black mollies in saltwater?

FraggledRock · 02/17/2015, 01:49 PM

I found some articles and forums that discuss acclimating mollies into saltwater and they eat cyano bacteria and other algae?

ReefsandGeeks · 02/17/2015, 02:03 PM

I've heard they can be acclimated to marine salt water levels, but I've only had them in a brackish tank. Would be alot of work acclimating them in hopes of them eating algae. They didn't eat algae in my freshwater tank, or if they did they did a terrible job at it.

FraggledRock · 02/17/2015, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by devastator007

I've heard they can be acclimated to marine salt water levels, but I've only had them in a brackish tank. Would be alot of work acclimating them in hopes of them eating algae. They didn't eat algae in my freshwater tank, or if they did they did a terrible job at it.

lol i wasnt going to buy a barrel full of them, it was just odd reading that when researching cyano and ways to handle it.

I have mollies in my moms small 10G freshwater that are getting pretty big and just the thought of them in the reef tank was absurd LOL they dont even look like marine fish lol

ReefsandGeeks · 02/17/2015, 02:22 PM

it would be a bit odd. One of the times I read about it it was a small tank with mollies in saltwater purely for the purpose of the challenge of acclimating them to saltwater, if I remember corectly. Only way you'd even know is the saltwater snails in the tank. Might be the only fish under $2 you can get for saltwater though.

wolfblue · 02/17/2015, 02:26 PM

We used to use them to cycle fish tanks back in the 80's before we figured out all you need is a rock from a live tank and some ammonia from the grocery store. I would switch them from fresh to salt with a drip setup in 3-4 hours. They thrive and even breed in full salt water. Mollies are actually found mostly in brackish water in the wild but are found in fresh and totally salt environments. They are tremendous grazers so I can understand them eating cyano. They don't look like marine fish, but neither does a white clownfish (to me).

jrp1588 · 02/17/2015, 02:56 PM

I've seen them already acclimated in store before (at a premium.) You wouldn't catch me putting one in my tank though. I went to SW to avoid such bland fish.

JoelA7 · 02/18/2015, 12:38 AM

They will acclimate are very peaceful, school in a large tank and breed like crazy.

Fwiw one of the greatest fish displays I ever saw was at a restaurant on the side of a hill in Jamaica. It had a network of creeks running through it about 2-3' wide and 1-3' deep. Filled with plants koi and black Mollie's. The mollies were in large schools maybe 30-100 fish and when a koi swam through the school would split then come back together. Great.

Sugar Magnolia · 02/18/2015, 06:57 AM

The marine display tank at our local hospital used to have a bunch of mollies in it, all colors. There were always babies darting in and around the rockwork. I acclimated on years ago to my tank for algae control. As far as them eating cyano goes, I have no idea if they will.

3FordFamily · 02/18/2015, 07:20 AM

This is mean but at the lfs I worked at years ago we just tossed mollies in salt from fresh. Literally, 3/4 survived and did just fine. I watched in horror but it worked out. I do think they're ugly though.

Not sure if they'll eat cyano

fermentedhiker · 02/18/2015, 07:22 AM

They ate cyano in my freshwater tank. Although to be honest I don't know if they actually ate it or just disturbed(they taste everything) to the point that it couldn't recover(like high flow sometimes can).

I'm considering acclimating a trio for a dwarf lion setup to supply some supplemental food(via the fry) and a little algae control. The ones I've observed in reef setups behave differently,more like reef fish, in that they hide in caves and dash around for awhile and then take cover in the rockwork again. That might just be them taking a break from fighting the higher flow found in reef tanks though.

kmbyrnes · 02/18/2015, 08:34 AM

We had a sailfin mollie that was harassing every female in a 55g freshwater tank.
We took 2 weeks and acclimated him to salt and put him in the reef. He was still aggressive, but the other fish kept him in line. He did very well fro about 6 months until a semi crash killed most the fish in my tank.
There are better fish for salt tanks, but putting him in salt was better than the alternatives.

FraggledRock · 02/18/2015, 04:10 PM

thanks for all the replies everyone!

triggreef · 02/18/2015, 04:16 PM

I had one in my frag tank for algae/cyano purposes and it did nothing for either. Got rid of it.

Zooxanthus · 02/18/2015, 04:41 PM

We did the same thing as 3fordfamily, just threw them in saltwater and most did just fine.

3FordFamily · 02/18/2015, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zooxanthus

We did the same thing as 3fordfamily, just threw them in saltwater and most did just fine.

tough little buggers!

Khemul · 02/18/2015, 06:05 PM

Considering their native environment, surviving a rapid acclimation makes sense, since they'd encounter it regularly naturally.

Mollies can acclimate very well to saltwater. Guppies also, although they take a more gradual acclimation and start to struggle at flow rates we'd probably call rather low. The problem with both in a saltwater tank isn't the water, but the inhabitants. They don't get the concept of anemones or mushrooms, or the concept of territoriality. They tend to see hazards as great places to rest, and angry fish as a curiosity that warrants further investigation.

02/17/2015, 01:49 PM	#1
FraggledRock Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2,185	black mollies in saltwater? I found some articles and forums that discuss acclimating mollies into saltwater and they eat cyano bacteria and other algae? __________________ “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau MarineBio.org Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder w/ Bean Animal Overflow 20G Sump, Mixed Reef.

