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#1
10/21/2007, 03:50 PM
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Feeding baby mollies to reef inhabitants
Just wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this. I'm thinking of getting a few mollies and keeping them in a 20g tank, in nearly full salt (SG 1.020 or so). I know they breed like rabbits, and I don't need 50,000 mollies on my hands; would their babies make good snacks for reef fish? They'd be eating fish that live in SW, and the babies could easily be gut-loaded with nutritious foods, would this be a healthy addition to their diet?
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"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen |
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#2
10/21/2007, 04:19 PM
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yes.
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I like getting WET! |
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#3
10/21/2007, 05:32 PM
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Sounds like a good idea. I may try the same.
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#4
10/21/2007, 05:56 PM
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I do it. Two large, endlessly pregnant, female silver mollies keep my QT tank going at full salinity. 1.023 and they actually look very very nice in there frankly. When I find babies I siphon them out and drop them right in the DT. Fish go nuts for them.
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#7
10/21/2007, 07:12 PM
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HMMMM!
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Current Livestock: mated pair False Percs mated pair Banggai Cardinals Longnose Hawkfish Magnificent Rabbitfish Diamond Goby Blond Naso Tang Bluechin Trigger I got the poo on me. |
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#8
10/21/2007, 07:38 PM
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Quote:
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#9
10/21/2007, 07:43 PM
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My fish never ate the mollies they will swim together, but the corals did, both parents and the babies, they lasted for about 3 months. I got them to help eat HA they are very good at it.
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2 yellows tail damsels, yellow watchman goby, tail spot blennie, purple pseudocromis, starry blennie, 2 clowns, 1 black clown, mandarine |
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#10
10/21/2007, 07:44 PM
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Thank you guys for the feedback! Rewd - what you're doing is exactly what I was planning - the mollies will go into my QT to keep it cycled; I figure whether it needs to be at full salt, in hypo, or anywhere in between they'll cope nicely. I'm not likely to be quarantining anything any time soon since both my tanks are nicely stocked, so I might as well get something pretty and useful for the tank rather than just having it sit there.
So it sounds like a good idea, and I'll let you guys know how it works out. Pmolan - mollies, platies and guppies are all very easy to sex, once you know what you're looking for. Females are generally rounder, and have a triangular anal fin. Males' anal fins are modified into a long thin tube that lies along their underside horizontally. Females carrying young also show a dark spot at the back of their bellies most of the time - the more gravid they are, the larger/darker the spot. cd77 - I can't speak for others, but the fish I'll be feeding mollies to will be a Lamarck's angel, yellow tang, maroon clowns, an ocellaris clown, a Talbot's damsel, a south seas damsel, and a couple gobies (which probably won't be very interested, but you never know). Most fish will eat any other fish they can catch and fit into their mouths, so there probably aren't many reef fish that wouldn't eat a baby molly, given the chance 
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"The cure for anything is salt water: sweat, tears, or the sea." - Isak Dinesen |
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#11
10/22/2007, 08:44 AM
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molles
Quote:
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I like getting WET! |
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#12
10/22/2007, 09:36 AM
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I only have one fish in my SPS tank -- a molly.
I do not feed it either, and it poops algae all day long. What a great fish, think I'll get a female on the way home. I do not plan on adding any other fish for some time, the tank is too new and is going through the last algae stage. Its just the coral I'm into anyway. regards Conor. |
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#13
10/22/2007, 12:26 PM
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I always buy females that are pregnant and keep them in my fuge for my angler to eat as it chooses. They usually give birth in the fuge. I see the babies for a couple of days and then they are gone. Easy way to feed.
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He who tries and fails is wiser than he who does not try out of fear of failure. |
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#15
10/22/2007, 03:20 PM
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Are mollies considered reef safe?
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#16
10/22/2007, 04:26 PM
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I acclimate to salt then QT for a month. They look great till I put them in my reef tank. They act real skittish and won't leave the upper corner. They just hover there till they die. I have gone thru this process with 4 mollies the last 4 months. Also I think their offspring is too big for most reef fish. |
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#17
10/22/2007, 05:03 PM
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Yes they are indeed reefsafe, mine never gets fed yet poops all the time. The poop is typical algae type poop.
3 Poops in one sentence. I love them, and they serve a great cleaning function -- they seem better than most snails. I'll likely keep them when I eventually add "real" reef fish. |
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#20
10/22/2007, 05:40 PM
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whoa, this is a really cool idea that i would like to try out
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-rich |
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#24
10/22/2007, 08:11 PM
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okay so, i dont really understand. arent mollies freshwater fish? and secondly how long can they live in the saltwater? i heard someone mention that they need to acclimate them to the saltwater, then introduce them to the main tank. if this is right then can someonje tell me the whole story on what to do? i really like the idea.
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steve |
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#25
10/22/2007, 08:23 PM
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As far as I could gather... Mollies can adapt from fresh to brackish to full salt water. They are the bunnies of the aquatic world. I remember about 10 years ago my mollies gave birth. It didnt take long for all of the babies to get sucked into the foam filter and die. If the overflow of the molly tank fed the main tank, then chow down!
May be a silly question but do mollies eat pods? The fuge seems like the simplest place to install them
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