Anyone Have Mollies?

SoloChromis · 10/20/2015, 08:01 PM

I'm going to be publishing a series of videos showcasing different species or groups of fish that I feel are underrated in the hobby and deserve more recognition. What I have planned so far for the series is...

* Possum/Pygmy Wrasses (Wetmorella)
* Fang Blennies (Meiacanthus)
* Chrysiptera Damsels
* Lemon "Chromis"/Turnate Damsels (Amblyglyphidodon ternatensis)
* Convict Tangs (Acanthurus triostegus)
* Mono Argentus (Monodactylus argenteus)
* Skunk Clowns
* Mollies (Poecilia)

... In each video I will be going into great detail about each subject species/genus, and will be covering everything from where they originate, dietary requirements, typical temperament, lifespan, history in aquaria, services they may provide for the tank, their ability to be paired up by the average hobbyist etc. I'm going to be filming these fish as much as I can in my own tanks, as well local fish stores, and possibly public aquaria, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys could send me some footage or decent quality photos of these fish in your own tanks, to showcase them in a variety of setups & communities. I'll most likely be starting this series out with mollies, and if you have any suggestions for fish that don't receive enough love, feel free to let me know. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it

CedzAquAddictio · 10/21/2015, 11:38 AM

You talking FW mollies? If so, I've had several. Don't know if I can say they are pretty. LOL...

They are, however very hardy once acclimated to SW, good cleaners (of algae and waste, not fish), and live breeders which is fun to experience as well...

Looking forward to your videos...

Pastey · 10/21/2015, 12:11 PM

I used to keep black mollies back in the 90s as live food for my volitan lionfish back in the 90s. Hardy little suckers and they breed like rabbits. I had so many that I used to trade them at my LFS for feeder mice for my snakes :P

ACBlinky · 10/21/2015, 01:08 PM

Years ago I worked at a LFS that sold both FW and SW. Occasionally we'd place a few mollies into the SW tanks to clean up the algae growth on the overflows and decorations. The mollies almost always looked better in salt water than fresh, and the sailfin mollies in particular looked like completely different fish. Sailfins are pretty fish in fresh water, but toss one into a reef and wow -- whether it's the change in diet, the lighting, being more comfortable in a higher salinity environment, something else, a combination or all of the above -- they will go from 'gee that's a pretty fish' to 'wow does that fish ever POP!'

I remember one orange male sailfin with blue spots that stood out like a disco ball under reef lighting, he was such a stunner he went from being a $6.99 freshwater fish to selling for about $30 out of our display tank -- someone saw him and just *had* to have him. It was painful to watch them just refusing to believe that they could spend a quarter of the money to purchase fish from a tank on the other side of the store, take home a FW molly, acclimate it over a few hours and bam, they'd have exactly the same thing.

ace_92101 · 10/21/2015, 02:38 PM

I don't, however several do on the forum. There've been several recent threads on mollies.

Bill Nye · 10/22/2015, 10:52 AM

About 15 years ago I cycled a tank using freshwater mollies. I didn't even acclimate them past the normal drip and just put them right in there and they thrived. Ended up lasting far past the cycle and had many many offspring.

microlady · 10/22/2015, 10:56 AM

Chrysiptera damsels are great.

microlady · 10/22/2015, 10:56 AM

Monos, not so much IMO. They get huge, are not very pretty, and can be very aggressive.

Richocet83 · 10/22/2015, 02:25 PM

I used black mollies to cycle a reef tank last year at work and they're still kicking and producing fry on a regular basis.

davidcoral · 10/22/2015, 06:28 PM

Have you had a lot of luck with Mollies consuming nuisance algae? Hair algae specifically.

SoloChromis · 10/22/2015, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by davidcoral

Have you had a lot of luck with Mollies consuming nuisance algae? Hair algae specifically.

I kept a group (platinums, dalmatians, and a gold dust) in my 40g refugium for several months, and they did a good job pruning the caulerpa I had in with them. They're pretty renowned for keeping hair algae in check, and I know of plenty of people that use them as utility fish in frag tanks etc. to keep nuisance algae at bay. I may end up getting several for my new 60g, but I'll have to do a bit more research to make sure they don't totally devour all of my decorative macro

SoloChromis · 10/22/2015, 08:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Richocet83

I used black mollies to cycle a reef tank last year at work and they're still kicking and producing fry on a regular basis.

