Mollies in saltwater?

[TonyK_Az]

No need to apologize! I do have a freshwater so may try a couple males in there as the algae is in there too (a neglected tank).

Do only males. I acclimated our guppies to saltwater (Macroalgae) focus and regret it. They do pick at the algae but when people see the tank I have to explain why there are guppies there. My kids didn't want me to get rid of them. I might look at getting an anemone to see if he can keep the population down at least!

 

[SHINYSuccubus]

Are mollies good for eating algae in saltwater? Worth it? How hard to acclimate them if yes.

my lfs owner acclimated some sail fin mollies, and i took 2 of them. they don’t eat a noticeable amount of algae that i can tell, but they’re cute. i don’t know how long it took to acclimate them since i didn’t do it.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have had a chrome mollie in my tank for over a year and have never once seen him pick algae off the rocks. He will eat nori though. I think it is mostly because he has a hard time swimming with the high flow in my tank. he normaly just stays in the corners until its feeding time. I don't think they live up to the hype.

Silver and dalmation, barely
Black Mollies - almost always

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I’ve seen Green Sailfin Mollies swimming in and out to the Mangrove Roots, behind the Hampton Inn, in Key Largo, Florida. Nice Clean Hotel, not a Five Star, but I’m not spending a lot of time in the Hotel. You can walk right out back and go Snorkeling, off of their beach, on the Bay Side.

 

[Shooter6]

I've got multiple 10-12 in my 400g sps reef, and probably 50 babies in the sump.
They go through a transformation in sw. The grow bigger, faster ect. Mine swim with damsels, anthias and fairy wrasse without issues

 

[MattRG]

also too docile ,your wrasses and anthias ,will make short work of them,
used more as a tester fish after disease fallow,
or specialty tank , sea horse, pipefish tanks,
are good algae eaters.

I once lost a lot of saltwater fish in a tank that had no mollies left in it. I have a theory that the mollies eat saltwater parasites. Can't prove it yet. My wrasses maybe eating molly offspring, but I did catch a couple hundred of them last week. Other than that, they seem to get along pretty well. Some of my saltwater fish seem a little reluctant to come out of their caves, but if anything they soon realize those scary mollies are their friends.

 

[MattRG]

also too docile ,your wrasses and anthias ,will make short work of them,
used more as a tester fish after disease fallow,
or specialty tank , sea horse, pipefish tanks,
are good algae eaters.

I once lost a lot of saltwater fish in a tank that had no mollies left in it. I have a theory that the mollies eat saltwater parasites. Can't prove it yet. My wrasses maybe eating molly offspring, but I did catch a couple hundred of them last week. Other than that, they seem to get along pretty well. Some of my saltwater fish seem a little reluctant to come out of their caves, but if anything they soon realize those scary mollies are their friends.