**Breeding Mollies**

[landon_garcia]

I recently git a 20 gallon tank that I have already setup with plants, gravel, and some pirate ship decor.



I now want to get mollies and start breeding them. I heard that they only live in brackish water. Is that true?



Can they live with other fish like goldfish?(I know goldfish eat anything that fits in their mouth)



Are they hardy?



Whats their gestation period?



Can all breeds mate with each other?



Sorry for all the questions! Thanks!!



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[toddnbecka]

Which mollies are you wanting? Sailfins are a bit larger and more colorful than black or marble mollies. They can live in fresh, brackish, or full salt water, but the main concern is avoiding soft/acidic water. Hard/alkaline water is necessary for them, salt is optional, would likely kill your plants and biofilter.
Goldfish don't belong in a 20, they're really only suited to ponds. They're a cooler water fish, and grow waaay too large for a small tank like a 20.
Mollies are quite hardy if kept properly, and females will drop fry around every 3-4 weeks. Sailfin mollies are the same species, just different color morphs, black mollies are a short finned hybrid of the same species.

 

[landon_garcia]

Great response! Thanks for the help. Im going to use plain fresh water. My tap water is naturally hard so its not a problem. Thanks!


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[toddnbecka]

Best sex ratio is 1m/3f because the males constantly harass the females. Presuming they don't eat their fry your 20 will quickly become overcrowded as the fry grow and more keep being dropped. Female mollies will each produce 10 to more than 100 fry each month. If you expect to grow out the fry to a fair size another much larger tank would be a good idea, as well as yet another tank containing something to eat culls and extra fry. Mid-size predatory catfish work well for that.

 

[landon_garcia]

Well i just bought my mollies today!!! I got 2 female dalmatians and 1 male marble lyre tail. They are doing great and wont stop eating the algae all over the tank ha ha. The one thing i found weird was that both the females started chasing the male. Any thoughts on that?



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[landon_garcia]

They are in a tank with my one goldfish btw if that helps. (I dont want to hear my goldfish cant live in a 20 gallon tank because I have had him for ten years!)


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