29 Gallon Community Tank
Steve - I understand what you’re saying about mollies, but perhaps you missed the beginning of this thread (which I’ve deleted to save space, but is still attached in the group messages). I initiated the question because most sources were saying the same thing that you are - basically, that mollies can live in just about any tank that you have, 100% fresh to 100% ocean(-like). What I wasn’t finding in other sources, but Lenny offered, is an opinion about what is the best environment that they can be given to ensure their happiness and longevity. His advise, that they would not be happy in the same tank as my tetras (100% fresh, low Ph, soft) was well taken, and what I was looking for. I used the term “brackish” as I have generally seen it, to refer to any tank that has any amount of salt added on a regular basis. I probably should have said slightly brackish, as I do not keep that much salt in it. My LFS recommended three tablespoons of aquarium salt for the ten gallons in the tank, and that is the level that I have been keeping it at (although I admit that I really should get an instrument to measure the tanks salinity, so I can be sure I haven’t deviated too far from my intentions). The snails in the Molly tank are not a major problem, as I have been keeping a watch on it and culling the excess. I mentioned it only because of the fact that the ones added to the tetra tank were eliminated so quickly, but this particular breed of snails seems quite hardy in general. I thought someone might chime in as too who ate them before they could be a problem. I do feed the molly tank a bit more per fish (and per fish inch) than the tetra tank, but they actually consume the food a lot faster than the tetras, and beg for food more often. We started off the tank with three females (two white and a dalmation) and one male (black). The male did not last that long, I think because of the cycling (shorter, as the tank was seeded with water and gravel from the tetra tank), but my wife is convinced the girls killed him. The dalmation gave birth to some fry within the first month, and one of them actually survived to the present (just released to general population last week). I think that one of the others gave birth since then, but the fry did not make it to being seen ( I often refer to my wife’s fish as barracudas). - Chris
Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