Awesome to hear

Think you could get some footage of them?

SoloChromis · 10/22/2015, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by microlady

Monos, not so much IMO. They get huge, are not very pretty, and can be very aggressive.

They don't get any bigger than your typical tang really, and IME aren't any more aggressive than them either. In an appropriately sized tank I think they make an awesome schooling fish

But to each his/her own, I don't care for yellow tangs, go figure

SoloChromis · 10/22/2015, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by microlady

Chrysiptera damsels are great.

They really are, it's a shame so many people are terrified of the "big bad damsel". They're really missing out

Dkuhlmann · 10/23/2015, 05:34 AM

I didn't realize they got so big. The black sailfin says 6" and is a beautiful fish. I might have to reconsider getting a pair to put in my 40b. I will check PetSmart next time I'm over that way. 50 miles

But they take better care of their tanks than the Petco does IMO. But I guess I'll check both places. I want a pair of solid black sailfins.

Black Sailfin Mollies at Petsmart $2.49 That works for me $5 a pair and come with a 14 day guarantee

http://www.petsmart.com/live-pet/liv...6-catid-700002

CedzAquAddictio · 10/23/2015, 10:15 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dkuhlmann

I didn't realize they got so big. The black sailfin says 6" and is a beautiful fish. I might have to reconsider getting a pair to put in my 40b. I will check PetSmart next time I'm over that way. 50 miles

But they take better care of their tanks than the Petco does IMO. But I guess I'll check both places. I want a pair of solid black sailfins.

Black Sailfin Mollies at Petsmart $2.49 That works for me $5 a pair and come with a 14 day guarantee

http://www.petsmart.com/live-pet/liv...6-catid-700002

Ask them when they go on sale. I usually pick them up from petsmart for $1.00 each...

Dkuhlmann · 10/23/2015, 10:36 AM

Sweet will do, thanks for the heads up

LA wants $14.99 for a pair.

10/20/2015, 08:01 PM	#1
SoloChromis Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2013 Location: Florida Posts: 787	Anyone Have Mollies? I'm going to be publishing a series of videos showcasing different species or groups of fish that I feel are underrated in the hobby and deserve more recognition. What I have planned so far for the series is... * Possum/Pygmy Wrasses (Wetmorella) * Fang Blennies (Meiacanthus) * Chrysiptera Damsels * Lemon "Chromis"/Turnate Damsels (Amblyglyphidodon ternatensis) * Convict Tangs (Acanthurus triostegus) * Mono Argentus (Monodactylus argenteus) * Skunk Clowns * Mollies (Poecilia) ... In each video I will be going into great detail about each subject species/genus, and will be covering everything from where they originate, dietary requirements, typical temperament, lifespan, history in aquaria, services they may provide for the tank, their ability to be paired up by the average hobbyist etc. I'm going to be filming these fish as much as I can in my own tanks, as well local fish stores, and possibly public aquaria, but I'd really appreciate it if you guys could send me some footage or decent quality photos of these fish in your own tanks, to showcase them in a variety of setups & communities. I'll most likely be starting this series out with mollies, and if you have any suggestions for fish that don't receive enough love, feel free to let me know. Thanks guys, I really appreciate it __________________ 60g Macro Algae & Gorgonian Dominated Reef Cube & 20g (Peacock) Mantis Tank Current Tank Info: 60g Caribbean-esque Reef (2'x2'x2'), 10g Quarantine

10/21/2015, 12:11 PM	#3
Pastey Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Baton Rouge, LA Posts: 835	I used to keep black mollies back in the 90s as live food for my volitan lionfish back in the 90s. Hardy little suckers and they breed like rabbits. I had so many that I used to trade them at my LFS for feeder mice for my snakes :P __________________ I got a fever, and the only prescription is more pictures.

