View Full Version : Are mollys reef safe? more
Jacob Abshire
02-22-2003, 9:27 PM
I know that most of you think it is silly to have a molly in a reef tank, but I got a real nice orange high sailfin molly that is really cool. It's color is really bright because of the salt. Any way, I have not noticed any problems yet, but I have some mushrooms, leather corals,xina, star poylops, sponges, and a gorgian and I do not want the molly to pick at these corals. Does any one know how these guys do? Thanks, Jacob.
OrionGirl
02-23-2003, 10:40 AM
Mollies are omnivores, but I think they should ignore most corals after investigating them. They may pick a bit like some angels, but I think you're okay.
If anyone gives you a hard time about what you have in your tank, don't worry. It's personal choice. You maintain it, you make the calls so far as what fish you want to try. Don't let it bug you.l
VoodooChild
02-24-2003, 8:04 AM
As far as SW is concerned, that's about all you can get that stays small that will school. One family per rule....give them a whole ocean to roam around in and they get all un-neighborly!
I knew that Mollies were brackish inhabitants but I didn't know they would live in a salt tank!
Do you just buy a molly from the Freshwater section of a LFS and then acclimate normally (like you would with a new SW fish) it to the tank? or because it is going from fresh to salt, do you have to adjust it slowly to the salinity?
Does this hold true for all brackish fish or can you only keep a few select brackish species in a SW tank?
OrionGirl
02-25-2003, 4:41 PM
Yes and no. There are many brackish fish that naturally migrate to full marine during certain portions of their life, just as there are many fish that migrate from full marine to freshwater. Mollies can be adapted to full marine conditions quite easily, but it's a longer process that you'd use for a new fish introduction. Most people start with a BW system, and gradually increase the amount of salt with each water change. You could as easily do this by adding SW instead of FW for topoffs, as long as you topped off with the same sp as the tank had evaporated to. Slow but sure will have better results than trying to do this quickly.
Some brackish fish prefer the lighter salinities, so this method won't work. If the fish goes from brackish to fresh, for example, it's a bad idea. Monos and scats, however, naturally migrate to marine conditions as they mature. Failing to increase the salinity for some fish can cause health issues and death.
Boogiechillin
02-25-2003, 11:14 PM
Agreed w/ OrionGirl...this definitely doesn't work for all brackish fish. As for the mollies, the absolute fastest that I would convert a molly from FW to SW is over three days of gradually increasing SG.
wow thanks.. I just think that is VERY cool.
on the same vein...
Bumble Bee gobies.. gosh I love these little guys. Are they able to make the transition from brackish to salt?
Boogiechillin
02-27-2003, 10:54 PM
I only knew one person who tried, and it didn't work. Not saying it's impossible, but the one attempt that I've observed failed. If I remember correctly, BB gobies prefer the lower end of brackish salinities, so full marine conditions might be a bit much.
That said, there are LOTS of little marine gobies with the same mannerisms that you might want to check out...
revant01
02-28-2003, 3:31 AM
My LFS had some bumble bee gobies in their live rock tank. However they might have been a different species as they were a bit different from the pictures i found on the net
I love gobies.. the more the merrier! My reeftank is a 'goby only' tank (besides my tiny tomato clown and my royal gramma)
Having trouble finding some of the ones I want. I'm finding out that a lot of the fish I've been looking into seem to be available 'seasonally'
actually, I think I'll start a goby post now! hehe.