Kelb99

I recently purchased a 10 gallon tank and since I wanted to get fish immediately, I went to my LFS the next day and they recommended that a dalmatian molly (2 actually) would be good for cycling. The man I spoke to seemed set on the fish dying which worried me. However 4 weeks later the fish are fine and healthy and I have decided it is time to get some more fish.

Before I go ahead and get neon tetras, I would like to know if they are even compatible with my mollies and how many would be safe to add to the tank. I noticed that one fish occasionally seems to dart across the tank at the other fish and am curious if it would be dangerous to add such small fish.

cg49me

Check out this article: http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-Mollies.htm

KyWildFish

Welcome to fishlore!

First off have you read the article on cycling? It has a lot of information about how to get a tank running properly.

Secondly, you shouldn't have any problems with tetras and mollies but I would consider the overcrowding in your tank. Every tank only has so much room to hold waste.

I would surf around the forum and get an idea of what other members think about both the cycling and the room in the tank. There is a search at the top with a pulldown menu that will let you look thru different threads and read the advise there.

pepetj

I believe mollies come in several varieties. Some might behave peacefully bot most, as far as I know, grow big enough to see neon tetras, as well as other small sized fish, as food.

Territoriality could also be an issue with Mollies in small tanks. I believe some people manage to keep them in 10 or 15gals, but most info I have read suggest a 20 or 30 as minimum.

Also their water requirements are somewhat dissimilars. Neons don't like salt and Mollies do. Neons thrive in soft acidic waters, Mollies in hard alkaline.

Maybe some fishlorians can share their success/failure stories in keeping them together so you make your own mind.

Pepe
Santo Domingo