new to the hobby:p

[johnhartigan]

It does sound like your molly needs friends... I'm interested to see what your water is too... I have 6 mollies in my 29g freshwater tank with a female betta and they're doing great... Brackish water is controversial.. Their are opinions on either side... I personally don't do it because my fish have been happy in pure dechlorinated water.

I gotta wait to add another fish but I will try and get a female see if we can get anything going haha and tomorrow ill hopefully get my water tested and ill let all of you know what they are ànd any suggestions for decor and plants welcome

 

[ocminpin]

I gotta wait to add another fish but I will try and get a female see if we can get anything going haha and tomorrow ill hopefully get my water tested and ill let all of you know what they are ànd any suggestions for decor and plants welcome

It's generally suggested 3 females for each male because males will pester/stress females to death to mate... Tho 4 mollies in a 20g would be quite maxes out without the tetras..

 

[johnhartigan]

It's generally suggested 3 females for each male because males will pester/stress females to death to mate... Tho 4 mollies in a 20g would be quite maxes out without the tetras..

So add 3 females or no?

 

[ocminpin]

So add 3 females or no?

Wait to see what your water is like first. What are your plans with the tetras?
You could make 4 mollies work in a 20g if they were the only fish in tank and you kept up with water changes...

 

[johnhartigan]

Wait to see what your water is like first. What are your plans with the tetras?
You could make 4 mollies work in a 20g if they were the only fish in tank and you kept up with water changes...

I'm thinking ill sell the black. Skirt if he gets to aggressive and get 3 more of the black tetras so I could have a mini school of tetras

 

[ocminpin]

I'm thinking ill sell the black. Skirt if he gets to aggressive and get 3 more of the black tetras so I could have a mini school of tetras

Would be a bit crowded with tetras and 4
Mollies.... Perhaps 2 females and see how your male does with them?

 

[johnhartigan]

Would be a bit crowded with tetras and 4
Mollies.... Perhaps 2 females and see how your male does with them?

Sounds good he doesn't seem very aggressive at all very docile except when the moonlight is on then he's roaming around and happy and is it okay to leave the moon light on all night if I do a hour of complete darkness?

 

[ocminpin]

Sounds good he doesn't seem very aggressive at all very docile except when the moonlight is on then he's roaming around and happy and is it okay to leave the moon light on all night if I do a hour of complete darkness?

Too much light can cause algae to grow in the tank.. Especially in a new tank...
Its recommended no more than 10 hrs a day...
Fish need darkness for their sleep cycles... They actually lay down in their spots and rest very still and breathing slow at night... It scared me the first time I saw all the fish laying on the gravel motionless... Didnt know they "sleep"..

 

[johnhartigan]

Too much light can cause algae to grow in the tank.. Especially in a new tank...
Its recommended no more than 10 hrs a day...
Fish need darkness for their sleep cycles... They actually lay down in their spots and rest very still and breathing slow at night... It scared me the first time I saw all the fish laying on the gravel motionless... Didnt know they "sleep"..

Ahh okay well ill keep the moon light off and does anyone know of any good house hold items I could use as "caves" I put a Mason jar in there and the ghost shrimp love it in there and I noticed that my fish become more active at night and here's a pic or so of my tank

 

[ocminpin]

Looking good

Aww, your Molly kooks like the male I lost...


View attachment 79570



View attachment 79569

He was a Sailfin Dalmatian Molly...

 

[johnhartigan]

Looking good

Aww, your Molly kooks like the male I lost...

He was a Sailfin Dalmatian Molly...

Oh wow they are spitting images of each other mine loves behind the filter until I leave the room after that he bounces off the walls like a 2 year old child same with my black tetra xD I love it and I'm so glad Into this hobby

 

[ocminpin]

My 6 mollies in my 29 bounce around constantly... Constantly all over until lights off... And they're laying in their places within a half hour.

 

[johnhartigan]

My 6 mollies in my 29 bounce around constantly... Constantly all over until lights off... And they're laying in their places within a half hour.

