Converting Molly's to eat hair algae.

[jc_k]

So I have tried just about everything to get rid of hair algae. But nothing has really worked. So I decided to convert freshwater Molly's to saltwater. I will be doing this with a salvation Molly and an orange Molly. I will be doing this over a 3-5 day period. So I thought I would do a little journal like thing I guess so here it goes.




DAY-1-Molly's are already eating and are healthy. Have added a quarter cup of salt so far.

Edit: Dalmatian molly*
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[merkywater]

I have mollies in my breeding tanks and they help tremendously with HA.

 

[Reefplumber13]

merkywater;927723 wrote: I have mollies in my breeding tanks and they help tremendously with HA.

How long did it take you to convert them

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[jc_k]

Yes I would love to know how long it took to convert. I don't want to put these guys into shock.

 

[indecloudzua]

It's a very slow process to convert them. Two weeks or more.

 

[jdw]

Following as well

 

[jc_k]

Oh gosh... Thanks for telling me that.. I guess that mean less saltwater every day.

 

[merkywater]

No time at all I purchased them from The Fish Store already converted to 1.020 salinity. Since I keep my breeding tanks at that salinity there was really no acclimation.

 

[Reefplumber13]

merkywater;927742 wrote: No time at all I purchased them from The Fish Store already converted to 1.020 salinity. Since I keep my breeding tanks at that salinity there was really no acclimation.

Lol well dang.. I think I may try this.. any suggestions on doing so?

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[stacy22]

A caution with this is that mollies are typically found in slow moving waters. They often don't fare well in the high flow of a typical reef tank.

 

[jc_k]

. Yes I have heard of that. I will figure something out.

 

[racinrevo0818]

I've got some in my frag tank and seem to be doing fine. I dripped acclimated mine over 24 hours. Garf.org sells them for $1 and she says they do great in her frag system. As far as hair algae your going to have to figure out what's feeding it? To find a permanent fix. I don't have any algae in my frag tank so can't confirm that they eat it but from my reading they should. Mine are at 1.025 and are acting normal. I also qt mine just to make sure. Mollie's seem to be much healthier in brackish water from reading also.

 

[jc_k]

Well I don't know why it's growing. We replaced the bulbs after 9 months about 1 month ago. All what parameters are just about perfect. We have a skimmer and there is good flow in the tank. And I know I don't over feed.

 

[racinrevo0818]

What's your source of water? Rodi? Also what type of rock did you use? Sometimes that can be a source of phosphates. I would look into running gfo possibly and go from there along with manual removal. My buddy got a lawn mower blenny and seemed to slowly mow it down also a few hermits might help.

 

[jc_k]

Well I get rodi water from my lfs. I started off with 15 pounds of dy rock in my 92 gallon. And the rest is live rock. I have about 25 blue leg hermits and I had a lawnmower and I also have around 20 snails. The only other fish I have is a wild caught blenny and a pair of skunk clownfish.

 

[prlopezc]

I'd check the TDS on the RODI water you're getting from your LFS. I was doing the same and and one day I decided to check the TDS and it was way high......

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[tbub1221]

prlopezc;927776 wrote: I'd check the TDS on the RODI water you're getting from your LFS. I was doing the same and and one day I decided to check the TDS and it was way high......

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I did the same , one weekend I was too busy to make water and figured ud buy for convenience , tested the tds and it was stupidly high compared to my own rodi

 

[jc_k]

Ok I guess I'll try that when I goer some more water.

 

[jennm]

Testing the TDS of RO once you have put it in a reusable container, you'll probably get a skewed result. This applies especially if you use the same container for saltwater occasionally. Dust, residue - it will all dissolve into RO water once it's introduced to the container. So don't rush to judgment if you get a reading when testing water out of your container.

You've been fighting with hair algae for months - at least back to September... or longer.

We have acclimated mollies over the course of about a week, and they did fine. While they'll eat some hair algae, they don't solve the source of the problem, which still needs to be addressed. I know we discussed it at length...

Please post current parameters, lighting, inhabitants and how much food, what kind of food(s) (including coral foods) and how often you're feeding.

Jenn

 

[indecloudzua]

If they are in brackish water it's a faster process.if they are in freshwater it takes a week or more to convert them.

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