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Mollys

Contents:

  1. sailfin mollies
    by oleg-at-Veritas.COM (Oleg Kiselev) (17 Jan 93)
  2. Molly disease
    by bowden-at-convex.csd.uwm.edu (John W. Bowden) (11 Nov 91)
  3. [F~] [beginner] Molly breeding
    by mattk-at-cbnewsl.cb.att.com (matthew.kaufman) (24 Feb 92)
  4. [F~] [beginner] Molly breeding
    by bdd0066-at-venus.tamu.edu (25 Feb 92)

sailfin mollies

by oleg-at-Veritas.COM (Oleg Kiselev)
Date: 17 Jan 93

richman-at-reepicheep.gcn.uoknor.edu (Mike Richman) writes:
>Just set up a 29 gallon tank for a pair of sailfin mollies.  We also
>have 4 cory cats in there.  How much salt would you recommend to keep
>the mollies happy without stressing out the cats?

3 tablespoons, added 1/2 Tbsp per day.  

Mollies and cories are not the best companions.  Mollies like their water
hard, alkaline and saline.  Cories like their water neutral to acid, soft
and relatively salt-free.
-- 
Don't blame me, I voted Libertarian.

Oleg Kiselev                                             oleg-at-veritas.com
VERITAS Software                           ...!{apple|uunet}!veritas!oleg

Molly disease

by bowden-at-convex.csd.uwm.edu (John W. Bowden)
Date: 11 Nov 91
Newsgroup: rec.aquaria

From article <1991Nov11.012550.35435-at-kuhub.cc.ukans.edu>, by whitehea-at-kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (Lady in Red):
> Hello all,
> 
> During the past three weeks, i have had a major die-off.  All three of
> my oldest black Mollies have died leaving me with only one fish (the
> youngest) still alive.  Could it be old age?  During the death of the
> last one (which bothered me the most since it was the biggest Molly
> i've ever seen, -at- nearly the size of my sailfins) it rubbed off most
> of its anal fins on a rock in the tank. Almost looked like it was
> scratching itself.  

What is your tank temp? If it is below 80 F that could be your problem.
Also, do you feed live brine? If not you should. The lack of live brine
can also be a problem.  Also, Do you feed them PLENTY of veggies
(esspecially spinach?) If not then that IS why they are dying.

Formula for successful mollies:

80 F + 1 tspn NaCl/gall H20 + spinach|zuchini rind
    + live brine = HAPPY MOLLIES THAT LIVE LONG AND MULTIPLY (like crazy)

-John Bowden
 bowden-at-convex.csd.uwm.edu


[F~] [beginner] Molly breeding

by mattk-at-cbnewsl.cb.att.com (matthew.kaufman)
Date: 24 Feb 92
Newsgroup: alt.aquaria

In article <92053.21281234ML2OB-at-CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU> 34ML2OB-at-CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU writes:
>If the [F~] left a question mark in your mind its because the tank
>isn't totally freshwater its sort of brackish.  My oldest fish, a
>female black molly doesn't like totally salt-free water (she breaks
>out with fungus).  Any way, I have her and a male black molly in a
>2 1/2 gallon hex tank with plastic breeding grass and other plants
>at the bottom. I can't keep the temperature steady in the tank, because

Mollies like it warm (78-80), and salty. I used marine salt, 1 tsp/gallon,
for my mollie/cichlid tanks, that's not all that salty but it seems
to keep them happy (they spawn, an occasional fry makes it to adulthood, they're
never ill,...) A 2.5 gallon hex is a lousy tank - it has the surface area
of a teacup. Get them a bigger tank, like a 5, normal dimensions. You can
put a small submersible heater (I like Ebo-Jagers) in it, along with a home-made
breeding grate. To make the grate,
use aquarium-safe silicone sealant and glue two strips of
clear plastic corner molding to each long side, about 1/2 way up.
After two days, you can rest a piece of fluorescent egg-crate grating on it.
Put in a sponge filter that's been aged in an existing tank. Put in a bunch
of scrufty java moss below the egg crate. Insert mollie pair. Stand back.
The egg crate prevents the parents from getting the babies. Wait till they've
spawned, and you can remove the parents and grate and have a good rearing
tank. Don't forget the salt!

>there is no opening to put a heater in, but I do heat it with the
>incadescent blue light.  Filtration consists of an undergravel filter
>with carbon cartriges.  Lately I've been trying to keep the light on
>(thus the temperature higher about 80 degrees)  The female doesn't
>seem to be getting any bigger but the male is constantly trying to
>do his best. She bore one litter of fry about a year ago. Since then
>she has fought an unending battle with fungus that comes and goes. She
>gets little grey patches of it here and there and Binox by Jungle is
>about the only thing that will help her get rid of it.
If you keep the temp steady and keep salt in the water you should not
get fungus outbreaks, and your mollie should be a good size.

>I guess what my major question is: Is it possible that she would be
>able to bear another litter, if so how long will it take? Is there

A few weeks.
>anything I can do to improve the conditions to make it easier for
>her to give birth?

Live food - they *love* newly hatched brine shrimp, adult brine shrimp.
Some folks feed 'em sewer worms like blackworms and tubifex, but parasites
are always a threat with those foods.
>
>My intention is that if I can get some fry, to move mommy and daddy
>to the big tank and let the little ones have a tank to themselves.

Makes sense, but a 2.5 hex is a lousy rearing tank.
-- 
Ahh... but can you not	| Copyright 1992 mattk-at-usl.com. Permission for
also make bridges	| reproduction in printed media or by pay-for-read
out of stone?	 	| services explicitly disallowed. Permission granted
			| for reproduction by USENET and like free facilities.


[F~] [beginner] Molly breeding

by bdd0066-at-venus.tamu.edu (Bryan, FULL LEFT RUDDER ON TAKE OFF, Duke)
Date: 25 Feb 92 02:50:00 GMT

In article <92053.21281234ML2OB-at-CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU>, 34ML2OB-at-CMUVM.CSV.CMICH.EDU writes...
>I can't keep the temperature steady in the tank, because
>there is no opening to put a heater in, but I do heat it with the
>incadescent blue light. 

I'd cut a hole in your hood if I were you.  

>She bore one litter of fry about a year ago. Since then
>she has fought an unending battle with fungus that comes and goes. She
>gets little grey patches of it here and there and Binox by Jungle is
>about the only thing that will help her get rid of it.

All the mollies I've owned had serious problems with fungus all
their lives.  It comes on and off, but with mollies (esp. black mollies)
it's more on than off.  Raise the temp to at least a constant 80 deg.
I've found that if you raise the temp to the 85 deg range, mollies
tend to not have problems as much, but other fish might not like that
temp.

>I guess what my major question is: Is it possible that she would be
>able to bear another litter, if so how long will it take? Is there
>anything I can do to improve the conditions to make it easier for
>her to give birth?

If she is well, she should be able to have batched of fry about every
1.5-2 months.  She may be getting old--I had one that stopped baby
making after about 1.5 years.

>My intention is that if I can get some fry, to move mommy and daddy
>to the big tank and let the little ones have a tank to themselves.

The little ones love big tanks all to themselves.

>Thank-you!

Welcome!

--bryan duke


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