[Jadelin]

Basically, I'd like to know how many lyretail mollies could be kept in a 30 gallon (the long type, not the more cubic shape). I'm not wanting shoals of babies, so I'd be looking at all females or all males (I know females can store sperm, but at least there'd only be a couple batches of babies before they got that out of their system).

1)Is 4 too many for this aquarium? I know the 'inch per gallon' rules says they would be fine (as their max size is about 5"), but I know that they like to have room to swim, and I've heard that they create a lot of waste for their size.
2)Also, I know sailfins can be territorial, and since lyretails are hybrids of sailfins, I would wondering how territorial they are.
3)Would I be able to keep 4 females in a tank this big, but not 4 males?
4)Would I be able to keep 3 males in this tank?

Thanks!

 

[lauraleellbp]

I'd go with only one male, and a "harem" of females for him.

Depending on how quickly you remove the fry to grow-out tanks AND how often you want to do water changes, I'd stock with either 3-4 females. 4 females (plus the male) would probably be OK with few fry in the tank at a time and 50% weekly water changes.

Najas guadalupensis (guppy grass) and mosses would be great for the fry to hide in.

 

[Jadelin]

Thanks for the info on the females and fry.

Does anyone know how territorial the males are?
Also, does not having any females make them less aggressive? (Would an all-male tank of 3 to 4 work?)

 

[lauraleellbp]

I wouldn't do an all male tank. Even in a 55gal, 2 males may fight- especially the larger varieties. IME they aren't as territorial as swordtails, but if your goal is breeding, you'd do best to stick with one male per tank.

 

[GTR]

I love those fish but never seem to be able to keep them in saltless water. I raised them back in the early 70's from wild caught stock that somehow populated irrigation runoff canals that dump into the Salton Sea. They also seemed to need water in the mid 80's to stay healthy.

Last time I kept mollies was in a SW frag tank along with monos. lol

SteveU

 

[Jadelin]

Thank you for your replies.

I'm not really wanting to breed any fish at this point, so I'm thinking that I'll go with 3-4 female lyretails, and a handful of male platies (6 or so) for variety.
Does this sound like a good combo for this size tank?

 

[blahblah7]

If I were you I just woudnt get mollies if you dont want complications. I wish I hadnt chosen mine because they breed so much and I hate finding the baby frys bodies floating in the tank.

 

[BruceWatts]

I can't remember how many broods a female can have without a male in the tank but I think it may be as high as 6 depending on species. That means six + months of 3 or 4 females having babies, which would be pretty much of a constant supply. Having a bunch of male platies could end up being a disaster as they can get aggressive also. The male platies will try and breed with the female mollies if no female platies are present. If you don't want to deal with fry or aggression maybe you should skip the mollies or any other livebearers and go with a schooling fish species.

One of the joys of having an aquarium is to see fish born and grow up in your tanks. It is a sign that your fish are healthy and happy if they are breeding. If your tank gets overpopulated with mollies you can always give them away or sell some.

Bruce

 

[amcoffeegirl]

I love mollies and i believe that females might be the best way to go.

I have 2 males and some guppies in a tank and there is always drama with one male being more assertive.

good luck.

 

[fibertech]

Go with females. The males pester each other to death and are no fun to watch. Females on the other hand are passive and very relaxing to watch. I have a tank for females and a tank for males. One other note, the males are going to be better looking. I have sailfin lylretail males that are amazing