Shy Molly?

MidnightBaelfire

My mother bought me two female mollies as a birthday present yesterday (friday) (ie we went to PetSmart so I could pick which ones I wanted)

As you can tell from my signature, I let my sense of humour rule when choosing lol.

Anyway, both seemed to hide in the plants (while getting used to their new home) but today the Ying (the white one) seems to have adjusted and has explored the tank completely and is now swimming easily with the rest. However, Yang (the black one) has been in the log all day. I feed them twice a day. She comes out to eat and then scoots back into the log and stays there.

Do I have an unreasonably shy molly? Or is there some other reason she is hiding?

I can't get a good picture because she doesn't come out long enough.

*Edit: I don't know the different types of Mollies very well, but I believe they are both lyre-tail mollies*

DragonFyre14

I'm guessing, since you said they were black/white with white/black spots, that they are dalmatian lyretails. I would say the hiding isn't a problem. All fish adjust to the tank at different times.
I've had guppies who immediately seemed comfortable in their new surroundings, and others who it took a day or two before they came out and seemed adjusted to their surroundings.
Some fish just feel more comfortable hiding/out of sight. Just keep watching and just make sure she gets stuff to eat and she isn't hiding cause others are harassing her.

Sylverclaws

Well, like DragonFyre said, they adjust to new places differently, especially when you already have other fish. Some can hide for a week or more. lol When I got my gold molly, she hid for about a week. However, she was also pregnant! If yours is pregnant, and sometimes they don't get really big, she may be hiding to protect herself and be unusually extra shy.

You have enough hiding places, so regardless, she will eventually feel more secure if the other fish don't try to chase her very much, and she'll come out. A lot of times mollies like to hide in those logs as is...but it sounds different when she only comes out to eat and then flees back in.

I've also found some dalmation lyretails can be much more shy than most other molly types for some reason. Not all of them, but two out of three that I've had have been extremely skiddish and shy for the first couple weeks, but they get better as time goes by after that first scary week.(I should mention that third one went right into my tank and tried to bully my male dalmation and my Gourami. lol Not shy at all!)

My favorite thing to do when I have shy mollies, is add in the magical algae wafer. lol They all mob to it and it forces them to be social. It's better to break them into about four pieces and spread them out a little though, otherwise they bicker over it. This may help over time, but probably not immediately, and chases do happen over them. But again, it still forces them to be social, and as long as no fights happen, they get used to it and stop stressing. Plus, algae wafers are good for them! :3

DragonFyre14

Haha. I guess the algae wafers could help, because it does kind of force them to be social. My guppies sure love them. I'll drop one in there for my algae eater, and they all swarm around it and end up pushing the wafer into some crevice where the pleco can't get to it.
And, I have heard that Mollies really do like to eat algae and might need the extra plant matter in their diet. The more algae/plant matter in their diet, the healthier and bigger the broods will be (on average)

Sqbear46

I would just leave her alone, she'll come out when she's ready.

Oh and Happy Belated Birthday

RackinRocky

I agree--they will come out when they are adjusted, and feeling comfortable. Its true that each fish is an individual, just like people. I've had a few fish that hid for a week or even two weeks most of the time. Yet others would act comfortable on the very first day. Eventually though, they learn to trust you when they see you, and most fish (in my limited experience) have turned out to be very personable. I believe Balloon mollies to be the most personable. I love their personalities!

MidnightBaelfire

Thanks everyone.

Turns out Yang was pregnant lol. I have one single baby swimming around (my net isn't long enough to get it and put it in my fry trap lol). I'm kind of surprised there is only one but, Yang is more social now and is hardly ever in the log so I guess that was why.

DragonFyre14

That would make sense. The more pregnant my guppies get the more often they hide in my pleco cave or float right above the gravel. :)

Sylverclaws

Wow, right on. I use a turkey baster to get the babies when I have them in the adult tank. Never get many when they're born in there, I'm lucky if I get one, let alone three or four(Which I got from my last two batches). I got three or four little dalmation lyretail babies today myself! And a few days ago I got four babies I have no idea who they belong to. I'm assuming either my Pineapple Swordtail or my Blue MM Platy. I'll see in another week or three I suppose. lol

I'm afraid to get my hands in the tank much too, so I usually put a little aquapurifier in something with water and soak my hands for a minute. I can't say it's good for you...but less worry for my fish! lol I hope that little one makes it, it's fun to watch them grow. They don't normally start getting spots for the first week or so, then you notice them and they continue to get more as they grow, just like the Dalmatian dog! =) So good luck, whatever you decide on. =p Keeping it, or letting it stay to be eated(I honestly can't stand to do that myself, but to each his own), or giving it away.

MidnightBaelfire

That's kinda funny because I was looking at a turkey baster in the grocery store the other day and starting thinking about how the baby would fit in there and how easy it would be to move it to the trap that way.

I got a lot of weird looks when I started randomly laughing in the aisle. ;P. I think I may go back and buy it later today.

Also, does anyone know if there is a good DIY partition I can make for my tank? I could seperate the mother (she is still looking quite plump) and that might make her more at ease. I love watching the little fish grow :).