# Mollies and salt



## Fishy Freak (Jun 1, 2011)

Mollies need very clean water with no nitrite and as little nitrate as possible. The water needs to be warm, and hard, alkaline.
Mollies ideal water chemistry is hard and alkaline, pH 7.5 to 8.0, hardness 15-30˚dH, and water temperature is around 25-28˚C (77-82˚F). 
In the wild Mollies are mostly found in freshwater streams. Other mollies are found in estuaries and around mangroves, and are able to live in full-strength seawater without problems. Why then do many people reccommend a brackish tank for Mollies? It is important to know then that marine salt does more than simply raise the salinity.The salt doesn't just make the aquarium salty, it also raises the pH and hardness, which is the water chemistry that they prefer.
Plain table salt — sodium chloride — (Not with iodine added) can help it reduces the toxicity of nitrite and nitrate. Mollies are sensitive to nitrite and nitrate. In freshwater tanks, they need excellent water quality if they are to do well.
Marine salt mix contains table salt plus other mineral salts, including salts that raise pH and increase hardness. The addition of marine salt acts as a buffer, stopping any water chemistry changes. Therefore if you are adding a certain amount of salt you are guaranteeing the correct water conditions without any need to mess about with pH buffers or water hardening agents.

Salt is also an anti-parasite and antifungal medication when used in sufficient quantities. A teaspoon-per-gallon quantity won't do much though and you are better off with commercial remedies. However once the salinity gets to around 20-25% the salinity of seawater (SG 1.004-1.006) then most freshwater parasites find it very hard to survive, and fungal infections tend to go away. Mollies kept in around half-strength seawater (SG 1.012) will rarely get infected with parasites because very few, if any, brackish water parasites have managed to become established in the aquarium hobby. 

If you’re going to add salt, aim for 20% seawater (SG 1.003 to 1.005) thats about (1oz/gallon) or 5-8 grammes per litre. At this salinity, your freshwater-adapted filter bacteria will not be harmed. Use a hydrometer to measure the specific gravity (the concentration of salt in the water). Don't add the salt to the aquarium directly! Make up some salty water in a bucket, and then pour it into the tank. Be sure and follow the instructions on the package with regard to how long you need to stir the salt into the water for, etc.

This would seem to make mollies incompatible with many fish, so what to keep with them? Many livebearers will be fine including wrestling halfbeaks also bumblebee gobies and violet gobys, For a larger aquarium glassfish, orange chromides and soles would work.

What to plant in a salty tank? As many plans don't like salty water try plants that do well in hard water such as Bacopa, Elodea, Hornwort, Vallisneria, Amazon swords and Java ferns.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Mollies do great in hard, alkaline water. Adding salt is cheap way to get the conductivity up. As with rift lake cichlids when they were first imported, aquarists found out by experimentation that mollies with salt did much better than mollies in soft water. In other words, plain NaCl is better than nothing. You will see salt recommendations in a lot of early literature. However, either marine salt mix like Instant Ocean or a combo cichlid salt and cichlid buffer are better still.


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## Frogprincess (Jul 8, 2011)

I'm using API brand aquarium salt, not marine salt. Is that okay? My mollies seem fine, and the Ph is pretty constant at 7.6-7.7.


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