Hey there! So I'm planning on getting a 55 gallon tank soon, and I'd really love to have mollies in there. I'm thinking 4 or 5 of them. I've read all about the male-female ratio so it would be good to have 1 male and 3 or 4 females, right? That means that I would get approximately 80 fry a month, give or take. Great!
....no thanks. I have absolutely no idea what I'd do with that many fry, and I doubt my LFS would take them since I'm hoping to get a few different molly breeds, so the fry would be mixed bred. So cross off having both genders in the tank. I'll have to see about one gender only.
Some sites recommend all females, and some recommend all males. There are three problems with keeping females though. One is that the females would be pregnant probably, so I'd still have to deal with fry for up to six months. That might be okay, but I'm also keeping male guppies. Does this mean I will get muppies? I know that my LFS definitely won't take muppies, even if they do take mixed bred mollies. How likely is it that my mollies and guppies would breed? The third problem is that females are both bigger and fatter than males, which I'm assuming means they have a bigger bio load, and I'll only be able to get a few.
I'm leaning toward males, they're smaller, prettier, and the only male molly I've ever had was perfectly peaceful (unlike the female, who killed the platy she was in a tank with). I've read that mollies establish a hierarchical relationship with each other, and males even more so. So I'd have one alpha male, and three or four subordinates. How do you think this would work? The alpha wouldn't be able to beat up one of the others specifically all the time, because he'd have four to choose from. Plus, its a 55 gallon, and planted too. Lots of hiding spots.
Input please! I'd especially appreciate if someone who's kept a group of molly males together to reply, and tell me if it worked/didn't work and why or why not. Also someone who's kept female mollies and male guppies together and can say whether or not they bred together. Thanks!
....no thanks. I have absolutely no idea what I'd do with that many fry, and I doubt my LFS would take them since I'm hoping to get a few different molly breeds, so the fry would be mixed bred. So cross off having both genders in the tank. I'll have to see about one gender only.
Some sites recommend all females, and some recommend all males. There are three problems with keeping females though. One is that the females would be pregnant probably, so I'd still have to deal with fry for up to six months. That might be okay, but I'm also keeping male guppies. Does this mean I will get muppies? I know that my LFS definitely won't take muppies, even if they do take mixed bred mollies. How likely is it that my mollies and guppies would breed? The third problem is that females are both bigger and fatter than males, which I'm assuming means they have a bigger bio load, and I'll only be able to get a few.
I'm leaning toward males, they're smaller, prettier, and the only male molly I've ever had was perfectly peaceful (unlike the female, who killed the platy she was in a tank with). I've read that mollies establish a hierarchical relationship with each other, and males even more so. So I'd have one alpha male, and three or four subordinates. How do you think this would work? The alpha wouldn't be able to beat up one of the others specifically all the time, because he'd have four to choose from. Plus, its a 55 gallon, and planted too. Lots of hiding spots.
Input please! I'd especially appreciate if someone who's kept a group of molly males together to reply, and tell me if it worked/didn't work and why or why not. Also someone who's kept female mollies and male guppies together and can say whether or not they bred together. Thanks!
