Feeding baby mollies to reef inhabitants [Archive]

ACBlinky

10/21/2007, 02:50 PM

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?

loosecannon

10/21/2007, 03:19 PM

yes.

nemonick84

10/21/2007, 04:32 PM

Sounds like a good idea. I may try the same.

:thumbsup:

Rewd

10/21/2007, 04:56 PM

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.

Roy G. Biv

10/21/2007, 05:07 PM

I read this a while back and never followed through with it. Is there a trick to sex mollies? If I go to the LFS how do I make sure I dont get 3 males.

cd77

10/21/2007, 05:35 PM

Just curious what types of fish are eating these?

virginiadiver69

10/21/2007, 06:12 PM

HMMMM! :idea:

yellowwatchmen

10/21/2007, 06:38 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11021178#post11021178 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pmolan
I read this a while back and never followed through with it. Is there a trick to sex mollies? If I go to the LFS how do I make sure I dont get 3 males. The male anal fin will be pointed. And the female wont really have one.

cristhiam

10/21/2007, 06:43 PM

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.

ACBlinky

10/21/2007, 06:44 PM

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 :)

loosecannon

10/22/2007, 07:44 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11021835#post11021835 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by yellowwatchmen
The male anal fin will be pointed. And the female wont really have one. yes the big fat ones are the women:confused:

conorwynne

10/22/2007, 08:36 AM

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.

erendon

10/22/2007, 11:26 AM

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.

jman77

10/22/2007, 11:57 AM

I keep black mollies in the sump....easy way to breed live food

Nicholas89

10/22/2007, 02:20 PM

Are mollies considered reef safe?

kysard1

10/22/2007, 03:26 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11027410#post11027410 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Nicholas89
Are mollies considered reef safe?

Yes but I haven't been successful getting them to live in a reef tank.

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.

conorwynne

10/22/2007, 04:03 PM

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.

FUA

10/22/2007, 04:22 PM

great idea, I thought of this but didn't think about using mollies which sounds like a great idea. Maybe I will acclimate and then drop a pregnant one in my sump and see what happens.

llama72

10/22/2007, 04:33 PM

after supper tonite, i am going to get a few mollies for my refuge.

dodgersfan25

10/22/2007, 04:40 PM

whoa, this is a really cool idea that i would like to try out

llama72

10/22/2007, 04:41 PM

would it be better to put them in the sump or the actual refuge?

FUA

10/22/2007, 04:44 PM

great idea, I thought of this but didn't think about using mollies which sounds like a great idea. Maybe I will acclimate and then drop a pregnant one in my sump and see what happens.

llama72

10/22/2007, 07:03 PM

i just bought 3 for my fuge. they are acclimating as I type. I will keep you guys informed.

seakwon

10/22/2007, 07:11 PM

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.

Roy G. Biv

10/22/2007, 07:23 PM

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 :)

av8

10/22/2007, 07:32 PM

Mollies are very good to keep in a breeding tank if you have a trigger. I used to keep a tank up for food production for my clown trigger. It did not matter if they were acclimated to saltwater. They don't last more that 4 seconds in the tank with the trigger.

lflint

10/22/2007, 07:41 PM

I have black mollies in my sump at home (www.VirtualFlint.com/zoo) and at school (www.MrFlint.com/fish). We just buy regular black mollies from the LFS and slowly drip acclimate them to saltwater over the course of a few hours. You'll lose a few of them but they're super cheap. Buy a half dozen or so and you'll probably have three or four make it for the long haul.

Ours breed readily in the salt systems and we see the babies up until they meet Mr. Iwaki. I have only actually witnessed one baby in a display tank so far and it was being torn up by a damsel and a trigger.

ACBlinky

10/22/2007, 09:48 PM

Holy feedback, Batman! This is great, I had no idea so many people were using mollies, thanks for all the info guys :)

Well, I went to the LFS in town and bought four silver lyretail mollies and they're now in the 21g in FW (I'm planning to acclimate them to nearly full salt over the next little while). Unfortunately I trusted the LFS employee when she said she could get 3 females and 1 male and didn't check the fish once they were bagged - I arrived home to discover I've got at least three males. They're juvies, so the fourth is questionable but I think she's female. Argh. Well, maybe we'll get some babies from the lone female - if not, I guess we'll just have to get a few more and check them this time :rolleyes:

