Yay new fry! Breeding Mollies in saltwater

[MissMolly]

Hi guys, I’m excited!!!

So my saltwater molly (whom I converted when she was a baby and paired up w my also converted Dalmatian male molly) dropped her fry after severals months of pregnancy (yes MONTHS!).

I have kept her mate for about a year in saltwater and her for about 6 months. Spend 3 days converting both.

The fry seems bigger than in freshwater, but not sure.

Usually mom molly lives in my main tank but took her out a couple of weeks ago so she could give birth in my sexy shrimp pico tank. (She’s safe around the shrimps). Also she doesn’t eat the fry.

She will go back to the main tank tomorrow.

Did this post in case someone was wondering about breeding mollies in saltwater.
Or converting Mollies. I have some experience if you have any questions

 

[danenelsen]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m thinking about trying to do this, but I have a few questions. Is there any flow in the aquarium? And is there any tank mates?

 

[thedon986]

Can you share your acclimation/conversion process?

 

[legionofdoon]

I know a little off topic but why don't you ever see the wild versions for sale? The males would look spectacular under led light. They have an orange head and an almost fluorescent blue tail. They are pretty common in south Florida and I've seen them in both salt and fresh but mostly fresh. We used to use them as bass bait when I was a kid.

 

[MissMolly]

Thanks for sharing your experience! I’m thinking about trying to do this, but I have a few questions. Is there any flow in the aquarium? And is there any tank mates?

Hi! Yes I there is flow. Otherwise they would suffocate I’m pretty sure. I have a simple internal filter that I place near waterline so I get some nice surface circulation. Mine is Mini Pat Filter from Aquael. So cheap and works incredibly well.

I also have a skimmer that I only turn on while I sit and watch the tank so no tank inhabitants gets sucked in.

Tank mates: I have 20 sexy shrimps, a peppermint shrimp and some nerite snails. The set up is a sexy shrimp, macro algae pico display tank that I just thought would be fitting for the fry to be born and raised in.

 

[MissMolly]

I know a little off topic but why don't you ever see the wild versions for sale? The males would look spectacular under led light. They have an orange head and an almost fluorescent blue tail. They are pretty common in south Florida and I've seen them in both salt and fresh but mostly fresh. We used to use them as bass bait when I was a kid.

Wow they sound awesome! I have no idea why they’re not in the trade but they should be!

 

[MissMolly]

Can you share your acclimation/conversion process?

Sure!

Day 1: I start w a decent sized plastic tub, a small air pump, a rock from one of my tanks for fish to hide behind and freshwater.

When the new fish is calm and settled after half a day I raise the salinity to 5 percent with clean saltwater (not from tanks) since this is very well tolerated by most fish and definitely live bearers.

Day 2: Over the course of the day I add saltwater to the tub raising the salinity with 1 percent for each top off. I do this every hours or so. 8 percent in total. So salinity should be 13 percent when the day is over.

Day 3: I take out some water and start raising the salinity with 10 percent over the course of the day. Salinity should be 23 now.

Day 4: I take out some water again. And start raising salinity with 10 percent again. Should be 33 the end of the day and you can now transfer to main tank.

During the conversion is remove all uneaten food and poop with a turkey baster to avoid ammonia and I also monitor ammonia levels very closely.

This has been a 100 % success every time.

 

[MissMolly]

They are already so big. I have been feeding them crushed flakes and artemia 6 times a day

 

[GARRIGA]

I know a little off topic but why don't you ever see the wild versions for sale? The males would look spectacular under led light. They have an orange head and an almost fluorescent blue tail. They are pretty common in south Florida and I've seen them in both salt and fresh but mostly fresh. We used to use them as bass bait when I was a kid.

There's a fish farm in homestead that used to have wild Yucatan sailfin. Wasn't able to get down south otherwise would have gotten a few but now thinking of just catching my own if I can find a spot. Those an dalmatians seems to be well established in our waters.

 

[legionofdoon]

We used to call the dalmatians Lucky minnows and always threw them back for good luck when we were kids.

 

[GARRIGA]

We used to call the dalmatians Lucky minnows and always threw them back for good luck when we were kids.

Can see mollies fished as I fished mud minnows up north. Flounder candy..

