Black Mollies

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Daphne.GH

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Aug 13, 2018
Messages
15
I had a female and a male (both being Black Mollies) in my 10 gallon fish tank, because the female was being harassed I added another female Black Molly, but for some reason the female Black Molly that I just added also harasses the other female. Both the male and female chase and nip at her every once in a while and I feel bad for her. Any reason why the female is doing that to another female?
 
Hello Daphne...

Your number of males to females is off a bit. You really need 5 or 6 females to one male. I started my live bearing fish with one male and 10 female Platys. The male was so busy, he didn't have time to bully one fish.

B
 
Hello Daphne...

Your number of males to females is off a bit. You really need 5 or 6 females to one male. I started my live bearing fish with one male and 10 female Platys. The male was so busy, he didn't have time to bully one fish.

B
Everyone says that for each Black Molly that's male there should be only 2-3 female Black Molly. I think the only reason you believe it's 5-6 female per male is because you have different type if fish. It's not the same for every fish, some fish are more aggressive than others. The thing here isn't even about the male, I'm actually wondering about why one of my female Black Mollies is attacking another female Black Molly.
 
Daphne...

These are all live bearing fish and have very similar characteristics and behavior. I'll bet if you add some more females and go a step further and heavily plant the tank with some floating plants like Anacharis and Hornwort to provide some hiding places, you'll solve the fish bullying problem. But, if you believe the problem is something else, then go in that direction.

B
 
Daphne...

These are all live bearing fish and have very similar characteristics and behavior. I'll bet if you add some more females and go a step further and heavily plant the tank with some floating plants like Anacharis and Hornwort to provide some hiding places, you'll solve the fish bullying problem. But, if you believe the problem is something else, then go in that direction.

B
Thanks, I'll add more plants for hiding
 
I second upping the number of females to curb aggression and providing plants for hiding spots.
 
Me three. The more fish the less aggression I have found. Perhaps too many targets to choose from?
 
I second upping the number of females to curb aggression and providing plants for hiding spots.
I get what the comments mean but my question was actually "why does my newly added FEMALE Black Molly attack my other FEMALE Black Molly
 
Me three. The more fish the less aggression I have found. Perhaps too many targets to choose from?
I get what the comments mean but my question was actually "why does my newly added FEMALE Black Molly attack my other FEMALE Black Molly. They are BOTH female.
 
I get what the comments mean but my question was actually "why does my newly added FEMALE Black Molly attack my other FEMALE Black Molly
It comes down to numbers as B pointed out. Whether it's a couple of males or females. Sometimes it's luck of the draw and your particular fish might be a terror. As a cichlid owner I've run across aggression quite a bit and numbers, rock or plants to hide, and larger tank sizes seem to keep aggression down. Sometimes it down right changes behavior for the better. In your case adding females doesn't give your aggressive female a single Target and will give up on the chase. Your male with more females will have his hands full trying to breed all of them which curbs aggression. I think that's what B was getting at.
 
Just because it's 2 females doesn't mean that are automatically going to be buddies. Some fish like some people just seem to be the target of everybody's bullying & also just like people sex is not the only deciding factor in aggressive personalities like - I have had males who were ***** cats & females who were definitely the ***** queen of the tank. More targets for the 2 aggressive ones & more plants/places to hide may help but even that is not a guaranteed solution all you can do is try it. FYI a trio (1M2F) is usually the MINIMUM suggested stocking for live bearers, depends on how big your tank is - I try to do 1M4F minimum, but it's usually closer to 2M7F. Remember just because a fish site or store employee said it **should** be done like this doesn't mean it **must** be done like this, personal experience trumps rules every time.
 
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