New additions to the tank today.

Danfish · 05/28/2006, 08:58 PM

Today we added some new additions to the tank. After reading on here about using Freshwater Molly's fry to feed anemone and some corals the wife and I decided they would make a practical and pretty addition to our tank.

So we purchased 2 lyre tail silver mollys and 2 ordinary black mollys.
So far so good, seemed to acclimate well and the silvers have taken to thier new home quite well (have even been schooling with the chromis slightly). The blacks seem much more timid and have spent alot of time pirching near the botom in the current.

Not positive if I got Male/Females but even if I didn't they are still a nice addition to the tank.

Thanks RC

bertoni · 05/28/2006, 11:39 PM

Sounds good. Now we have to talk you into some real saltwater fish...

Danfish · 05/29/2006, 12:30 AM

Already have 3 chromis in the tank.

On the list are:
Regal/Hippo Tang
6 line wrassle
Neon Gobby
Pair of Percula Clowns
Green Mandarin (long long ways away)

Tank looks pretty full at that point.
I might trade in the Chromis or pass them off to a friend.
Also I'm reluctant to get the Neon Gobby if its supposed to eat the same Pods the Mandarin does, want to save the food source for him.
The 6 line isn't really a top priority fish, but I hear they eat a ton of pests, which is a good thing.

Scuba Oz · 05/29/2006, 06:15 AM

Looks like a good list, I would research the tang a little more, they need a lot of swimming room and it looks like you know about the manderian

Good luck and get us some pics! LOL

BTTRFLYGRL · 05/29/2006, 06:24 AM

I would skip the Hippo, will grow to be 1'...needs a much larger tank

nebraskareef · 05/29/2006, 07:00 AM

The wrasse will decimate your pod population, if you want the mandarin, which will be difficult in the 65g, you simply CAN NOT keep the 6 line. That said, 6-lines are one of my favorite's and couldn't reccomend it over the mandarin enough.

Good luck,
Daniel

gabegmonkey · 05/29/2006, 02:05 PM

Look in front of your Molly's anus the males will have a gonopodium (penis) it's like a fin that has the rays fused together. The females just have normal fins.

You should really keep Mollies alone or in groups of 3 or more (1 male and 2 or more females...) as Males will often fight each other to the death. Also if you have more males than females they will sometimes sexually harass the female to death.

Danfish · 05/29/2006, 04:52 PM

Didn't realise the 6 line would eat the pods out from under the mandarin. Will have to go back to the drawing board.
The wife has no enthusiasm about the 6 line at all, but is all about the Neon and Mandarin. Might have to skip the 6 line to keep her intrested in the aquarium.

The Mollys aren't doing too hot. Looks like I might lose some.

I drip aclimated them over 3 hours, cutting the water in half and letting it refill every hour. They spent most of the time under the drip, so I was worrying they were "breathing" the salt water sooner than they should be. Every time I moved the drip they would move to cluster under it.
They seem pretty stressed, the blacks much more so than the silvers. I'm thinking it was the fish store that did it, since the blacks were in a difrent tank from the silver (would explain them being in poorer heath than the silvers).

My second load of live rock should be cured in a week. Once I add that I'm going to leave the tank alone for a month. No more additions.

The Chromis haven't skipped a beat since I bought them.

bertoni · 05/29/2006, 05:43 PM

I think they're supposed to be acclimated over weeks, if they were being kept in fresh water. That might be the issue. Maybe some research would turn up some data.

Danfish · 05/29/2006, 10:34 PM

Read a good bit on here, in the thread about them it sounded like they should be fine after a normal drip aclimation. (one person reported his boss would "just throw them in")

Perhaps I got the wrong idea from the thread.

I hate moments like this.
You think you know what you are doing and then nope, no you don't.
Reguardless the tank is going to rest for a month or two before anything else changes.

bertoni · 05/30/2006, 02:22 PM

Well, I might be wrong, and I'm sure there's various opinions on the process. Did they make it?

Danfish · 05/30/2006, 02:32 PM

The blacks did not.
One of the silvers is looking a little ill but the other is still active and has made a home under and overhang of live rock.

The blacks were very very slow swimming, eventualy being over come by the current and dieing. My sally lightfoot drug one into a hole so we were late finding him.

I won't be trying this again. I'm suspicious of the store we got them from (hate buying fish that are in mass tanks, literaly 20-30 in a 2'x2' square). I also didn't like how they kept clustering under the drip while I was acclimating them, the salt water doesn't dissapate that quickly, they were breathing a strong saltwater mix fairly soon from staying inder the drip like that. Next time I'll add some netting to keep the fish back from the drip. Lesson learned.

If anyone else wants to try Mollies. Be super sure to acclimate them slower than over 3 hours. Also it might be a smart idea to quarentene them in a freshwater tank for a few days before starting the acclimation process. That way if they are sick from the store you can find out before adding the additional stress of the saltwater acclimation.

