Mollies in Salt water

[Creamhorses]

Went to LFS #2 yesterday, after leaving store #1 due to second hand smoke from salesperson standing in side door....then sending her 7 yr. old to ask if I need help with something.

Saw a tank full of mollies.....very active, some very large. They were in a salt water set up, and were being kept as food for larger SW fish in a nearby tank. So I asked about them because they looked so healthly; much more so than mine in a FW community tank. So the owner says: "Well mollies are brackish water fish". Bla bla bla .so I come home with a new 20gal long, hood, filter, bag of sea salt, a $$ pfffff...$175.23 later. [I have some wild mollies coming via FedEx early next week] so I needed another QT anyway.

So I go on ine this am and find nothing about brackish mollies, other than they like a bit of salt in their water. This ain't my first cruise, but I guess I'm becoming nieve in my old age.....listening to someone and believing everything they say. One thing for sure....those mollies which looked so healthy seemed to thrive in that salt water. That part of her story rang true.

I'm wondering why I hear so many stories about LFS owqners/employees who seem to need to peruse this AA forum in a serious way.

Any experiences on this thought would be helpful.

TIA

Dave

 

[Jchillin]

Mollies are a brackish fish. There is a complete SW mollie species out there and a few members to have experience with them. Perhaps they will chime in with their experience.

 

[RoK]

Mollies can live in FW, BW, or SW as long as acclimated very slowly. Mollies have been kept and bred in FW for a long time. They seem to do best with pH above 7.0 and moderately hard-very hard water though.

 

[Zagz]

I did some searching after Bill mentioned SW mollies. Seems that there are a lot of SW molly species out there once you take the time to check into it. My mollies are FW but they can be prone to fungus illnesses, I have lost a couple to fungual illness. I don't think their lifespan is as long in FW as in brackish or SW. From the reading I've been doing that is.

 

[Creamhorses]

I am thinking that maybe someday I'll try SW, but I'm having way too much fun with FW and now keeping this new tank for Mollies.

The gal @ the LFS sent me home with a bag of Coralife [hope that's the right brand name] Sea salt. Said to put in 1 cup for every 3-4 gallons, tageting a SG of 1.014-1.018 for this brackish tank.

I did add 3 cups to the 20 gallon over a three day period, but something told me to not add anymore..........and after reading more about Mollies and Brackish water, I'm totally miffed as to how to proceed.

My wild Honduan Mollies arrived from CA yesterday, and are doing well in this tank. I spent 3 hours acclimating them to the water before leaving their shipping bag. I fed them chopped worms, and they went crazy over freshly picked/microwaved spinnach. This morning they are all looking great!

So here's my question: What is the difference between aquarium salt and salt used for SW tanks. My LFS told me not to use aquarium salt to make the brackish water. And....have I over dosed the Mollies by adding so much salt? [If I added the 1 Tbsp/ gallon as recommended for what Mollies like, I'd have a lot less salt in this tank.

TIA

Dave

 

[Hara]

just a side note: Do not add the salt directly to your tank. mix it in tank water first. It will never thoroughly dissolve and mix if it is just poured into the tank.

 

[Zagz]

Great tip Hara! I wouldn't have known that being a freshie, and dreaming of SW tank tone day.

 

[An t-iasg]

Just from my reading, not experience, you are correct to use marine salt to make brackish water. I'm not sure what the difference between aquarium salt and marine salt is, but aquarium salt is used in freshwater tanks sometimes in treating ich, or for livebearers like mollies and platies that like a bit of salt in the water. The usual dosage for aquarium salt is one tablespoon per gallon. Marine salt is used in brackish and saltwater tanks.

I have also read that mollies can be acclimated to brackish water or saltwater and are some of the most beautiful mollies. You sound like you are right on track with your mollies! Do you have a refractometer or hydrometer to measure your specific gravity?

 

[Creamhorses]

Yes I bought a hydrometer just for this project. I had originally purchased 5 adult Sailfin Mollies to breed them. I had them in a community FW tank, and they got along just fine, accept the males never attempted to court or otherwise chase the females. Then about a month ago, one of the females beliied up......and I decided to look into why the Mollies weren't acting like typical live bearers. After watching the spectacular and healthy looking mollies in the salt water tank, I began this thread.

I still am not happy with having put so much salt in the tank for a 'brackish tank'

Dave

 

[RoK]

tageting a SG of 1.014-1.018 for this brackish tank.

That is way too much salt for most brackish fish. A SG of 1.018 is getting pretty close to SW.
1.005-1.015 is more the usual for brackish tanks. AFAIK, sailfin mollies do best in BW and in the 1.005-1.010 range.

 

[Creamhorses]

I've found an interesting description @ Live aquaria where the two Doctors are pictured in their lab coats on the home page. They must be right, right? :^)

Anyway.....they sell Sailfin and other mollies and state that the water for these fish should contain 1/4 cup of marine salt/gallon. This amount pretty much matches the directions from my #2LFS.@ 1 cup of salt to 3-4 gallons of water. I'd expect a more accurate formula from business people, there's a lot of room for variance in that +/- gallon.

So for now, I guess I'll leave it alone. The black mollies do seem to be happier. I'm a bit dissapointed in the color of the wild Honduran Mollies that just came via Aqua bid. They have no color @ all. But they're healthy.....con't beat that.

Dave

 

[An t-iasg]

Give the new fish some time...they traveled in shipping bags and then had to get used to the new tank. It's not unusual for new fish to take a few days or up to a week to get accustomed to their new surroundings. When they feel more at home, they should color up better.

 

[RoK]

Anyway.....they sell Sailfin and other mollies and state that the water for these fish should contain 1/4 cup of marine salt/gallon. This amount pretty much matches the directions from my #2LFS.@ 1 cup of salt to 3-4 gallons of water. I'd expect a more accurate formula from business people, there's a lot of room for variance in that +/- gallon.

What is the specific gravity in the tank?

 

[Puriti]

My teacher at school was trying to acclimate the baby mollies I gave her into sw at one point. I don't know if she's going to still do it or not but she got them into a brackish tank right now and they're doing pretty well

 

[Creamhorses]

What is the specific gravity in the tank?

My hydrometer's lowest measurement is 1.010, and the needle doesn't move to that line. This is with 20gals of water + 3 cups marine salt. I have stirred up the gravel a few times in an attempt to mix in any salt that didn't dissolve when I dumped it in. The fish seems to be happy, & I've noticed the black mollies that were in fresh water are much more amorous!

So @ this point, I don't think I should add any more salt. Perhaps I'll not add salt on water changes, especially if I can keep them happy with less salt, which makes moving mollies to&fro a little easier too.

Dave