Salt in the water for Mollies?

[aellison62]

I know mollies like a bit of salt in their water. How much exactly? If I have neon tetras and platies, will the salt disagree w/them? Should I just keep it saltless for the benefit of the whole community or does the little bit of salt go OK w/ the others?

 

[jaderman]

I had a tank with both swordtail platys and dalmation mollies (no tetras though) and what i did about the salt was i went to the local pet store, bought a carton of aquarium salt and followed the instructions on the box i think it was like 1 table spoon per 10 gallons and it didnt seem to bother any of my fish.

 

[Fishguy2727]

No need for salt, they are freshwater fish and therefore only need fresh water. Do they prefer hard water? Yes, as will the platies. However the neons will not.

Although a couple species of mollies can go into bracksih and even full saltwater in nature, they are still primarily freshwater fish. The mollies in the hobby are all farm raised in freshwater and will thrive in just that.

 

[noob2saltH20]

U can add freshwater salt to your tank if u want to. It increases slime coat which help prevent infections. Also can reduce stress. Just make sure u follow the directions exactly on the box or u can kill your fishies

 

[mfdrookie516]

You have to realize that aquarium salt and marine salt are completely different things. While the use of aquarium salt is controversial, a lot of people still use it. Mollies can be found naturally in fw, bw, and sw. Unless you buy wild caught mollies, chances are they were raised in fw. Unless you plan on setting up a bw tank (which in this case with neons and platies you aren't) then there's absolutely no need for salt of any kind.

 

[aellison62]

OK, thanks for the advice.

 

[Mark Hewitt]

I don't use salt in my tank and my mollies get along just fine!