I'm around anymore, they eat food with me right there, which they didn't before. If it only takes a few hours to adjust to the salt level, is something else stressing them? Will they calm down? Is there anything I can do? Could it be the fry that I have in the breeder apparatus?

The mollies live in my 10 gallon tank, I have a heater set to 80F and a filter that hangs off of the back of the tank. Picture here.

 

[RadaR]

The breeder apparatus might have caused them to be a bit weary because it's new. From looking at your tank picture I would recomend putting in some more plants (fake or real though real plants might not like the salt) so that the Mollies can hide and feel more secure.

 

[snowyangel]

Also your fish don't have much decor(plants, a cave, etc) for shelter so that too can make them insecure since there's no place to really hide.

 

[nmonks]

Looking at your tank, I agree with RadaR that you do need some cover in the aquarium. In an aquarium like yours, plastic plants will do the job nicely. They'll hide the trap for as long as you use it, and sooner or later you will need to return the fry to the main tank, and the plants will give the fry some protection. Mollies (in my experience anyway) are not that cannibalistic so you should be able to raise the fry reasonably well in the tank with mum and dad.

Another issue may be the substrate. The darker the substrate, the more settled fish seem to be. If you don't like regular gravel, what about black gravel?

Cheers,

Neale

 

[nlafleur]

Could it be that I only have 2 mollies (1 male and 1 female)?

 

[Annastasia]

I don't think that'd make them that skittish, but you should get more females to get the ratio right. 2-3 females per male. What size tank do you have?

And I agree with the others, give them some more hiding places. They need somewhere to retreat to when frightened. If they have that, they'll be out more since they know they could just go there, should they need to hide.