Breeding Mollies!

[sbash]

I thought I would take a stab at breeding Black Mollies. If all goes well, I'll move onto Dalmatian...

So, I ordered 20. I was going to start with 10, but at a little over a dollar each, I figured why not!

My acclimation plan worked, but not as smoothly as I wanted. I was able to bring the salinity from 0 to 1.020 in six days. However, acclimation presented some struggles for my new little friends.

The ammonia exposure was pretty bad, although I used a conditioner, I lost 5 fish. The nitrifying bacteria from fresh to brackish to marine are different in each environment, so I'm not sure how I could have handled it aside from rushing the change. Theoretically, I have read you can adjust the salinity 0.002 per hour, which would put fresh to marine acclimation in about 12 hours. I would love to hear some thoughts on this!

Now, onto the good stuff, I did the bulk of the acclimation in a plastic bin:

I did an initial does of water purifier, as well as daily doses of Aquavitra Seed. Once the salinity was about 1.01, I added a bunch of rubble.

At 1.02, I moved them to one of my cycled QT tanks with a matching salinity. I just didn't trust the tub any more.

It looks like I have two males in the group, maybe three (but I think only two). So, another question: Should I keep only a single male with the harem of females, or will two or three be okay with this amount of females?

Lastly, it looks like a couple of the females have swollen bellies already, this might be getting real, very soon!

 

[Dsnakes]

Following along I have considered doing the same for potential algae control.

 

[Genomecop]

What's the purpose of this?

 

[pdisner]

I tried that a few months ago. Got a bunch of free mollies after somebody mentioned to me it could be done. Worked out well but they eventually died off. Did converting them change their breeding habits I wonder? Ever noticed that?

 

[sbash]

Following along I have considered doing the same for potential algae control.

For sure, that's what I have heard too!

What's the purpose of this?

I don't understand the question, unless it's existential...

I tried that a few months ago. Got a bunch of free mollies after somebody mentioned to me it could be done. Worked out well but they eventually died off. Did converting them change their breeding habits I wonder? Ever noticed that?

Time will tell! I wondered this myself, there are lots of reports of babies born to saltwater mollies, but they could have been pregnant before adapting to the salt water.

It's going to take me a couple months to get the timing right to move the females. I'll also move a couple to different tanks to see how they do elsewhere (as sort of a control).

 

[Opus]

Endlers will also convert to saltwater. Not much benefit though. Doubt they would do much algae control.

 

[Halal Hotdog]

I have transitioned mollies from FW to SW before. I did not think they were great algae eaters, but ate reef roids by the lbs, annoyed me to see a molly eating all the food off the coral. I feel through the acclimation most people lose a few regardless of how slow/fast the acclimation is made.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I kept mollies in a saltwater tank, but never bred them. Good luck with this!

 

[CNDReef]

I’ve had a male in a Reef tank before but never tried breeding them in saltwater. Maybe get the female at a early stage of pregnancy and convert to saltwater and see what happens. ( besides them being fish food)

 

[sbash]

Endlers will also convert to saltwater. Not much benefit though. Doubt they would do much algae control.

This is interesting, I did a little reading based on your comment. It looks like there may be a few different guppies that might convert. I'm not really concerned with the algae control, just some interesting variety...

I have transitioned mollies from FW to SW before. I did not think they were great algae eaters, but ate reef roids by the lbs, annoyed me to see a molly eating all the food off the coral. I feel through the acclimation most people lose a few regardless of how slow/fast the acclimation is made.

Years back, when I first got into reefing, I picked up a couple dalmatian mollies to help discipline me in the art of acclimation. They lived for a short while, but that tank crashed due to some bad source water. These black mollies are only 1.5", but yes, they sure are pigs.