Oh wow it may be that it's a new home for all of them and I want to add sand in there how hard would that be to add in, I love how it looks but it looks so awesome IMO

 

[ocminpin]

Oh wow it may be that it's a new home for all of them and I want to add sand in there how hard would that be to add in, I love how it looks but it looks so awesome IMO

I'm sorry to say I don't have any experience with sand... I'd love black sand tho!

 

[johnhartigan]

I'm sorry to say I don't have any experience with sand... I'd love black sand tho!

Thought I might ask lol

 

[Lovin Fish]

It does sound like your molly needs friends... I'm interested to see what your water is too... I have 6 mollies in my 29g freshwater tank with a female betta and they're doing great... Brackish water is controversial.. Their are opinions on either side... I personally don't do it because my fish have been happy in pure dechlorinated water.

I hear that! Mollies in brackish or fresh is almost as controversial as keeping betta's in community tanks or alone LOL! It's tough sometimes especially as beginners to know whisc way to go. Experience is key I say! When we first got our tank it came with 2 juvenile Mollies, 1 common pleco, and several single Tetra specimens. The guy didn't want it anymore because his fish were dying. Turns out that he had single specimens of many schooling and shoaling species. I figure that's why they were dying off. Both the Mollies died shortly after we got the tank, a week apart. So I looked up possible causes, and chalked it up to freshwater. But, as I have since read, many people have success with Mollies in freshwater. Hmmm...I bet it has something to do with the breeder they came from. Raising the fry in Freshwater or Brackish! Seems in nature most mollies live in freshwater, and some are found in marine situations while others are in between the two water sources. Our LFS keeps their Mollies in Brackish and some even in full marine set-ups.

 

[Lovin Fish]

Oh wow it may be that it's a new home for all of them and I want to add sand in there how hard would that be to add in, I love how it looks but it looks so awesome IMO

I just started with sand in my 20 gallon. One week in. Loved it at first, but now I'm not so sure. I'm going to stick with it a couple more weeks to see if I like it. I really like being able to clean the gravel. With the sand, I just don't feel like it's clean and the chance of toxic gas building up scares the me I stir it every 6 days, but then sand ends up on all the plants and stuck to my betta. This is my experience thus far.

 

[Lovin Fish]

Wait to see what your water is like first. What are your plans with the tetras?
You could make 4 mollies work in a 20g if they were the only fish in tank and you kept up with water changes...

I agree that 4 Mollies would be just right. The tetras will be overcrowding this tank if it were a Molly tank. Otherwise, if you decided to skip on the Mollies and do a tetra tank, you could have more fish. Mollies get 4" and a 20 gallon can get overcrowded quick. The best way to look at it is this:

When your fish are fully grown, will they have swimming room without being in eachothers face all day and night? That was what helped me drastically when I was stocking. I was sooooo overstocked when I first started! Easy to do when the fish are small juveniles.

 

[johnhartigan]

I just started with sand in my 20 gallon. One week in. Loved it at first, but now I'm not so sure. I'm going to stick with it a couple more weeks to see if I like it. I really like being able to clean the gravel. With the sand, I just don't feel like it's clean and the chance of toxic gas building up scares the me I stir it every 6 days, but then sand ends up on all the plants and stuck to my betta. This is my experience thus far.

I'm debating if I want to do it or just wait to do it with saltwater tank I love salt water but I decided to stick fresh since supplya are about everywhere out here and salt water is scarce but my tank is made for both and I love that! And thanks for you opinion it helps me lots

 

[johnhartigan]

I agree that 4 Mollies would be just right. The tetras will be overcrowding this tank if it were a Molly tank. Otherwise, if you decided to skip on the Mollies and do a tetra tank, you could have more fish. Mollies get 4" and a 20 gallon can get overcrowded quick. The best way to look at it is this:

When your fish are fully grown, will they have swimming room without being in eachothers face all day and night? That was what helped me drastically when I was stocking. I was sooooo overstocked when I first started! Easy to do when the fish are small juveniles.

I want to try live bearers sorry if I slaughtered the word but I want to see them give birth to live fry exciting I started a thread on ghost shrimp breeding have no clue how to and I want to