Hello. Mollies in 30 litre aquarium?

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pippo76

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Aug 30, 2025
Messages
5
Location
italy
hello i am new and i have 8 mollies in 30 litre tank . Online they suggest 20 gallon . So i have to change tank???
 
Hello and welcome to the community.

A 30 litre (7.5 gallon) aquarium isn't big enough for 8 mollies.

They are your fish, but its not going to be healthy environment for them. Keeping on top of water quality will become a daily chore. Overcrowding is very stressful and leads to ill health and shortened lifespans. Unless you where careful to only get male mollies there will be babies. Even if you got 8 females, the chances are good at least 1 is already pregnant if they where ever kept in the same aquarium as a male. Livebearers like mollies are notorious breeders. They make babies, the babies make more babies. It's very easy to go from 1 suitably sized aquarium to needing more aquariums to accommodate all the breeding with livebearers.

Ideally you have 2 options.

Return or rehome the mollies and keep something more suited to your 30 litre aquarium. Like a betta, or a handful of guppies. (Again guppies are livebearers, so make sure you get only males)

Or get a bigger aquarium. If your mollies are male, with no prospect of baby mollies, then 80 litres/ 20 gallons would be a good size aquarium as long as there are no other fish.
 
i have 1 male and 7, 4 months fry , so if i rehome half in another 7,5 gallon is legit thank for your advise
 
No. That's not what I said. 30 litres isn't big enough full stop. It doesnt give a molly enough room to swim around in. They should be in 80 litres. Preferably males in 1 x 80 litres. Females in another 80 litres. If you can only manage 1 x 80 litre, relocate the male to the new 80 litre. The fry can stay in the 30 litre, and as they get old enough to sex, move the males into the 80 litre and rehome the females.

If you only have 1 adult, and it's male, how did you end up with fry?

At 4 months, the fry are old enough to breed. The Females need separating from the males as a matter of urgency if you don't want them to breed and make your situation worse.

But as also said, they are your fish. They will survive in 30 litres, but with a poor quality of life and more than likely suffer health issues through. Similar to keeping a dog in the back room and never letting it out.
 
I agree with Aiken. A 30 liter tank is not enough water volume to house Mollies without having to do a lot of daily maintenance. Even the disfigured Balloon mollies will not do well in that little amount of water. 30 liter tanks are only really good for fish that won't grow larger than 2.5- 3.5 cm with the exception being male Guppies ( not females).
 
ok 30 litre is not enough i get it. i have only one male because mi female died, that's why i need your advise i must use only 80 litre thank for your advice
 
I agree with Aiken. A 30 liter tank is not enough water volume to house Mollies without having to do a lot of daily maintenance. Even the disfigured Balloon mollies will not do well in that little amount of water. 30 liter tanks are only really good for fish that won't grow larger than 2.5- 3.5 cm with the exception being male Guppies ( not females).
ok thank you, 30 litre is too small for mollies i understand, thank for your advise
 
ok 30 litre is not enough i get it. i have only one male because mi female died, that's why i need your advise i must use only 80 litre thank for your advice
How did the female die?

There's a lesson here.

As per my above post, mollies are voracious breeders and it's not uncommon for males to pester females enough so they die of exhaustion, starvation and stress. It's important when keeping M/F livebearers together that you have 3 or 4 females to every male to prevent females being harassed too much and spreading it all out through the group. In addition, the small aquarium comes into play here as there simply isn't enough space for the female to find her own space and get a break from the harassment.
 
How did the female die?

There's a lesson here.

As per my above post, mollies are voracious breeders and it's not uncommon for males to pester females enough so they die of exhaustion, starvation and stress. It's important when keeping M/F livebearers together that you have 3 or 4 females to every male to prevent females being harassed too much and spreading it all out through the group. In addition, the small aquarium comes into play here as there simply isn't enough space for the female to find her own space and get a break from the harassment.
shop owner sell fishes to ignorant client and the result is not good
 
shop owner sell fishes to ignorant client and the result is not good
Sadly, that has become the case in more places than just the U.S :( There was a time when the sales people had to actually know things before they were allowed on the sales floor. That has changed in so many ways. :(
 
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