I’ve had a male in a Reef tank before but never tried breeding them in saltwater. Maybe get the female at a early stage of pregnancy and convert to saltwater and see what happens. ( besides them being fish food)

It looks like one or two already are pregnant, so yeah, it should be interesting. Even if the first few rounds of babies turn into food, once I figure out the signs, I'll set up a birthing tank for the babies, then a grow tank for them to grow large enough to not get eaten. I already have a similar protocol for my pseudo-cyans, it will more come down to shelf space

 

[WetPets]

In the shop I have converted them to salt the sailfin variety seems to acclimate the best. With the sailfin molly you can float and drop. I have not breed them in salt water but I do have customer that have done it.

 

[sbash]

In the shop I have converted them to salt the sailfin variety seems to acclimate the best. With the sailfin molly you can float and drop. I have not breed them in salt water but I do have customer that have done it.

Cool, good to know, thanks!

What do you mean, float and drop, you float in a freshwater bag and drop into saltwater?

 

[WetPets]

Cool, good to know, thanks!

What do you mean, float and drop, you float in a freshwater bag and drop into saltwater?

Yes but we only do that with sailfin molly.

Also forgot to mention that they will eat some algae.

They do need to be kept with peaceful fish.

 

[salty joe]

I thought a school of black fish would be very cool but they could not handle the water flow.

 

[sbash]

Yes but we only do that with sailfin molly.

Also forgot to mention that they will eat some algae.

They do need to be kept with peaceful fish.

This is interesting! I'll keep an eye out for them and scoop some up the next time I see them.

I thought a school of black fish would be very cool but they could not handle the water flow.

True, if I put a bunch in my 220, they would probably just be blown around. I have read they get bigger in salt water, or, perhaps a different variety would be better (I know dalmatians are even bigger). Anyway, one step at a time

 

[Mordwrath]

My experience a few months ago was this:
M/F pair of black Sailfin Molly's. Really easy acclimation to the reef.
Never once did they graze on any Macro algae or any other Nuisance algae (bryopsis, bubble etc..)
I did see them grazing the filament algae on the glass pretty frequently
No success at breeding them in full salinity.
Ultimately converted them back to my freshwater tank where they ate algae and prolifically breed upon conversion back to FW.
Total time Molly's were in the reef were 3-4 months.

 

[Fishnut]

I had a few females and one male in a reef tank for about 6 months. They had a bunch of babies, but the babies would always end up in the overflow stuck against the sponge. The babies and parents spent most of the time near the top of the tank. I finally netted them all out and brought to my LFS.

 

[sbash]

I had a few females and one male in a reef tank for about 6 months. They had a bunch of babies, but the babies would always end up in the overflow stuck against the sponge. The babies and parents spent most of the time near the top of the tank. I finally netted them all out and brought to my LFS.

Yeah, I'm not surprised this happened (actually a little, I would have expected the fry getting eaten).

To be clear: I'm not actually breeding them in a reef; the title was changed by a moderator when they put this thread into the 'Featured Thread' section of the daily email blast a few days ago. I have fixed the title.

Once I determine the right pregnancy stage, I will move the pregnant females to a birthing tank (which could just be a breeder box). Once the babies are born, the adult female will go back into the 'pool' and the babies will go into the fry tank to grow until they are big enough to not be eaten by the others.

 

[AnakinReefWalker]

I added 6 Mollies to my tank, none of them did much for my algae but I kept them around, for some reason though after a couple months they started wasting away one by one. I'm left with one now, will be adding some later on.

 

[pdisner]

My experience a few months ago was this:
M/F pair of black Sailfin Molly's. Really easy acclimation to the reef.
Never once did they graze on any Macro algae or any other Nuisance algae (bryopsis, bubble etc..)
I did see them grazing the filament algae on the glass pretty frequently
No success at breeding them in full salinity.
Ultimately converted them back to my freshwater tank where they ate algae and prolifically breed upon conversion back to FW.
Total time Molly's were in the reef were 3-4 months.

I tried and succeeded converting mollies to experiment and thought that would be cool to have in my main display. So just as I suspected, they don’t reproduce in saltwater. The mollies I converted did not last but a couple of months.