# Silver mollies with a betta



## lookame (Sep 13, 2009)

I have a crowntail betta, I'm unsure if it's a male or female. I've had s/he for about a week and lives peacefully with a plecostomous. The pleco is a lot larger than the betta though and he also is rather peaceful, sits in a broken down ship all day and becomes a bottom feeder and such at night. Anyway I spoke with a sales person at a pet store earlier and she said anything that wasn't flashy, pretty, or overly finned would work well with my betta. I went with 3 silver mollies. While introducing them the betta seemed very upset with the new fish and immediatly flared. When they got in the tank together it was a small battle of wills which the betta would flare and try to nip the mollies and another molly would come and nip the betta. After awhile things between them seemed to calm the betta took refuge at one end of the tank while the mollies stayed at they're end. Whenever a molly would wonder over the betta flares and runs them back.

Are the mollies a good choice to go with the betta or should I take them back and exchange them for a more compadable fish? Will this behavior continue on or will they eventually get used to each other? If the mollies aren't compadible which fish are good choices? Will the new fish have the same behavior as the mollies and betta(betta one end while the new fish at the other) or will they be able to swim freely around the tank?


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## Rohland (Aug 20, 2009)

Some people would say yes to the mollies others would say no.

As for your bettas gender. Males have long flowing fins (most). And most females have short fins. How big is your tank also? Your betta may feel like it has no space as they are somewhat territorial.


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## lookame (Sep 13, 2009)

It's a 10 gallon tank and I'm considering adding more things to it for hiding and such. It has a really good filter and a bubbler as well as a little broken down ship(which the pleco inhabits) I'm not sure how to tell with crowntails the gender as all the crowntails seem to have the same length fins. The betta before the silver mollies was pretty laid back and didn't swim around to much and with the addition of 3 new fish he seems very stressed and flares often, but I was told that the mollies were schooling fish and needed to have 3 of them. If I got one fish do you think the betta would do better?


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Watch the tank closely and if things don't settle down in a few days, anyone looks stressed, or it looks like someones fins have been nipped/ripped, take back the mollies......molly aren't really suited for 10 gallons anywho, they get a bit too large ;-)

In the end, it comes down to your bettas personality if they can have tank mates or not. You can try a few other small fish, many go with neon tetras, but if your betta doesn't like it then you may just not be able to have tank mates with him.

As for sexing them, its not that hard. The genders are very distinct, even in CTs.
For example, here is my male CT:
http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww250/DragonPanda/IMGP3213-1.jpg

And here is my female CT:
http://i724.photobucket.com/albums/ww250/DragonPanda/IMGP3187-1.jpg

Hope this helps


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

No. Keep them in schools, your Betta will pick on one even more and it will really stress the Molly out. This is what they school for.

Some Bettas are just not made to live with other fish, but it's liekly he is getting moody because of the sudden changes. Just watch them carefully for a few days and return them if things don't work out.

Your pleco will most likely outgrow that tank, btw.


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## lookame (Sep 13, 2009)

yeah I know the placos get to be the size of a 10 gallon...or was it a 20 gallon the grow up...? Anywho I brought in some plants in hopes itll help calm things down and let the betta have somewhere to hide. I have a male crowntail betta(I've never really seen females ct bettas that was cool thanks!) Anyway I think I may have gottena pregnant molly which could be adding to the tanks aggression. I keep looking at this molly and it has a very large stomacheand it also seems to be picking on the betta much more and the other mollies seem to be slightly more protective of the larger bellied molly. As for things right now theres no real nipping just flaring and charging, They seem to eat alright as a whole though my crowntail is somewhat forced lower for a little bit. I'm thinking of moving to a larger tank if they all work ok together. I'd like to have some viriety with my tank which is why I thought the mollies would be ok. I'm not sure I'll see how they all are tomorrow. I don't think the mollies will be dead tomorrow but I'm a tad worried about my betta and the stress he's going through right now


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## Rohland (Aug 20, 2009)

Well Im not 100% sure but, I think Mollies will out grow your tank. They look small, however they get big. Also they have lots of babies, so this may overstock your tank. Only if one survives every month, slowly you will be getting more fish added to you tank. Also your pleco is almost guaranteed to outgrow your tank. Which all isnt a good thing.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Rohland said:


> Well Im not 100% sure but, I think Mollies will out grow your tank. They look small, however they get big. Also they have lots of babies, so this may overstock your tank. Only if one survives every month, slowly you will be getting more fish added to you tank. Also your pleco is almost guaranteed to outgrow your tank. Which all isnt a good thing.


Definitely agreed. They may look small now, but mollies grow large. If you'd be willing to go up to 30 gallons, you may be able to keep them. 
But, if your betta is getting stressed by their presents it might be time to return them. After all, each betta is an individual and some just don't tolerate tank mates.
How big are the molly now? Just curious. If they are larger then 2" each, then this may heighten the aggression for they feel cramped in the small 10 gallon.
If you really want to keep the mollies, then you could always get a 30 gallon for them and keep your betta in his 10.  BUT molly are livebearers and WILL reproduce like mad. You'll be overrun with 'em before you can blink....and IME molly don't always eat their young as other livebearers do. If your set on keeping them, have a plan for a LOT of fry or return any females ;-)

Glad I could help with the pictures  any pics of your guy? I'm a sucker for CTs, DTs, and HMs :lol:


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Well, depending on the species you have, they can get to be huge. My dad has one that's about 30 cm right now.


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Jupiter said:


> Well, depending on the species you have, they can get to be huge. My dad has one that's about 30 cm right now.


:shock: A foot long Molly...? Are you sure its a molly? I've never heard of any getting over 4"-5" :shock:


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## lookame (Sep 13, 2009)

Well after the night the now named Alexander the great betta has calmed down. He's not flareing as much and isn't charging as much either, he even sometimes swims along with the mollies. The mollies also aren't as active and arent darting around as much which probly helps. Alexander does get territorial still and will flare very large if he's just next to a plant, then he charges a little just to prove he's still boss. I'm still worried as I don't want Alexander to feel threatened so I'm thinking I'll exchange the mollies. Are neon tetras good? I feel they may be to small and pretty for Alexanders liking. Any other fish that would make Alexander the great content?


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## lookame (Sep 13, 2009)

Oh and I don't have pictures of Alexander yet, but he's really pretty. He's mostly silver with a lot of light shimmery blues on his fins and his body has a little light shimmery purple on the back of his body and the white is towards the front with a few small spots of purple and blue


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## Rohland (Aug 20, 2009)

DragonFish said:


> :shock: A foot long Molly...? Are you sure its a molly? I've never heard of any getting over 4"-5" :shock:


im pretty sure Jupiter was refering to the pleco. not the molly lol


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## DragonFish (Mar 31, 2009)

Rohland said:


> im pretty sure Jupiter was refering to the pleco. not the molly lol


...That would make a lot more sense :lol: thanks for pointing that out. Though a foot long molly would be kinda cool....

I hear a lot of people keeping neon tetras with their betta without issue, personally I haven't kept much with my bettas so I wouldn't know from experiance.....I'm not much of a tetra fan. Probably a school of 5-6 would work....but always keep an eye out and watch for aggression/nipping/stress ;-)

Alexander sounds gorgeous though :-D I can't wait to see pics.


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Yeah sorry. I meant the Pleco, lol.


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