Molly tank

[TESTPLUG]

So I want to start a Molly tank what are some other plants that I could/should add to the tank everything in picture is live but willing to change some things out if needed 

 

 

Edited February 19, 2021 by TESTPLUG

[Fish Folk]

Love it!

[Brandy]

Thanks for the helpful labels!

Why don't you put something big and full behind godzilla there in the middle to make him really stand out? pogstemon octopus or water wisteria maybe? You could cover the heater and upift tube the same way.

[TESTPLUG]

I guess the more I think about it, the question should have been is there a plant that would be more comfortable for Molly’s maybe to encourage breading

oh and I updated the picture (posted an old one)

Edited February 19, 2021 by TESTPLUG

[OceanTruth]

That is a cool setup! What kind of plants are in the planter?

As for plants, Bucephalandra Godzilla of course! Lol. Also, maybe some sort of stem plant you can propagate so you can have a nice bushy area for fry to hide out if necessary. Pogostemon Octopus as mentioned above seems to be a popular plant right now.

[Kirsten]

3 minutes ago, TESTPLUG said:

I guess the more I think about it, the question should have been is there a plant that would be more comfortable for Molly’s maybe to encourage breading

oh and I updated the picture (posted an old one)

From what I know about mollies, they care a lot more about water parameters than any plants in particular. Specifically they like super hard water, could even be happy in brackish water if you wanted (though your plants certainly wouldn't be). So if you have nice hard water and feed them good food, they should breed in no time.

If you want to keep the fry in there with them, make sure they have lots of hiding places or they might get eaten by the adults. The decor's a strong start, but you might want to have some fluffy, maze-like plants like some java moss or hornwort to help trap fine particles of food for them and help them hide.

[Brandy]

29 minutes ago, Kirsten said:

From what I know about mollies, they care a lot more about water parameters than any plants in particular. Specifically they like super hard water, could even be happy in brackish water if you wanted (though your plants certainly wouldn't be). So if you have nice hard water and feed them good food, they should breed in no time.

If you want to keep the fry in there with them, make sure they have lots of hiding places or they might get eaten by the adults. The decor's a strong start, but you might want to have some fluffy, maze-like plants like some java moss or hornwort to help trap fine particles of food for them and help them hide.

@TESTPLUG Pogostemon Octopus is a feathery plant with lots off hiding places that also likes hard water. I should have been more clear about why I was suggesting it. You want a feathery bushy thing, with lots of hiding. There should be no problem with the breeding, it is raising the fry that the plants help with. Hornwort and guppy grass, Java moss, and water wisteria are all plants that are very tangled and fry friendly.

Edited February 19, 2021 by Brandy

[TESTPLUG]

34 minutes ago, OceanTruth said:

p! What kind of plants are in the planter?

Wish I was a better plant guy, I’ll put up a pic if you can name them that’s what there are as far as I know😂

[Brandy]

I think I see baby parlor palm, pothos, dracaena (dermensis?), and maybe Hypoestes Phyllostachya?

[Brian]

Sometimes I think location of plant is just as important as to type of plant.  Let me explain, if all the plants are along the substrate they don’t provide any protection while fry are at the surface - as well if all mid-water or at surface then fry don’t have cover while swimming along substrate.  So pick plants you like for all three locations.  Surface, MidWater and bottom of aquarium....

if you don’t like floating plants or plants that grow to the upper third of your aquarium you can always glue a Java fern or some type of anubias to the top of a rock or piece of driftwood.

 

good luck

[gardenman]

You really didn't have to say Godzilla wasn't real. Everyone knows he's a marine creature and not fresh water. He rises from the ocean to devastate Tokyo time after time. You'd really think they'd upgrade their building codes so the buildings would be Godzilla resistant. I guess some people never learn.

Back to the plants for a minute, Something closer to the surface would be wise. Live-bearing mothers tend to either have their fry low or high in the tank. Wherever they have them seems to be where the fry choose to hang out afterward. I suspect it's genetic in some manner. If your Momma Mollies are top spawners, then your fry would be exposed. If your Momma Mollies are bottom spawners the fry would be fine. I find livebearers to be unpredictable on where they'll spawn, so it pays to have both high and low cover. Frogbit is a good floating plant that's relatively easy to control but grows well and could provide higher up cover for fry. I've had high spawners in a relatively bare tank and the other fish line up like kids in a school cafeteria waiting for the fry to emerge to gulp them down. It's truly a fish eat fish world out there. The same high spawners in a tank with floating plants had a much higher survival rate.

In my experience encouraging your mollies to spawn will be the least of your problems. They'll spawn, and spawn, and spawn. Creating an environment where the fry survive, now that's the challenge.