 

[danenelsen]

This thread inspired me to try and do this myself! We’ll see how it goes… Thank you so much for posting @shrimplover!

 

[Tavero]

This thread inspired me to try and do this myself! We’ll see how it goes… Thank you so much for posting @shrimplover!

Mollys are totally incompatible with mixed reef tanks in my experience. The issue is they seem to have zero resistance against stinging or sharp corals and no intention to avoid them. It may work for some time, but at some point the fish will touch a stinging tentacle somewhere in the tank. I think a few of them also got injuries by swimming too close to live rock and scrating themselves. Sometimes they recover from these injuries but usually they don't and just waste away in a corner. I started with ten and lost most of them over a period of one year. The last two survived a bit longer but didn't reach two years. I won't keep them in my tanks anymore.

But for a macro algae and softie tank they are perfect.

They really don't care when food is coming

 

[legionofdoon]

What about sailfin mollies? Cause those aren't. I've seen sailfins in brackish/full salt(depending on tide) water just fine but not those. I wonder if they have different tolerances to being stung.

 

[MissMolly]

Mollys are totally incompatible with mixed reef tanks in my experience. The issue is they seem to have zero resistance against stinging or sharp corals and no intention to avoid them. It may work for some time, but at some point the fish will touch a stinging tentacle somewhere in the tank. I think a few of them also got injuries by swimming too close to live rock and scrating themselves. Sometimes they recover from these injuries but usually they don't and just waste away in a corner. I started with ten and lost most of them over a period of one year. The last two survived a bit longer but didn't reach two years. I won't keep them in my tanks anymore.

But for a macro algae and softie tank they are perfect.

They really don't care when food is coming

Hi! My Mollies are living an incredible healthy life in my live rock/macro algae tanks. They do not crash into rocks They are just as coordinated as any other fish in the tank. Of course they donøt handle high high flow well but they are fine with medium flow. I dont have any corals, so I can't ell if they will go into these or not.

 

[MissMolly]

What about sailfin mollies? Cause those aren't. I've seen sailfins in brackish/full salt(depending on tide) water just fine but not those. I wonder if they have different tolerances to being stung.

I have not read up on this subject since I don't have corals.

 

[MissMolly]

Here's a new pic from the tank where my mollies are growing up. They work perfectly as dither fish. All the shy fish have really been coming out in the open. And as you can see they are in great health. I have not lost a single one.

 

[GARRIGA]

Here's a new pic from the tank where my mollies are growing up. They work perfectly as dither fish. All the shy fish have really been coming out in the open. And as you can see they are in great health. I have not lost a single one.

Mollies as dither fish in QT something I’ve considered. Big believer in dither fish. Seen it in action many times. Stress I believe to be the number one killer and throwing any single fish into a box with bare bottom and some elbows gotta be stressful

 

[Tavero]

Mollies as dither fish in QT something I’ve considered. Big believer in dither fish. Seen it in action many times. Stress I believe to be the number one killer and throwing any single fish into a box with bare bottom and some elbows gotta be stressful

And trying to survive in the wild isn't?
Stress is differently perceived by animals (especially prey animals) than humans. Prey animals are constantly under, what we would consider, stress.

If we say an animal died because of stress, it's actually usually because of exhaustion, aggression, bad living conditions etc.

Here's a new pic from the tank where my mollies are growing up. They work perfectly as dither fish. All the shy fish have really been coming out in the open. And as you can see they are in great health. I have not lost a single one.

How old are they? Most of my issues started after they were 2-3 years old.
Maybe orange ones are more prone to stupidity.

 

[GARRIGA]

And trying to survive in the wild isn't?
Stress is differently perceived by animals (especially prey animals) than humans. Prey animals are constantly under, what we would consider, stress.

If we say an animal died because of stress, it's actually usually because of exhaustion, aggression, bad living conditions etc.

How old are they? Most of my issues started after they were 2-3 years old.
Maybe orange ones are more prone to stupidity.

Stress in the wild not the same as sticking a fish in a box where 24/7 can’t escape it’s perceived predator being us. Adding other fish I’ve seen reduce stress. Speaking from actual experience. Not pie in the sky feel good ideas