Tankmates for Dalmation Mollies

tsalling

Hey,
This is my first time posting. I have a 30 gallon tank with 3 dalmation mollies. The tank is salted with 1 tbsp for every 5 gallons. I am interested in adding different kinds of fish but I am worried about what can tolerate the salt. Can I only stick with livebearers or can I get something else like dwarf gouramis, barbs or tetras?

Cody

With Mollies, it is kind of difficult. They like to be kept with their own species, but I guess they could be placed with other fish.

I am pretty sure platies can tolerate salt.

Jasey

Welcome to the forum. :) I have black skirt tetras and I add aquarium salt to the tank, because I used to have a Guppy too. They have been fine with the salt since I've had them for 2 months.

tsalling

Do you think that I have enough salt added for the mollies? I have 1 tbsp of aquarium salt added for every 5 gallons. Thanks for your help :) I think that I will add about 2 more mollies and maybe a few other livebearers. This is my first time with livebearers. In the past I have had gouramies, tetras, barbs, and red tail sharks.

Jasey

Yes, 1 tbsp per 5 gallons seems to be fine - that is the dosage on my package of API aquarium salt. My tank is only 2.5 gallons so I use 1/2 tbsp. Here is a compatibility chart from a sticky in this forum: http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/freshw...lity_chart.php
It could help you see what fish would go best with mollies. Good luck. :)

southafrica1001

ive never owned mollies but i have read that they can live fine without salt
so, (dont take my word for it) you could leave out the salt and add other fish (but wait for other members to answer i dont want to be wrong )

Oldman47

Southafrica is right. I am keeping several healthy mollies with no added salt. Mollies can be acclimated to salt and can even adapt over enough time to live in a salt water tank. They do not need salt.

tophat665

I went to a seminar on Sailfin mollies earlier this year. The presenter said that the issue wasn't salt per se, it's having ions in the water that the fish can use to regulate their osmotic pressure. Now, with salt in the water, the mollies can use the sodium ions (Na+), but they are also found wild in areas with a limestone substrate, leading to hard water, though 100% fresh, water (the Everglades, for instance), and in that case they use Calcium ions (Ca++). Either works. If you're going with salt, you will do better using instant ocean or the like rather than regular aquarium salts. That will give a richer mix of ions in the water, which should help. As to the amount of salt, IIRC, the presenter said he got the best grow rates with a specific gravity around 1.002. It tails off a bit after that, bottoms out around 1.015, and comes back up around full marine.

So What to put in with your mollies. Well, if you were to up your salt content to give you a SG around 1.003 or 1.005, then you could put in a school of Glassfish or Bumblebee gobies (which you'll have to feed by syringe), or, if you have a sand substrate, a violet goby. I believe (and you'll need to verify this), that pristella tetras are found in brackish waters betimes.

If you have an aragonite substrate, you can skip the salt entirely if you like - that'll harden the water plenty. In that case, there are a number of hardwater fish you could use - American Flagfish, Kribs, the more peaceful CA Cichlids (like a Firemouth, but not a pair), Synodontis cats, Rainbows (though they might frek the mollies out), Blind Cave Tetras, Pygmy Sunfish (if you keep the temp down in the low 70's), or even some of the smaller lake Tanganyika cichlids (a couple of shellies).