algae eaters with F8s

[gruntle]

Hi all,

My salinity is at 1.004 for my figure 8s...is there an algae eater that would work in this salinity?

I got them at freshwater and did the drip system and then plopped them in last sat...looks like everything is good for them at this point...

[Nick]

Mollies, if they are left alone by your F8's and the F8's leave them alone, are just about it.

[gruntle]

I thought mollies were strickly freshwater...and do they eat algae? What about plecos?

[Nick]

Mollies are brackish, but tolerate fresh and full marine extremely well. No plecos - they get very big and none in the hobby tolerate brackish water.

[recombinantrider]

I know I am sounding quite experimental here, but I do have to say my Pleco has been doing fine in brackish water. I have increased the salinity gradually over the past 10 weeks from freshwater to 1.012 and it's still alive and kicking. However, I will eventually have to move it somewhere else when my brackish puffers mature.

[gruntle]

interesting that was what I was wondering...I have a low brackish right now (1.004) and thought they might be ok...but wasnt sure...

any other thoughts out there?

[Nick]

They may survive because they are very tough, but they suffer in brackish water. Ten weeks isn't a ample of long term sustainability of keeping a fish in a certain condition unless it's an annual fish with a year or so lifespan, plecos often live well over ten years, so it would take at least a five year to know if it's remotely ok, and that would still be for definitions of "ok" where halving somethings life is considered reasonable.

[Pufferpunk]

Please don't force a FW fish to live in BW. It can't handle the osmotic pressure on it's organs. Try mollies for algae control or find out the cause of the algae, like checking your phospates & using a phosphate remover.

[gruntle]

ok...got it...I will try mollies...I have a film of brown algae...

Thanks for the info!!

[Pufferpunk]

Brown film is not algae & mollies will not eat it. It is diatoms & is a normal part of a newly established tank. Also, if you do get mollies, do not get sailfins, they will pick on your puffers.

[gruntle]

Good old black mollies will do I imagine?

I dont have a newly established tank...it is 3 years old...and had a GSP in it for almost the whole time...I have just gotten the two F8s last week and was just wondering if there was a way to deal with the brown film I get in there...guess I have to just get in there and clean it like I usually do...

Thanks!!

[puffergeek]

I love black mollies! I keep a pair of girls with my F8... Pufferpunk is totally right; they don't clean diatoms, but they keep all the other algae in my tank under control. (Diatoms are why they made those magnetic scrapers... hehe.)

Just be sure to give them some veggie foods once in a while... mollies need greens to stay healthy. Although feeding the mollies I did discover that my little pig of an F8 will eat anything... even algae tablets!

[gruntle]

One more question... Do I just put the mollies right in with the salinity of 1.004? Or do I do a drip on them or what?
I have a 30gallon and 2 small f8's...will it tolerate a few mollies? 2 or 3?

[cobra1713]

drip them for a while, they definitly need to acclimate to salt water slowly, while they would probably survive just being droped in there cus ive found mollies to be stuborn hard headed little bastards lol you still need to drip them lol, i am hoping when i get a large marine tank to acclimate a sailfin or mickey mouse molly to a marine tank just to say i did lol

[gruntle]

How many can go in this tank...it is at the limit for f8s I know...but can 3 mollies go in here too?