Agressive Mollies and Betta

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monkeemeg4

Wishes her fished lived in harmony
Jul 14, 2005
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Hello! This is my first time posting on this forum. I've been reading over a lot of advice, and it's helped me a lot already :)

Anyways, I'm having problems with my molly and betta fish. Without getting into a huge story, this is what happened. Last week my boyfriend won me a fish at the fair. Not wanting it to die, I put it in a 10 gallon tank. The next day I bought a filter, gravel, food, decorations. I was so excited with my fish and was excited to take up this new hobby. I also bought Jungle tablets which I placed in the tank to rid of the chlorine and other chemicals. The next day I went back to the pet store, wanting to get another fish to keep my other one company. Now let me tell you, I had no idea about "New Tank Syndrome" at this point. Basically, I didn't know too much, just what the pet store guy told me. So, I ended up getting another fish. :thud: I got a betta. I didn't really know how aggressive these things could get, and the pet store guy told me it would be "fine". I felt bad for it because it was in a tiny jar and looked really depressed. I put the betta in the tank and observed. He seemed friendly (probably just shock haha) and left my fair fish alone.

The next day the fair fish died. Immediatly I removed the dead fish, knowing it probably died from poor conditions and sickness. The betta was growing on me, and I really wanted to get it a few tank mates. I did the research and found a list of fish it was compatible with. At the pet store that night, I found only two of the fish bettas are compatible with: corys and sharks. I didn't like either and was immediatly drawn to the mollies. They were so cute and seemed like intelligent fish. I called my boyfriend and he researched online to see if they were compatible. Apparently some guy had mollies and a betta and they were perfectly fine. So, I ended up getting two sailfin mollies.

That night I put them in, along with another Jungle tablet. The dalmation molly was the leader, as the other molly followed him around the whole night. It looked like they were schooling. The betta didn't mind at all and all seemed well. The next day I brought my water to the store to get tested. The owner said I had a little too much PH so I bought drops to lower the levels. All seemed well.

The day after this the trouble started. The betta began to flare and chase my two molly fish. He scares them to death, following them all the time. I suspect maybe because they eat all the food? I didn't know. After later observation, I noticed the dalmation sailfin nipped at the betta's tail. Funny thing is, the betta won't flare at himself in a mirror. He was raised next to other small tanks of bettas and seems used to them.

The day after this, my dalmation molly started chasing my orange molly! So now the poor orange molly is being chased by two fish. By watching him, he seems petrified. I say "he", but I'm not sure what sex they are. However, I did do research and believe both mollies are male. Is this a dominance thing? I was considering getting another so they wouldn't dominate, but the betta would get that one as well. :sad:

Anyways, today they have seemed to calm down a little bit, especially after I added some aqurium salt. However, the betta still attacks both fish and dalmation still attacks the orange molly. I'm surprised with the mollies, I thought they were peaceful fish. Should I get a tank seperater for the betta? What should I do about the molly? I would really really really appreciate any imput. My poor orange molly is terrorized. Thank you!
 

WinterWind

Mad pianist
Feb 11, 2005
957
0
0
I would get a 1-2 gallon tank for the betta to live in alone since it is aggressive, and attacks the mollies, and the mollies are attacking it. So to be safe I would transfer the betta to a smaller tank. Most bettas can peacefully coexist with other fish, but some could be more aggressive than others. The betta and mollies might have had a betta chance of coexisting if it was a bigger tank, because a 10 gallon is pretty small for mollies to live happily.

btw, welcome to the forum! :)
 

Holly9937

AC Members
Jan 20, 2005
2,695
1
36
43
Michigan
Also, I know you are asking specifically about the fish, and I agree with winterwinds advice, but on a side note ~ the salt is not really necessary, and it is much better to just let the ph be what it is and allow your fish to acclimate to it (which they will). The ph adjusters really do more harm than good, and don't give you a STABLE ph which is more important than some arbitrary recommended number :D You could also consider getting a divider for the tank and sectioning off a small portion for the betta until you can come up with another plan
 

Kissofthegorami

Broke College Student
Feb 24, 2005
613
0
0
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Boston,MA
You don't need to lower you PH. Mollies like high PH. And most PHlowering chemicals contain phosphates which will promote algae growth. PH fluctuations are more harmful to the fish than your naturally high PH, they will adapt. Pet store employees just like to sell you useless chemicals. Salt is also not recommended unless you are treating the fish for disease. Mollies are a bit large for a ten gallon. Two should be fine. Adding more plants could bring down the aggression a little.
 
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