Mollies in a Marine Tank

[chuckfriedrice]

Ok Ive seen several forums about this . It has been proven that mollies can and do live in saltwater . The reason for this post is , none of the forums Ive read really answer if it works in the home aquarium ? They always get bogged down with people claiming it cruel to the mollies, even though they do it in nature or the post never gets completed . I was thinking about doing the experiment , but from what Ive been reading is that the need to be acclimated over a 6hr period . I dont wanna do this if its doomed to fail but It might be neat to have a molly or 2 in 1 of the tanks . Anyone ever herd about this working or actually done it ? Ive anyone had video or pics of it too please post!

[chuckfriedrice]

Ok like a fool , I didnt check on you tube and apparently this has been done several times all successful. LOL

[sevenyearnight]

I've had Orangjello in marine since April. I acclimated him over a few hours. There are about 5 videos of him, they should be the first in the Uploads on my youtube channel. http://www.youtube.com/user/sevenyearnight?feature=mhee
I couldn't find any information that indicated that living in marine would be dangerous for them, that doesn't mean that what I am keeping him in is ideal. I just couldn't find anything that indicated one way or the other. The SG is on low lower end for marine 1.020 - 1.022
He's very active, he has a great appetite, he seems to be content.

[chuckfriedrice]

Poor Balki ! Getting video and not being prepaired,lol

[sevenyearnight]

As soon as I put the camera down, he floated back down in the same spot and went back to sleep lol.

[chuckfriedrice]

Well after 7 hrs of acclimating , 4 mollies are in the 30g tank . They look fine no stressful breathing . I keep checking on them, so time will tell .

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[xrayjeeper83]

very cool

When I upgrade Bacons tank, I may try Mollies as tank mates to start since they are so cheap

[chuckfriedrice]

Almost 24hrs since they were added . Everyone looks fine . Apparently they like to hang out in the overflow box. Theres always one swimming just above it .

[Corvus]

I keep and breed mollies in marine tanks since many years. Outside of the hobby, some strains of Poecilia sphenops occur in marine/high brackish environments such as the Panama channel, parts of Mexico. I prefer black mollies and other old and stable breeds. The more modern types so far appear to be less durable.

[RTR]

IMHO, modern so-called "mollies" are genetic hash. The closer you can get to the original wild strains or species, the better the fish are likely to be.

But quite a number of them were BW collected in the wild. I do not know if those species still exist in the wild or if their habitats have be destroyed. In theory, any BW fish should be able to withstand SW at least temporarily. Whether or not SW or high end BW is optimum long-term remains to be tested. But both mollies and guppies have been SW-adapted by many folks. Full life-cycle trials are laborious and unlikely to be done by most hobbyists.