Can I put a Male Fighter Fish in with Mollies?

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Rjoepenk

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
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23
Location
Manchester
I have a 17G tank that is almost cycled adn am thinking of adding a male fighter next: bad idea? And also, is it likely to eat the fry that they have recently conceived if I can add it?
 
Just those: four 1.5" Chocolate Lyretail Mollies (Two male, two female). I'm not sure on what I plan to put in really except that I know I'm not interested in Guppies or Tetras and I want a Pleco at some point, although I'm not sure which. The Mrs wants a Male Fighter, but I'm not putting one in if he won't be happy.
 
4 mollies in a 17g is getting pretty close to stocked IMO. You could fit a Betta but you would have to watch for nipping from both the mollies and Betta. Both the mollies and Betta will eat fry but the population will still increase so that's something to keep in mind. IMO with 4 mollies you could fit a bristlenose pleco (but not any other fish) with regular large water changes and good filtration.
 
I put a betta in with my Mollie and it immediately started chasing the betta. I don't know if it was just being friendly or aggressive but it was stressing the betta so I had to move the Mollie.
 
Thanks for the responses, judging by people's replies I think the best course of action would be to see if my LFS will allow me to return the betta if it's stressed, then add one and see whether or not they co-exist peacefully.

On another note I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how my tank is almost fully stocked with four 1.5" mollies. If you follow the inches/gallon ratio I have at least ten more inches of fish to potentially add, even allowing for them to grow bigger.

It's starting to grate on me a little bit how people on here are constantly implying that smaller tanks are practically useless - we don't all have either the money or the room at home to buy giant aquariums...
 
The inch per gallon rule is generally disregarded here. There are too many exceptions to the rule.
And also, the smaller tanks aren't useless, you just have to choose the fish carefully. I consider 4 mollies in a 17 gallon very close to stocked.
 
Rjoepenk said:
Thanks for the responses, judging by people's replies I think the best course of action would be to see if my LFS will allow me to return the betta if it's stressed, then add one and see whether or not they co-exist peacefully.

On another note I'm sorry, but I just don't understand how my tank is almost fully stocked with four 1.5" mollies. If you follow the inches/gallon ratio I have at least ten more inches of fish to potentially add, even allowing for them to grow bigger.

It's starting to grate on me a little bit how people on here are constantly implying that smaller tanks are practically useless - we don't all have either the money or the room at home to buy giant aquariums...

Mollies don't stay 1.5inches. Males in particular can reach 3-4 inches. They also seem to have quite large bioloads compared to other fish also (they produce more waste). The minimum tank size most people use for mollies is 29g. People give stocking advise based on the expected full size of a fish not the size they are now. I don't think anyone implied smaller tanks, especially 20g, are useless. I have 5 tanks smaller then 20 gallons. They can be tricky to stock at times but there is a huge assortment of fish suited for smaller tanks.
 
IMO the minimum tank size for mollies is 29 gals. They are rather huge when full grown and have massive bio-loads.

Male mollies can get nippy with fish who have flowing fins, so it's a bit of a risky combo, but it has worked for some.

I have more than 20 tanks smaller than your 17g there, so I would never in a million years call it useless. But I would call it improperly stocked. You could have a really awesome community in a 17 gal..but it doesn't include mollies IMO.
 
I have 6 fully grown adult mollies in a 40gallon tank and that's fully stocked. Honestly once they reach adult size you will change your mind. They get larger than most realise and they are sometimes aggressive toward each other so they need their own little hidey places to chill out.

I would also suggest you keep a ratio of 3 females to each male. The boys are sexually insatiable and will pester your girls to the point they are severely stressed and this can lead to ich and death. Lots of girls so the boys can spread their love around.

As Mumma said, mollies also have quite a large bioload compared to a lot of other fish. Ours basically never stop pooping so great filtration is a must and more water capacity per fish helps keep the water parameters in check.
 
My personal opinion is that it depends on each individual fish.. Fighters get a really bad rep at most LFS. Mine (guy) lives in with my miniature rasboras, powder blue gouramis, and my harlequin rasboras in a 180LTR and has never shown any aggression or nipping, he is the loveliest fish I have ever owned!
 
I'm sorry if I seemed a bit abrupt in my previous response. I bought these fish to chill out and whilst I wasn't expecting not to have any work to do, it seems there is always a problem around the corner. I will be working full time in a couple of months (I'm a student at present) and at that point me and my girlfriend will be buying a bigger tank to move the other fish to, and will leave the mollies in the one we have currently.

Regarding the betta, we took a risk and bought a small one a couple of days ago with the understanding that we could return him to the LFS if he didn't settle, but we were fairly confident he'd be fine as the tank he was in at the LFS contained the same type of mollies to ours. So far he's been fine, he is not troubling the mollies and they are not troubling him, so I am crossing my fingers and hoping it stays that way!
 
It's starting to grate on me a little bit how people on here are constantly implying that smaller tanks are practically useless - we don't all have either the money or the room at home to buy giant aquariums...

It's not that they're useless, it's that many people starting off with small tanks still want large fish. It just doesn't work that way.

There are many beautiful nano fish like ember tetras that would look wonderful in a small tank. One of my favorite tanks of my own is my 16 gallon, my smallest.

We're not prejudiced against small tanks at all. But they are harder to keep steady regarding water parameters and harder to stock, if you're a newbie looking for your usual lfs fish.
 
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