I went to the LFS with a friend who doesn't keep fish, and we had a ball - she convinced me to dress up the tank a little; she said just because it's a sometimes QT is no reason it can't be pretty to look at, and she's got a point. Why should the poor mollies live in a bare cell, when there are so many decorating alternatives out there? We did get a little silly, I admit. We came home with a polyresin castle, an artificial plant and some lovely blue gravel :D Heck, why not? I've got two very natural looking reefs, and I doubt the mollies care if they're swimming around a castle, a rock, driftwood or a plastic diver, so long as they've got some shelter. Truth be told, it's kind of fun to have a 'tacky tank'. Besides, the blue decor and white fish go nicely with our blue and white bedroom! :D

Forgive the pic, as it's after lights-out, but here's our 'molly tank' (QT in disguise):
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a21/ACBlinky/Misc/PA220037Small.jpg

The tank is a Hagen 21g (24"L x 14"W x 15"T) rimless (the bottom rim is removable, and there's no top rim; the canopy slips over the top edge of the tank) with 2 x 18W T8 NO fluorescent, a FilStar XP2 canister filter (bio media only) and a 50W heater.

davidryder

10/22/2007, 11:10 PM

Mollies are actually brackish water fish and do well in almost any natural specific gravity.

I would definitely put them in the sump as they will decimate the pod population in the refugium. And good idea BTW. I had a sailfin molly in my display and he just didn't fit in.

BTW, males have much more ornate and larger fins, are usaully more slender and smaller.

xtm

10/23/2007, 12:42 AM

Am I the only one who thinks that this is cruel? :( I've been keeping FW planted tanks, sometimes with mollies in them and I've always admired them. I mean, how would we (reefers) feel if a Shark keeper takes a Hippo Tang and feeds it to his pet shark? Oh well maybe it's just me, lol :D

Mr31415

10/23/2007, 12:56 AM

I guess the cheaper and shorter lived a fish is, the less we stress about it?? ;)

conorwynne

10/23/2007, 01:35 AM

I was watching mine yesterday (and watching for pods -- tank in only 2 months old you see), and even though she passed by (and must have seen) some copepods -- I could see them sure!, yet totally ignored them.

From what I have seen, they are only interested in algae! They just pick pick pick all day long.
And mine is getting well fat too! No its not preggers, its a male!

dmarie120

10/23/2007, 04:03 AM

I've been keeping mollies for years. I keep them in my refugium and just let them breed and do whatever they want. I'm down to just a few adults now and will be adding to their population.

The black, dalmation and white ones work best.

boxerzz

10/23/2007, 04:09 AM

Yeah this don't look good considering there are people talking about quarantining their marine fish and trying to give them big tanks to swim in and here breeding mollies, don't care they live or not and let them be fed to the other fish. This is contradicting. Both are fish that people keep.

Dave Cox

10/23/2007, 05:23 AM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11031521#post11031521 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtm
Am I the only one who thinks that this is cruel? :( I've been keeping FW planted tanks, sometimes with mollies in them and I've always admired them. I mean, how would we (reefers) feel if a Shark keeper takes a Hippo Tang and feeds it to his pet shark? Oh well maybe it's just me, lol :D

You're not alone...

I'm uncomfortable with this.

Ethical arguements aside (and I have a problem there too, but I respect that it's MY problem), I just don't think it's a natural diet for saltwater fish.

Most fish will scavenge, and tangs undoubtedly eat meaty foods occassionally in the wild, but I don't see eating baby mollies as occuring in nature.

I realise that it is impossible to replicate a natural diet in captivity, and flake and pellet isn't natural either, but I like to try...

elegance coral

10/23/2007, 06:16 AM

I have used them to give my Elegance corals live prey to feed on. They don't seem to have the intelligence to stay away from their tentacles like SW fish do. Molly's just swim right into them and get eaten.

Pea-brain

10/23/2007, 06:53 AM

Lol. Mollies are a cheap live food that is probably more nutritious than brine shrimp. Mollies breed about once a month. That means that its a monthly treat, not the whole diet.. The mother will have been in SW for a while and will have been eating SW algaes, so the babies would be more nutritious than if they were born in FW.

Now for the ethical issues. You could see it as wrong, and I understand it. But the babies are a nutritional food and the parents seem more than happy to graze on the various nutritional algae all day long. Plus the ones in SW seem more colorful and alert and generally healthier than the ones I've seen in FW. But thats just an opinion and observation.....

LukFox

10/23/2007, 08:12 AM

Although mollies can adapt to fresh, brackish, and marine, they don't do equally well in them. They can only live in freshwater when young and get an increasingly weak immune system till something finally kills them, living a much shorter life span. I've read that sailfin mollies are actually more likely to do best in full marine long term.

