# New mollies what to do?



## cherg (Mar 8, 2009)

I just purchased 7 new mollies for breeding. I am new to having mollies so I was wondering if I need to treat them or their tank ( new 28 gal. cycling right now) different from my other freshwater fish. I do know they need salt. Thats all I do know. I have been reading some threads about mollies and I'm feeling worried about how to care for them. Any info would be great.


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## GupLove (Mar 25, 2009)

Cher I am always nervous about mollies.
They seem to die so quick if not tend to carefully. I am honestly nervous about the molly fry I have but so far they are doing fanastic!


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## Guest (Apr 2, 2009)

mollys are brackish water fishes. they prefer a lil salt in the water...not many fishes like that. keep them in a separate tank with lotta plants in it to keep the fry safe...

cheers


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Wikipedia says mollies are adaptable and live in full salt to full fresh. I had great success with mollies without salt in hard, alkaline water and no success in soft water. If your tap water is hard and you have to dip your shower head in vinegar monthly, tap water is. fine. If your water is from surface sources like lakes and rivers, you should add some salt. Marine salt is great, but cichlid salts and just plain ol' sodium chloride are better than nothing. It doesn't have to be enough to make the tank officially 'brackish', but try to get the TDS up around 150 ppm. More salt won't hurt mollies, but take care with tankmates. You always want to raise and lower salinity/hardness slowly and keep it constant in water changes. 

This is just my experience, I'm more of a cichlid person than a liverbearer pro. But since I started to keep my livebearers in Lake Malawi water (cichlid salts, Malawi buffer) they do fine.


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