Molly's in reef?

[maroun.c]

I've seen them kept in fish QT to entice new fish to eat . Dont think theyll do well in high flow tanks though.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Back in the 80's when you set up a saltwater tank- Mollies were the starter fish for bacteria whereas today , its clowns and damsels.

 

[GMay]

Well, I have gone swimming with these fish in salt water lagoons in Florida. They can adapt to a range of salt concentration. They are great choice to start a tank and to control algae in a tank. I recommend them.

 

[salty joe]

Dont think theyll do well in high flow tanks though.

I agree. I'm not sure my tank is high flow, maybe medium flow. Black mollies could not handle the flow at all. I was disappointed because I wanted a school of them.

 

[Nicholas Dushynsky]

I'm curious to this as to what algae they would eat/not eat. I want to add an extra fish that would add neutrients and eat a little algae that my crabs dont want to touch. My Snails died to dino and haven't replaced them now it's gone (nearly)

 

[mattzang]

so you guys just float and drop them if you buy them at a lfs that has them in freshwater? might have to grab a couple for my qt observation tank

 

[DEWreefing]

I agree. I'm not sure my tank is high flow, maybe medium flow. Black mollies could not handle the flow at all. I was disappointed because I wanted a school of them.

Not sure how that is possible I run over 40k gallons per hour in my sps tank. I had about 6 Molly's till I pulled them out.

 

[DEWreefing]

so you guys just float and drop them if you buy them at a lfs that has them in freshwater? might have to grab a couple for my qt observation tank

Buy them in fresh water and drip acclimate for about an hour

 

[salty joe]

Not sure how that is possible I run over 40k gallons per hour in my sps tank. I had about 6 Molly's till I pulled them out.

I have 90K gal/hr (according to the pumps, I don't believe it) but it's a big tank - 4' x 8' footprint. The mollies struggled.

 

[DEWreefing]

I have 90K gal/hr (according to the pumps, I don't believe it) but it's a big tank - 4' x 8' footprint. The mollies struggled.

What kind of pumps do you have and how many?

 

[oldbob50]

Have two in my Softies/LPS reef tank. No problems with nems (have a large Condi and a small rock flower). No problems with the corals or other fish. They, my Foxface and my Clown are the 4 musketeers and eat algae sheets together. They have completely removed the algae from my overflow box, my return tubes and wave pump. There is minimal algae on the rocks. Having seen what they do for algae control I would not have a tank with out at least two of them. I have not had them mate since I'm not sure what sex they are but when it comes time to replace them I will get ones that can reproduce.

 

[Silent]

Many years ago

 

[Devaji]

anyone know if they would eat macro algae? I will be setting up a large seahorse tank medium flow and this could be a cool idea for a few of these. but guessing they would munch on the marcos?

 

[Devaji]

I've actually heard that it can be done with guppies as well, though you have to go slower than with mollies - can't just plunk them in.

I've always been tempted to slowly acclimate a population of Endlers to saltwater. I've seen other people do it before, including on this forum.

this would also be cool as there more colorful I school of these could look cool in the tank. anyone done it? pros and cons??

 

[Silent]

Mollies might be too aggressive while seahorses are feeding. Seahorses might starve.

 

[Devaji]

Mollies might be too aggressive while seahorses are feeding. Seahorses might starve.

ah good point. I was going to train my SH to eat at a feeding station and fed the other fish the normal way. but yeah if there are aggressive that would not work. but if I could feed them 1st then the SH that might work?
dont want to push the boundry to much but it is an interesting idea for sure.

 

[oldbob50]

They will eat anything (plant or animal) that is not calcified. They are aggressive eaters but not aggressive with the other reef life. However, I can't speak for their behavior with SPS corals since I don't have any. No matter how much you feed them first, they will go after anything that looks or smells like food. They are very good at picking food off of the corals without hurting the corals.

 

[Otopharynx]

I have three mollies in my tank I'd say it's a medium to low flow reef and they struggled against the flow at first but they seem to have gotten used to it and are doing great. I had gotten them to munch on hair algae but they dont seem to munch on the longer stuff they just pick at the rocks and overflow box all day

 

[salty joe]

What kind of pumps do you have and how many?

Oops-90K liters/hr not gallons. So more like 24K gal/hr. I have 12 Coralbox QP15 pumps but only 6 run at a time except for a short interval every 6 hr when all 12 kick in. But the mollies did struggle always staying in a low flow area.

 

[oldbob50]

Otopharynx: Cows and horses will not graze on old, tough grass if there is tender, new grass. Mollies will do the same. Cut back the longer stuff and they should go after the new growth.