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Creamsicle Mollies: color and behavior change question


PineSong
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I have three male creamsicle mollies that I brought home in July. 

Last week I moved them from QT (where they were with female platies) to my main tank which has white clouds, male guppies, male platies and a male betta. Also, this tank has a Stingray, the 10g just had room light.

Since they moved into the new tank, two mollies have been showing dark edges to their tail and dorsal fin, and some darkening scales along their sides. The third fish has remained fully creamsicle.

Additionally, they have started a new behavior of chasing each other in tight circles, wrestling, and nosing each other near the gonopodium, or following each other around the tank nosing there.

Is this just normal molly behavior when there are no females around? could this and the color changes be related to maturation/hormones or having more light in the tank? Anything I should be worried about?

Pic of normal/original creamsicle fish on right, darkening fish on left:

IMG_4565.JPG.931420010ea28a16e29ccef928062913.JPG

Both browning boys:

IMG_4572.jpg.e2b9c0b9fe11bce4644f083af70af8f8.jpg

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Mollies do change color often with the males its mostly a dominance display. The darkest being most dominant. As they have relocated their chasing is the establishment of pecking order. My eyes aren’t great so I can’t really tell much in the photos but wanted to share that info. You may also notice eye color changes. 

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On 9/1/2021 at 6:19 AM, Guppysnail said:

Mollies do change color often with the males its mostly a dominance display. The darkest being most dominant. As they have relocated their chasing is the establishment of pecking order. My eyes aren’t great so I can’t really tell much in the photos but wanted to share that info. You may also notice eye color changes. 

Thank you, Guppysnail. I will relax about it now and wait to see who "wins" as the boss of the mollies. In the tank as a whole, the only fish that everyone darts away from is, of course, a little red endler. He's like a sheepdog.

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