As far as ethical issues, if you don't have a grow out tank or tons of plants for the babies to hide in, the parents will eat their own fry anyways. You're just feeding them to something else in this scenerio rather than to their own parents.

boxerzz

10/23/2007, 08:22 AM

have used them to give my Elegance corals live prey to feed on. They don't seem to have the intelligence to stay away from their tentacles like SW fish do. Molly's just swim right into them and get eaten.

I would rather say that mollies are not naturally marine fish so they do not have the marine instincts that most marine fish have. To them the tentacles will look like some safe place to hide in.

davidryder

10/23/2007, 09:07 AM

:lol:

Feeder goldfish? Brine shrimp? You know what's in some of the food you feed your other fish? Cruel is smashing a fish with a hammer - not keeping fish for a food source.

xtm

10/23/2007, 10:58 AM

Whatever happened to buying Formula One food and soaking them in Selcon? Why do we have to go through this hassle of setting up a growout tank, growing fry (fries?) just to feed them to fish? Maybe I'm not seeing the big picture but isn't this more expensive than the traditional way of feeding prepared foods? :confused:

Maybe it's just me, but If you think about it......
Pair of Mollies = 5.00
20G growout tank = 30.00
Filter = 30.00
heater = 30.00
Misc additional stuff = 20.00
Total = 115.00

Formula 1/2 = $4.95
Selcon or Zoe = $9.95
Total = 15.00

Not having to watch a mean damsel chase and eat a helpless baby molly = PRICELESS.

please ignore my personal issues... lol :lol:

ACBlinky

10/23/2007, 02:30 PM

I understand the cruelty concerns, but don't necessarily agree - fish that breed this rapidly and in such quantities do so for a reason; they're food for many things in the wild as well.

What about the silversides that are harvested as food for our fish and corals? Or the squid, octopus, urchin, fish, and shellfish that are ground up and used for pellets and flakes? We all feed our fish with other fish, only the manner in which we do so differs. I'm planning to gut-load and feed live babies to my reef, whereas with dried foods the animals have already been killed and processed so it's easier to remove yourself from the fact that something died to feed your animals.

While the adult mollies are in my care they're living in a spacious tank, fed the best foods, and receive the best possible care I can give them. The babies will be siphoned out and placed into the reef which will be at the same SG and temperature, and if they hide and survive, more power to them; otherwise, they'll become part of the food chain.

As for the cost, in my case I already had the QT set up and running, it was just sitting there looking unattractive in our bedroom. The mollies serve another purpose in addition to being a food source for the reef - their tank is now something fun to watch while lying in bed.

llama72

10/23/2007, 05:54 PM

My calcium is low and i don't know what to do.

Background:
75gal RR tank (contents listed below)
Used Kent Liquid Calcium
Tested calcium in May: .360
LFS said use "A" and "B"
Changed to Kent A & B
Put 2 capfuls each in daily
Tested Calcium in July: 410
Started putting 3 capfulls daily
Tested Calcium in Sept: 410
Tested Calcium on Oct 13: 240
LFS said go up to 4 capfulls each day
Tested Calcium today, October 23: 260

LFS said he doesn't know what I should do. I am still new to SW so I REALLY DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!!!!

llama72

10/23/2007, 05:54 PM

llama72

10/23/2007, 05:55 PM

PH = 8.4
Nitrates = 0

kysard1

10/23/2007, 06:12 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11033740#post11033740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by xtm
Whatever happened to buying Formula One food and soaking them in Selcon?

Formula one is made out of salmon. Much more ethical to raise a few mollies than harvest a natural resource as magnificant as a salmon.

Roy G. Biv

10/23/2007, 06:13 PM

Can anyone say for sure if they eat pods or not? I want to set it and forget it in my fuge. I want to sit on my couch and watch baby mollies shoot through my tank from the return line.

jman77

10/23/2007, 07:08 PM

"Am I the only one who thinks that this is cruel? "

Not sure about the rest, but i could care less. Just like I don't care when i defrost silversides, bloodworms, mysid shrimp, or eat a bid fat burger or some pork chops. Unfortunately for mollies, they are low on the food chain totem pole. People need to get a grasp of reality and understand that some animals serve the purpose of providing nutrition for others.

With that said , time to go eat some Ol’ Betsy .

