Can Mollies Live In Saltwater Long Term?
- Thread starter sundog101
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Mollies are a brackish fish, so should do fine in saltwater once acclimated. Don't think they have the life expectancy as long as some other fish. I know a couple people who have had them in saltwater for a couple years.
Dsnakes
Knight Reefer
Once acclimated they can be kept just fine in full salt. I have heard they are great little algae grazers
Great question! There is a lot of conflicting information out there... I would like to qualify "long-term" as 3 years or more; how does that sound?
My daughter has a few in her tank. I think she added most of them about 5 months ago, so we are yet to see their longevity. They have had a lot of babies so far. And the babies make a good meal for the corals and fish. Great at eating algae in the tank.
If I recall correctly from our research, they grow larger in saltwater than freshwater (pretty sure I read that, hope I am not just making it up lol). And they are an inexpensive way to add a few peaceful fish without the saltwater fish price tag
If I recall correctly from our research, they grow larger in saltwater than freshwater (pretty sure I read that, hope I am not just making it up lol). And they are an inexpensive way to add a few peaceful fish without the saltwater fish price tag
eatbreakfast
Fish Nerd
There longevity can also vary based on the type of molly they are. Most commercually available mollies are hybrids. Some molly species are mote freshwatet, some more brackish, so depending on an individuals lineage, could affect it's longevity in full saltwater.
You also need to wager in the constant breeding and how it takes its toll. I have dottybacks from the same spawn where pairs (specifically the male) were much shorter lived than singular fish. In this case the male made it to about 4 years after near constant egg guarding for 3 years whereas the singles are still going strong at 8 years (That example is with f1 generation fish which should be stronger than the heavily bred mollie strains we see). In mollies who are prolific breeders it is likely to have a similar effect with 3-5 years often quoted for lifespan and I'd hazard a guess it's nearer the three.
From my experience with fresh water, most heavily bred species like mollies, guppies, tetras, bettas... they live about 2-3 years on average if they aren't killed first. 5 years would be a really old fish.
If you've got genuine black mollys, Poecilia latipinna, they will live for about 3 years tops. I've never kept them in saltwater, but reading that they'll breed in full salt indicates they've adapted fully to it. As with all livebearing fish, in the wild they tend to live in fairly unstable conditions, so have evolved the ability to produce larger, live young better able to cope with a changeable environment and produce them quickly, thus it is more about genetic resilience and survival of the population, rather than individual fish. I've kept mollys in freshwater for years, same population that started as 6 adults, when I finally got rid of them nearly 15 years later I had well over a hundred fish and probably been through 6 generations. I never sold or culled any, just left the tank be, full of plants (vallis) and just fed and changed some water every month. Awesome little fish and very tempted to pop a few in my fuge... just for fun.
keddre
Well-Known Member
I will consider long-term to be their full life expectancy, to which the answer is "no, but pretty close". Mollies are a brackish species where, they live most of their life in semi-salty water; however, these regions are places where it can in the span of a day go from fully fresh, to fully salt. That being said, if you want them to live as long as they would in the wild (omitting the presence of predators) then you would want to keep them in a brackish tank; but because of their natural habitat being so fluctuating, they can happily thrive in a reef tank too.
John Hughes
Active Member
I had a black sailfin molly that I bought from lfs that was in a saltwater tank. I basically used it to speed up my tank cycle, please don't beat me up over that.
I kept him for about 3-4 months and he did great. I added some clowns and a yellow tang and and a royal gramma and everything seemed fine. The molly was a real food hog and ate everything I used and was always picking at the live rock for algae. Well, he eventually decided to he liked the royal gramma's fins and began terrorizing it to the point it developed ich.
At that point he was removed. I seem to remember mollies being fin nippers from my fresh water days so beware.
I kept him for about 3-4 months and he did great. I added some clowns and a yellow tang and and a royal gramma and everything seemed fine. The molly was a real food hog and ate everything I used and was always picking at the live rock for algae. Well, he eventually decided to he liked the royal gramma's fins and began terrorizing it to the point it developed ich.
At that point he was removed. I seem to remember mollies being fin nippers from my fresh water days so beware.
I think both P. latipinna (Sailfin molly) and P. sphenops (common molly) can be acclimated to full salt.
They commonly hybridise (with fertile offspring) and both are able to produce the 'black molly' offspring, those in the trade are often from breeders and often the lineage isn't as pure as it could be, so likely most black mollies in the hobby are some % of both species.
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