02/17/2015, 02:26 PM	#5
wolfblue Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Posts: 300	We used to use them to cycle fish tanks back in the 80's before we figured out all you need is a rock from a live tank and some ammonia from the grocery store. I would switch them from fresh to salt with a drip setup in 3-4 hours. They thrive and even breed in full salt water. Mollies are actually found mostly in brackish water in the wild but are found in fresh and totally salt environments. They are tremendous grazers so I can understand them eating cyano. They don't look like marine fish, but neither does a white clownfish (to me). __________________ --John AALSO Level III

02/18/2015, 12:38 AM	#7
JoelA7 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Brookline, MA Posts: 1,056	They will acclimate are very peaceful, school in a large tank and breed like crazy. Fwiw one of the greatest fish displays I ever saw was at a restaurant on the side of a hill in Jamaica. It had a network of creeks running through it about 2-3' wide and 1-3' deep. Filled with plants koi and black Mollie's. The mollies were in large schools maybe 30-100 fish and when a koi swam through the school would split then come back together. Great. __________________ New 48x24x26.25 w Precision Marine R30 sump, Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, 2@Vertex 1.5L reactors for carbon & phosban, GEO Ca reactor w Aquarium Plants regulator. 2 MP40's 2@Radions. #120 live rock & #12

02/18/2015, 06:57 AM	#8
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	The marine display tank at our local hospital used to have a bunch of mollies in it, all colors. There were always babies darting in and around the rockwork. I acclimated on years ago to my tank for algae control. As far as them eating cyano goes, I have no idea if they will. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

02/18/2015, 08:34 AM	#11
kmbyrnes Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Mesa AZ Posts: 2,055	We had a sailfin mollie that was harassing every female in a 55g freshwater tank. We took 2 weeks and acclimated him to salt and put him in the reef. He was still aggressive, but the other fish kept him in line. He did very well fro about 6 months until a semi crash killed most the fish in my tank. There are better fish for salt tanks, but putting him in salt was better than the alternatives. __________________ 125g Mixed Reef 5/26/2015; 350 Butterfly Dominated FOWLR 11/26/2015 - 11/17/20217 & 07/31/18 to ??? ; 100g Mixed Reef 11/16/2013 to 06/16/2017 Current Tank Info: Too small

02/17/2015, 02:03 PM	#2
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	I've heard they can be acclimated to marine salt water levels, but I've only had them in a brackish tank. Would be alot of work acclimating them in hopes of them eating algae. They didn't eat algae in my freshwater tank, or if they did they did a terrible job at it.

02/17/2015, 02:22 PM	#4
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	it would be a bit odd. One of the times I read about it it was a small tank with mollies in saltwater purely for the purpose of the challenge of acclimating them to saltwater, if I remember corectly. Only way you'd even know is the saltwater snails in the tank. Might be the only fish under $2 you can get for saltwater though.

02/17/2015, 02:56 PM	#6
jrp1588 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Evansville, IN Posts: 1,864	I've seen them already acclimated in store before (at a premium.) You wouldn't catch me putting one in my tank though. I went to SW to avoid such bland fish.

02/18/2015, 07:20 AM	#9
3FordFamily Registered Member. Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Fishers, Indiana (Indianapolis suburb) Posts: 488	This is mean but at the lfs I worked at years ago we just tossed mollies in salt from fresh. Literally, 3/4 survived and did just fine. I watched in horror but it worked out. I do think they're ugly though. Not sure if they'll eat cyano

02/18/2015, 07:22 AM	#10
fermentedhiker Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Maine Posts: 382	They ate cyano in my freshwater tank. Although to be honest I don't know if they actually ate it or just disturbed(they taste everything) to the point that it couldn't recover(like high flow sometimes can). I'm considering acclimating a trio for a dwarf lion setup to supply some supplemental food(via the fry) and a little algae control. The ones I've observed in reef setups behave differently,more like reef fish, in that they hide in caves and dash around for awhile and then take cover in the rockwork again. That might just be them taking a break from fighting the higher flow found in reef tanks though.

02/18/2015, 04:10 PM	#12
FraggledRock Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: New York, New York Posts: 2,185	thanks for all the replies everyone! __________________ “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”― Jacques-Yves Cousteau MarineBio.org Current Tank Info: 40 Gallon Breeder w/ Bean Animal Overflow 20G Sump, Mixed Reef.

02/18/2015, 04:16 PM	#13
triggreef Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: East Hampton, CT Posts: 2,917	I had one in my frag tank for algae/cyano purposes and it did nothing for either. Got rid of it. __________________ 200g DD Marineland. Acro and monti heavy with some birdsnest, LPS, and zoas. 125g FOWLR

02/18/2015, 04:41 PM	#14
Zooxanthus Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Aurora, CO. Posts: 60	We did the same thing as 3fordfamily, just threw them in saltwater and most did just fine. __________________ May your passion and reason be the sail and rudder of your sea fairing soul. Current Tank Info: 180 gal Reef 3x 250w HQI's w/T5's, Phosban reactor, Protein skimmer, UV. sterilizer, Trickle Filter

02/18/2015, 06:05 PM	#16
Khemul Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL Posts: 988	Considering their native environment, surviving a rapid acclimation makes sense, since they'd encounter it regularly naturally. Mollies can acclimate very well to saltwater. Guppies also, although they take a more gradual acclimation and start to struggle at flow rates we'd probably call rather low. The problem with both in a saltwater tank isn't the water, but the inhabitants. They don't get the concept of anemones or mushrooms, or the concept of territoriality. They tend to see hazards as great places to rest, and angry fish as a curiosity that warrants further investigation.