Betta132 Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I keep hearing about saltwater mollies. Now... What exactly are these? Mollies that are just acclimated to saltwater? Bred in saltwater? Some different subspecies? If it's the acclimation thing... How long would it take to acclimate a pretty black molly to saltwater? Would a week or two be a safe bet? If not, where can I obtain a saltwater molly, preferably a black one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mako Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 I have done it in the past in about an hour.. Worked fine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClarkiiCircus Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Saltwater mollies are just normal mollies that have been slowly adapted to saltwater. Patrick has a whole tank of them! His input would likely bring you the most success :] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planeden Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 They are just acclimated. I do it one a four hour drip. I've heard others doing it much quicker. Oh, OK is a double post. I thought I was going mad... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I have third and fourth generation mollies. After grazing on high protein macroalgaes, once they reach the second generation their nutritional value would be sufficient for marine predators. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Euphoric Eulogy Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I would like a few saltwater mollies myself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta132 Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 It's not actually a matter of feeder fish... I like mollies and would like to have a nice black one to nibble algae in my Biocube. Hmm... Is the general consensus that just a few hours of acclimation will work? I guess in the wild they'd go from rivers to oceans fairly fast... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Merged the two threads into one. Carry on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 I have acclimated several hundred mollies at various times. I buy them on sale at Petco for as little as $.80. These fish are mass produced and not in prime shape. After an hour of acclimation, I bring them up to full marine strength. Within two weeks, I will have one third fatality. After these fish eat marine algae they develop into gorgeous healthy fish. Under our reef lighting their colors are exceptional. Their personalities make them perfect dither fish. They have one big downside. They are defenseless against aggressive reef fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsey Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 What types of algae do they eat? Would they eat bubble algae? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 They do not eat bubble algae. They graze mostly on micro algae and biofilm. With fast growing Feather Caulerpa, they prune the die off. They also sometimes/often graze on cynobacteria. In this 55G lagoon, I just did remove a Yellow Tang as it was a lawn mower on my product line. The eggcrate will be used as a frag rack for Red Grapes. Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 While I have seen the mollies get marine itch, in this newly set up 40G Red Grapes frag tank, the adult Black Mollies have a light covering of white powder on their heads. I am guessing a fungus, but I have no experience. There are numerous babies from two seperate female spawns. The male now shows the symptoms. Anybody have experience with this malady? Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betta132 Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 They'll eat the dead stuff off feather caulerpa? Awesome! Definitely getting me one or two. How large do they tend to get if kept in saltwater? About average, or do they get larger because of all the marine algae? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 They get much larger, like three fold. I have cycled many tanks with mollies. After adding then to a tank with established amphipods, I noticed weeks later that the pods grazed in the open with the mollies. The lion lay down with the lamb. Patrick PS. They will eat their young if they are underfed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 More pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramsey Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Awesome info and pictures. Did you just slowly drip acclimate them over an hour period? Do they exhibit any inter species aggression? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 Actually, I seldom drip. I equalize temperature and turn them lose. The little aggression that I observed is between alpha males, same species and different species. In my large lagoon tanks with established damsels, I offset damsel aggression by introducing 20 or more mollies at a time. The larger school diffused individual aggression. Imagine using psychology on fish. Laissez la bonne temps roulee, Patrick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkuyk1 Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 The pet shop I used to work in years ago would convert freshwater mollies to saltwater via "hurricane method" when our salt stock was low. We just threw them in the tank (temp was the same, of course). Lost very few, if any. I'm not saying that's how I'd do it nowadays, but I've seen it done with success. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sascha D. Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Actually, I seldom drip. I equalize temperature and turn them lose. The little aggression that I observed is between alpha males, same species and different species. In my large lagoon tanks with established damsels, I offset damsel aggression by introducing 20 or more mollies at a time. The larger school diffused individual aggression. Imagine using psychology on fish. Laissez la bonne temps roulee, Patrick I used a four hour drip method that Patrick suggested last year. I guess I wasted four hours. Anyway, one got bullied to death, two jumped out, and the remaining two didn't last much longer. All in all, I had them for about six months. They look very out of place swimming among true saltwater fish and around corals. I wouldn't do it twice, but it was an interesting experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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