bradarmi Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 I recently bought a few sailfin mollies from a local petstore with the intention of acclimating them to saltwater. I kept them in a 5 gallon bucket with an airstone and raised the saintity and pH over a week until they were acclimated. I then transfered them to the nano as a temporary means of hair algae control. With the addition of 15-20% bi-weekly water changes and a reduction in light, the hair algae is practically gone. I wanted to post this to let others know that instead of buying fish (such as tangs, and sailfin blennies) with the intention of eating algae, this is a relatively safe and inexpensive way to "quick fix" the problem (the algae has to go somewhere, right?). Acclimated mollies may make great "start-up" fish because they can handle drastic changes while the new reefer get's his or her hands wet. I don't know if the reduction in hair algae is due to the mollies only, or in combination with the change in husbandry of the tank. Just a thought. Link to comment
lgreen Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 I don't know if the reduction in hair algae is due to the mollies only, or in combination with the change in husbandry of the tank. ... Link to comment
tinyreef Posted September 19, 2005 Share Posted September 19, 2005 are they actively eating the algae? i've wondered about mollies and algae control. i wasn't sure if they would take the sw vegetation. Link to comment
bradarmi Posted September 19, 2005 Author Share Posted September 19, 2005 I see them graze on it a bit, but lately, they've been begging at the top of the tank (I think they learned it from the clown). I guess flake food or brine shrimp taste better. Oh ya, there is also a few snails, 2 hermits, and an urchin. I know there are various posts on algae control, I just thought that I'd share some experiences with you guys. Link to comment
bradarmi Posted September 19, 2005 Author Share Posted September 19, 2005 Oh also, I was surprised to find some info that show mollies are more often than not coastal or bracksih water fish and can tolerate fresh; whereas I thought they were freshwater and tolerated salt. Link to comment
Daemonfly Posted September 20, 2005 Share Posted September 20, 2005 Pretty decent idea, except for their learning from the clown Might make for a good molly-only tank to see if they're really that good at taking out the algae. Link to comment
bradarmi Posted October 21, 2006 Author Share Posted October 21, 2006 So I found this old post and thought I would update everyone. The mollies fared moderately well for several months, but eventually subsided. I don't think they are as effective at controlling algae as some crabs, snails, and urchins. It was a great idea, but I was not impressed. I think they would do much better in a brackish environment with vegetable matter added into their diet. Just some FYI. Link to comment
KOFP Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 i absolutely love mollies...but true, they are brackish fish and the salinity in SW tanks is alot for them to handle. Link to comment
DementedLullaby Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Mollies do prefer some salt in their water. If you want to keep mollies/guppies in SW have them have babies in it. The babies are ultra hardy and should last their full life. I'd prefer to keep my reef with reef fish though ^^ Link to comment
FUGU!!! Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 How I got into the SW hobby was from turning FW fish into SW fish.Ive done mollies,plecos, and guppies.Plecos only last about one month in SW.The salinity varys from the conditions the fish had lived in,planted fish tanks had harder to convert fish aswell as colour,personality and beleve it or not size and mating habits! Link to comment
FUGU!!! Posted October 21, 2006 Share Posted October 21, 2006 Have you tried breeding the SW molies? Link to comment
ryzilla Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 Have you tried breeding the SW molies? Im a FW guy currently and I have read that mollies can be slowly acclimated to full SW salinity without issues. These fish are great at keeping algae in check. They are like the all around fish from cycling to algae control. The only problem is keeping the breading in check. Though I have never heard of them breading in full SW. Link to comment
FLIPbmw Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 I cycled my 40BR with a molly. Went from 0salinty to 0.026 over about a 4day period. The molly did just fine AND suprisingly it was pregnant and had babies (three times). Twice it laid about 10 babies in my 40br, then about 12 in my bros 5gal SW which is about 0.028salin b/c he doesn't really take care of it. Im a FW guy currently and I have read that mollies can be slowly acclimated to full SW salinity without issues. These fish are great at keeping algae in check. They are like the all around fish from cycling to algae control. The only problem is keeping the breading in check. Though I have never heard of them breading in full SW. Link to comment
sambo123 Posted October 22, 2006 Share Posted October 22, 2006 mollies look good in seagrass and macro tanks, but kinda out of place in a reef. Link to comment
bradarmi Posted October 22, 2006 Author Share Posted October 22, 2006 I agree that reef fish look better in reef tanks, but I was interested in using a cheap fish as an algae control. (Enter tang police) I think they are ok in saltwater, but I think they would fare better in a brackish tank. Actually, increased water changes, more circulation, and a very hungry urchin really cleaned it up. Link to comment
Osprey Posted October 30, 2006 Share Posted October 30, 2006 There was a paper published in 1984 that said guppies can tolerate water 150% as salty as sea water. I don't know how good they would be about eating their veggies though. Chervinski, J. (1984) Salinity tolerance of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters. Journal of Fish Biology 24 (4), 449-452. doi: 10.1111/ j.1095-8649.1984.tb04815.x Link to comment
bradarmi Posted October 30, 2006 Author Share Posted October 30, 2006 Wow that's interesting, live-bearing toothcarps never cease to amaze me, that's for sure. I was surprised to find out that rainbowfish and Indian glassfish are also from brackish waters as well. Link to comment
Blacktone Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I have 2 SW acclimated Mollies, Both of them gave birth to fry. So far I can see 3 fry running around the tank. They did eat alot of hair algae, while doing this they are also very messy. Some HA ends up in the substrate, and they don't just poop... they poop alot! about ready to give them to my auntie for her FW tank after they are done or put them in the sump. But yeah first hand experience here after 2 weeks HA is only down to a thin layer and has become manageable for the snails to mow down. Hurray! Link to comment
Hoobahans Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 I keep mollies for my algae and they do a great job. I have seen them eating hair algae, but over time they do seem to learn that flakes and pellets taste a lot better. I also get fry, but my clown and blenny eat most of them. They are the toughest fish that I have ever got, my blenny is really territorial and ate the fin off of one mollie but it just grew back. However, I will admit that they look out of place next to my maximas... Link to comment
13angels Posted January 15, 2007 Share Posted January 15, 2007 There was a paper published in 1984 that said guppies can tolerate water 150% as salty as sea water. I don't know how good they would be about eating their veggies though. Chervinski, J. (1984) Salinity tolerance of the guppy, Poecilia reticulata Peters. Journal of Fish Biology 24 (4), 449-452. doi: 10.1111/ j.1095-8649.1984.tb04815.x yeah i have guppies grassing on my nano's algae growths, they kept breeding until i took out the females... Link to comment
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