First death that I feel is on my own hands. Really makes you feel like hell.

kau_cinta_ku · 05/30/2006, 02:36 PM

when i put mollies into salt water for my lion fish all i did was add 1/2 cup salt water to their water every 30 min. for 3 hours and then plopped them in the tank. they did great and even produced a ton of babbies. however my mollies were brakish raised so they already were used to some salt in thier system

05/28/2006, 08:58 PM	#1
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	New additions to the tank today. Today we added some new additions to the tank. After reading on here about using Freshwater Molly's fry to feed anemone and some corals the wife and I decided they would make a practical and pretty addition to our tank. So we purchased 2 lyre tail silver mollys and 2 ordinary black mollys. So far so good, seemed to acclimate well and the silvers have taken to thier new home quite well (have even been schooling with the chromis slightly). The blacks seem much more timid and have spent alot of time pirching near the botom in the current. Not positive if I got Male/Females but even if I didn't they are still a nice addition to the tank. Thanks RC

05/28/2006, 11:39 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Sounds good. Now we have to talk you into some real saltwater fish... __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/29/2006, 06:15 AM	#4
Scuba Oz Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 3,133	Looks like a good list, I would research the tang a little more, they need a lot of swimming room and it looks like you know about the manderian Good luck and get us some pics! LOL __________________ Never be too shy to ask for help Current Tank Info: 12g nano, 37g,175g,25g,54g

05/29/2006, 06:24 AM	#5
BTTRFLYGRL Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: INDY Posts: 2,857	I would skip the Hippo, will grow to be 1'...needs a much larger tank __________________ AKA Kim Hardie.. Current Tank Info: 240 gallon FOWLR, 180 gallon reef, 55 gallon for my Dwarf Lion

05/29/2006, 07:00 AM	#6
nebraskareef MFCEO Join Date: Sep 2003 Posts: 1,495 Blog Entries: 1	The wrasse will decimate your pod population, if you want the mandarin, which will be difficult in the 65g, you simply CAN NOT keep the 6 line. That said, 6-lines are one of my favorite's and couldn't reccomend it over the mandarin enough. Good luck, Daniel __________________ Originally Posted by tmz "Now if I drink the vodka the colors do look much better than if I drink the vinegar."

05/29/2006, 12:30 AM	#3
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	Already have 3 chromis in the tank. On the list are: Regal/Hippo Tang 6 line wrassle Neon Gobby Pair of Percula Clowns Green Mandarin (long long ways away) Tank looks pretty full at that point. I might trade in the Chromis or pass them off to a friend. Also I'm reluctant to get the Neon Gobby if its supposed to eat the same Pods the Mandarin does, want to save the food source for him. The 6 line isn't really a top priority fish, but I hear they eat a ton of pests, which is a good thing.

05/29/2006, 02:05 PM	#7
gabegmonkey Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Stockton, CA Posts: 413	Look in front of your Molly's anus the males will have a gonopodium (penis) it's like a fin that has the rays fused together. The females just have normal fins. You should really keep Mollies alone or in groups of 3 or more (1 male and 2 or more females...) as Males will often fight each other to the death. Also if you have more males than females they will sometimes sexually harass the female to death.

05/29/2006, 04:52 PM	#8
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	Didn't realise the 6 line would eat the pods out from under the mandarin. Will have to go back to the drawing board. The wife has no enthusiasm about the 6 line at all, but is all about the Neon and Mandarin. Might have to skip the 6 line to keep her intrested in the aquarium. The Mollys aren't doing too hot. Looks like I might lose some. I drip aclimated them over 3 hours, cutting the water in half and letting it refill every hour. They spent most of the time under the drip, so I was worrying they were "breathing" the salt water sooner than they should be. Every time I moved the drip they would move to cluster under it. They seem pretty stressed, the blacks much more so than the silvers. I'm thinking it was the fish store that did it, since the blacks were in a difrent tank from the silver (would explain them being in poorer heath than the silvers). My second load of live rock should be cured in a week. Once I add that I'm going to leave the tank alone for a month. No more additions. The Chromis haven't skipped a beat since I bought them.

05/29/2006, 05:43 PM	#9
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	I think they're supposed to be acclimated over weeks, if they were being kept in fresh water. That might be the issue. Maybe some research would turn up some data. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/29/2006, 10:34 PM	#10
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	Read a good bit on here, in the thread about them it sounded like they should be fine after a normal drip aclimation. (one person reported his boss would "just throw them in") Perhaps I got the wrong idea from the thread. I hate moments like this. You think you know what you are doing and then nope, no you don't. Reguardless the tank is going to rest for a month or two before anything else changes.

05/30/2006, 02:22 PM	#11
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Well, I might be wrong, and I'm sure there's various opinions on the process. Did they make it? __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

05/30/2006, 02:32 PM	#12
Danfish Registered Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Huntsville, AL Posts: 296	The blacks did not. One of the silvers is looking a little ill but the other is still active and has made a home under and overhang of live rock. The blacks were very very slow swimming, eventualy being over come by the current and dieing. My sally lightfoot drug one into a hole so we were late finding him. I won't be trying this again. I'm suspicious of the store we got them from (hate buying fish that are in mass tanks, literaly 20-30 in a 2'x2' square). I also didn't like how they kept clustering under the drip while I was acclimating them, the salt water doesn't dissapate that quickly, they were breathing a strong saltwater mix fairly soon from staying inder the drip like that. Next time I'll add some netting to keep the fish back from the drip. Lesson learned. If anyone else wants to try Mollies. Be super sure to acclimate them slower than over 3 hours. Also it might be a smart idea to quarentene them in a freshwater tank for a few days before starting the acclimation process. That way if they are sick from the store you can find out before adding the additional stress of the saltwater acclimation. First death that I feel is on my own hands. Really makes you feel like hell.

05/30/2006, 02:36 PM	#13
kau_cinta_ku Moved On Join Date: May 2005 Location: NW Iowa Posts: 8,669	when i put mollies into salt water for my lion fish all i did was add 1/2 cup salt water to their water every 30 min. for 3 hours and then plopped them in the tank. they did great and even produced a ton of babbies. however my mollies were brakish raised so they already were used to some salt in thier system