BTW, I've never seen my mollies got after any pods

davidryder

10/23/2007, 07:58 PM

My sailfin molly decimated my pod population - I think if a fish can see the pods it will try to eat them

yellowwatchmen

10/23/2007, 08:59 PM

So do you just let the mollies reproduce in the fuge and they go through the return pump, or do you guy just net them and put them in the display. I have a coral beauty, Mandrin, YWG, and two occelaris clowns. Will any of these fish eat baby mollies?

zeusfc

10/24/2007, 01:59 PM

mine look happy... but they're there for algae control, not to feed anything...

http://www.reeftalk.co.uk/gallery/files/4/2/7/DSCN2092.JPG

kysard1

10/24/2007, 05:38 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11038411#post11038411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by yellowwatchmen
So do you just let the mollies reproduce in the fuge and they go through the return pump, or do you guy just net them and put them in the display. I have a coral beauty, Mandrin, YWG, and two occelaris clowns. Will any of these fish eat baby mollies?

No mollie fry are to big for those fish.

FUA

10/24/2007, 05:39 PM

what types of algae do they eat zeusfc, only green hair algae or other kinds too.

GTR

10/24/2007, 05:49 PM

This tank is part of my frag system and has 4 mollies. They do well once they learn to swim. :lol:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paGXJ0aL9PE

SteveU

yellowwatchmen

10/24/2007, 07:16 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11044478#post11044478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kysard1
No mollie fry are to big for those fish. The CB could fit it in his mouth but they are mostly algae eaters. I dont know if the clowns will just pick at them or not. I dont know cuz i havent got them yet. I am waiting for the LFS to get a new shipment in.

jman77

10/24/2007, 08:01 PM

"They do well once they learn to swim"

Swim, you mean learn to avoid the current....lol

On a side note, I've just posted my 1,977'th post ...wow ... that's the year I was shot out onto to the world.... lol...

Do I like get a cookie from one of the mods ?

Rewd

10/25/2007, 05:58 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11031738#post11031738 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dmarie120
I've been keeping mollies for years. I keep them in my refugium and just let them breed and do whatever they want. I'm down to just a few adults now and will be adding to their population.

The black, dalmation and white ones work best.

Also, try any of the larger sailfin varieties. These particular breeds actually look awful in freshwater but once acclimated to brackish or salt they are gorgeous fish.

Rewd

10/25/2007, 06:03 PM

And as far as cruelty goes... none of my freshwater fish get frozen prepared foods that often during the week. Maybe twice. These two mollies, on the other hand, are fed exactly what I feed my true salties daily, sometimes more if I have a finicky fish in QT that I'm trying to feed.

Rewd

10/25/2007, 06:05 PM

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11044478#post11044478 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kysard1
No mollie fry are to big for those fish.

They absolutely are not. I work at an LFS and often arriving shipments of mollies have loads of babies in the shipping bags. Usually the first to get them are the tiny Occelaris clowns we have. They nail them so fast the babies don't even see it coming. I've seen everything from all types of angels to damels, clowns, grammas, etc eat baby mollies.

Roy G. Biv

10/25/2007, 06:38 PM

Will they breed in a 10 gallon?

conorwynne

10/26/2007, 12:54 AM

They would breed no problems in a 10g yes, and I agree with Pmolan, the babies are well small enough to get gobbled up.

For me, they have two uses.

1. Algal control, they really are brilliant at it, better than turbo snails on a one to one comparison.
2. Food for fishies!

Later lads
Conor. (Still only have the one mollie - speckled (dalmation?))

llama72

10/27/2007, 08:36 AM

3 mollies in tank.....hoping to serve lunch by next weekend.

conorwynne

10/27/2007, 03:33 PM

>> 3 mollies in tank.....hoping to serve lunch by next weekend.

Oh that sounds mean :-)

I'm thinking of just keeping mollies in my tank now -- no "real" marine's at all!

Any pics of the setup?

Regards
Conor.

llama72

11/05/2007, 07:00 AM

The first feeding is complete. I have 3 babies in the sump and one in the tank. My clowns have me a "thank you" note on the glass when I woke up this morning. And the tang, just belched again.

Krypticol

11/06/2007, 12:58 AM

great idea folks. thanx for the tips!
Sounds like a good choice for prop tanks! keep the agae at bay and the corals get free snacks!!!!

dstoneburg

11/06/2007, 01:48 AM

Can we get a for sure answer as to whether they eat pods or not? I love the idea and would much rather have them in my sump/fuge combo for convenience but down the line I do want a mandarin so Id like to keep my pod population. Unfortunatly my setup is a fuge-->sump-->return. Id imagine if I put them into the sump they would quickly move to the fuge and have a feast..

If I do put them into my QT tank, would I need to do water changes and the like?