Mollies

[DiscusEden]

Hi guys,

I heard that black mollies (sailfin I think) can be good at cleaning up algae. Apart from the temperature differential shortening thier lifespan, are there any other problems you could see with having them in with the discus & rams/tetras/whips/peppermints?

I've had a silver one before that chased the gourmi's till he killed them. Are black ones different in some way, or is it an individual temperament thing?

(BTW, there was revenge, involving 90 mins on top of the tank sitting on the net, then started swimming again in the toilet bowl & took 3 flushes to get it into the septic. Not sure to this day who was revenged on who. Still get jumpy on the loo. Too much information?)

TIA!

[angel]

hi - apart from temperature incompatibility, mollies also prefer higher pH (slightly alkaline) and are also borderline brackish. not sure if it will do will in a discus tank, although it will probably survive (i have some leftover mollies in my 6.5 pH tank).

and it would probably be a good idea to euthanize the fish first (ice water, then in the freezer) before flushing so that its last moments are not spent in crap conditions (so to speak)

[DiscusEden]

Thanks Angel,

I honestly thought the thing was well & truly gone. It was "the molly that wouldn't die" like something out of Pet Cemetary. Very disconcerting. But thanks for the pun. Could say something about nearly **** myself laughing.

Is there a difference between the algae eating or temperament qualities of different coloured mollies?

[angel]

from my experience, mollies can be quite aggressive. the males also like to harrass the females, so if you have mixed sex, you should try one male with many more females. better still, you could just keep all females - it worked for me, and the tank was quite peaceful after that. unless you wish to breed them, having all females isn't much of an issue since molly males and females do not look much different!