10/21/2015, 01:08 PM	#4
ACBlinky Premium Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Peterborough, ON, Canada Posts: 4,954 Blog Entries: 20	Years ago I worked at a LFS that sold both FW and SW. Occasionally we'd place a few mollies into the SW tanks to clean up the algae growth on the overflows and decorations. The mollies almost always looked better in salt water than fresh, and the sailfin mollies in particular looked like completely different fish. Sailfins are pretty fish in fresh water, but toss one into a reef and wow -- whether it's the change in diet, the lighting, being more comfortable in a higher salinity environment, something else, a combination or all of the above -- they will go from 'gee that's a pretty fish' to 'wow does that fish ever POP!' I remember one orange male sailfin with blue spots that stood out like a disco ball under reef lighting, he was such a stunner he went from being a $6.99 freshwater fish to selling for about $30 out of our display tank -- someone saw him and just had to have him. It was painful to watch them just refusing to believe that they could spend a quarter of the money to purchase fish from a tank on the other side of the store, take home a FW molly, acclimate it over a few hours and bam, they'd have exactly the same thing. __________________ "The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen Current Tank Info: 150g mixed reef, 30g sump/refugium, LED lighting, 100lbs LR, coral beauty, flame angel, blue & yellow tangs, gobies, damsels, 6-line wrasse, lawnmower blenny, dottyback, clown pair, rabbitfish, shrimp, crabs, CUC.

10/22/2015, 02:25 PM	#9
Richocet83 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Dunedin, FL Posts: 402	I used black mollies to cycle a reef tank last year at work and they're still kicking and producing fry on a regular basis. __________________ Life's a garden, dig it! 75gal AGA RR - Mixed Reef 12gal Mr Aqua Planted FW Aquarium 200gal 100% captive raised reef (work tank)

10/23/2015, 05:34 AM	#15
Dkuhlmann Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,823	I didn't realize they got so big. The black sailfin says 6" and is a beautiful fish. I might have to reconsider getting a pair to put in my 40b. I will check PetSmart next time I'm over that way. 50 miles But they take better care of their tanks than the Petco does IMO. But I guess I'll check both places. I want a pair of solid black sailfins. Black Sailfin Mollies at Petsmart $2.49 That works for me $5 a pair and come with a 14 day guarantee http://www.petsmart.com/live-pet/liv...6-catid-700002 __________________ Previous tanks: 200 gal fowlr 9" Emperor Angel and many different butterfly fish 4" maroon clown and several other fish, 50 gal sump, 40 gal mixed reef/fish mostly softies and LPS. Current Tank Info: 40b 750 gph 45 lbs lr, 2"-3" sand, 165w full spectrum dimable LED, 20 gal sump/refugium 30 lbs lr, Bak Pak 2 skimmer, 4" sock temp 79-80, sg 1.026, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <10, ph 8.2, calc 400, mag 1300 Last edited by Dkuhlmann; 10/23/2015 at 05:41 AM.

10/21/2015, 11:38 AM	#2
CedzAquAddictio Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Posts: 931	You talking FW mollies? If so, I've had several. Don't know if I can say they are pretty. LOL... They are, however very hardy once acclimated to SW, good cleaners (of algae and waste, not fish), and live breeders which is fun to experience as well... Looking forward to your videos...

10/21/2015, 02:38 PM	#5
ace_92101 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Cebu, Philippines Posts: 763	I don't, however several do on the forum. There've been several recent threads on mollies.

10/22/2015, 10:52 AM	#6
Bill Nye Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: RI Posts: 627	About 15 years ago I cycled a tank using freshwater mollies. I didn't even acclimate them past the normal drip and just put them right in there and they thrived. Ended up lasting far past the cycle and had many many offspring.

10/22/2015, 10:56 AM	#7
microlady Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Alabama Posts: 492	Chrysiptera damsels are great.

10/22/2015, 06:28 PM	#10
davidcoral Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Western New York Posts: 72	Have you had a lot of luck with Mollies consuming nuisance algae? Hair algae specifically.

10/23/2015, 10:36 AM	#17
Dkuhlmann Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,823	Sweet will do, thanks for the heads up LA wants $14.99 for a pair. __________________ Previous tanks: 200 gal fowlr 9" Emperor Angel and many different butterfly fish 4" maroon clown and several other fish, 50 gal sump, 40 gal mixed reef/fish mostly softies and LPS. Current Tank Info: 40b 750 gph 45 lbs lr, 2"-3" sand, 165w full spectrum dimable LED, 20 gal sump/refugium 30 lbs lr, Bak Pak 2 skimmer, 4" sock temp 79-80, sg 1.026, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 <10, ph 8.2, calc 400, mag 1300