Green Sailfin Mollies

[mrscuito9833]

So, today I added a pair of Green Sailfin Mollies one male one female. I've heard they are aggressive algae eaters and I'm hoping that they will help trim back my emerald crabs' gardens. The crabs keep their gardens trimmed short, but they let is spread to far. At some point I'll get a lawnmower as well. Anyway, I've always really liked Sailfin Mollies mostly the Green Sailfins and I've had them in previous FW tanks but ever since I learned years ago that they could go full salty I've always wanted to try. They have been in the tank about 6 hours now and my first impressions are that they are so much more colorful under reef lights all their green, blue and orange spots look like jewels the tails shimmer blue and the orange and red strip on the dorsal fin is very vivid. The other thing I noticed was how much more active they are, zooming around the tank interacting with every fish they encounter. My male Anthis does appear to be a bit confused by them he's several times the size of the GSM so the first time I saw him swim at them while they zoomed past, I was concerned, but I guess zooming back and forth and up and down along the glass is just as fun for him cause he keeps joining in and that is very comical. I have also seen them picking at the algae in the brief moments they slow down.

Has anyone else kept Mollies in their reef? What type? What was your experience? Any potential dangers?

I'm trying to get some pics but its like taking pictures of the flash. Hopefully, they slow down at some point so I can get a picture that looks like a fish.

[Eatfrenchfries]

Mainly kept mollies in macroalgae tanks. Any that go to my reef get eaten over time.

Big fan of latipinna and schenops. Latipinna are better suited for faster water. Schenops will graze more. 

 

Currently working on saffron sailfin lyretails, black sailfin lyretails, and wild green sailfins. 

 

Mollies are great dither fish for a reef tank because they are so "dumb." 

[mrscuito9833]

I think my male Anthis must be just as dumb as a Mollie he can't seem to help but to join in their antics. He has to about 8x the size of the male mollie and acting just like him. Before I added the mollies, I always got a very regal vibe off him, now he zooms around with the male mollie and that has me laughing hard. The size difference itself is hilarious.

[Kerbash]

I got  a molly in a tank with a ritteri nem, put in 3, all eaten by nems by the third week,

[LavenderTi]

I’m planning on putting a few in my 110 that I’m in the process of setting up. I’m getting live rock this week so likely next week I’ll get some mollies.  
 

What acclimation method did you use?

[mrscuito9833]

I drip acclimated them quickly maybe about 4 hours. From 0ppm to 34.8ppm I then tossed them in. I was reading a lot of threads where people would spend days or weeks acclimating but seemed like they had a lot of losses. The people just tossing them in seemed to have less losses, but the survivors seemed to do better long term. The least loss looked like the ones that were acclimated 2-4 hours. So that's what I did. Seemed like the type of mollies used also made a difference from what I read it looks like Sailfins, Balloons, and basic Black do best. I also read that with sailfins the wilder colored looking the better, that's another reason I went with the green sailfin. There used to be a fish/reptile store in Vancouver (across from Kmart on Andreessen) when I was a kid I think it was called StillWater Aquariums but I remember them having some very large 6-8in Green Sailfins in a reef tank that made a lasting impression.

[LavenderTi]

I saw the same observations when researching online. I’ll give the 2-4 hour acclimation a try and see how it goes. I’ll call around Portland to see who has some nice sailfins for sale.