Black Mollies & Figure 8s

[Jayhawk]

In another thread, someone mentioned that mollies are good at cleaning up the messy bits that puffers make, so I wondered if anyone had experience keeping black mollies with Figure 8s?

If so, what size tank did it work in and do mollies prefer to be in small groups? Would they be OK in light BW?

I've always thought black mollies were pretty, but never having a brackish tank until now never thought about getting them bevore. I know they're recommended as good green algae eaters, but do they also nibble on plants like java moss or watersprite?

If they do work well with figure 8s (I do know all puffers vary tremendously with regard to temprament), how many would be a good number in a 20 long with an adult figure 8 while not overstocking the tank?

As I've mentioned before, I'm OK with just Hoover in the 20 long, so I'm mainly just exploring options for fun here.

Thanks,

Eric

[fatpuffer]

I think PP's f8 was being harrassed by a molly. So I would say no to mollies and stick with gobies...BBG or BKG.

js

[Tihsho]

There are many types of mollies out there. I have seen many being kept in light brackish, heavy brackish and even marine conditions! Most of them were either the normal black molly or a dalmation molly that ended up being in marine though. But since this is a Figure 8 which is a light brackish puff, I would go with just black mollies. Try to stick to one gender though. Black mollies are livebearers that will breed out of control when they get in a habitat they truly love. So if they really like your tank and you have atleast a pair, your going to have many babies every where if your figure 8 doesn't consider it food. Try sticking with the females because they are more a stronger gender, but that can be opinionated. Plus, the females may try to tell your Figure 8 "Hey, I'm not food!" by chasing him away. But there can be draw backs to that...

[onebadpuffer]

IMHO, mollies are too boisterous to house with a F8. And, yes, a black molly was harassing PP's F8. You can try it and see how it goes, but bumble bee gobies would be and are my choice.

[Jayhawk]

I'm probably just going to leave him by himself - I'm surprised black mollies are such little stinkers, and I liked the concept of them cleaning up as well as nibbling on algae.

Apart from the normal joys of puffer ownership, the big tank will be easy to care for and I don't have to mess with different foods for different fishes (I'm not sure what BB gobies eat, but with those small mouths I'm guessing they'd need small foods and being gobies probably won't take flakes - I always have to plan for when I'm travelling for work and my wife or someone else has to care for my fish).

Thanks all,

Eric

[onebadpuffer]

Gobies generally graze off the mess your puffers leave.

[crazyforpuffs]

My BB Gobies happily eat bloodworms...and anything else that I happen to drop in there.

[crazyforpuffs]

As regards mollies - I have found that by feeding them flakes at one end of the tank and feeding bloodworms or whatever else to the puffers at the other end of the tank simultaneously - everybody gets something to eat.