capekate

I was at the petstore this am picking up live brine shrimp and noticed some beautiful large fish there, called sailfin mollies. These were a spotted like the dalmation mollies and beautiful large/wide top and lower fins. Has anyone had any of these fish? And do the mollies really need a brackish water or can they go into a community tank w/o salt?
thanks, ~ kate

zerotona

I have a sail fin molly. At first I had no salt in the water, but I've since added livebearer salt and all my fish perked up, the molly in particular. I think they can live in completely freshwater but will be hardier in water that has a little bit of salt added.

My sail fin molly is weird. He hates the flakes I give them, which all the other fish love. Instead he spends most of his time picking at algae (I assume it's algae) from the rocks and the ornaments. He also eats the plants from time to time. He poops, so he's definitely eating. I think he's just odd.

TheEssigs

Yea... I have two sailfins. A green and a gold. They are awsome looking for a molly. They have quite a few different fin-types out there now-a-days. If you go to fish2u.com, you can see a few of the newer types they are selling. I really like the Guppytail Molly. Check it out! 8)

zerotona

Here's a picture of my sail fin, Ginger when we first got him. He's exploring his new home and his reflection. That red wagtail platy was Cosmo, who died after having babies

edit: I just wanted to add that the gold on him is not velvet, it's just his colouring. He's really pretty. His tail has really pale aqua flecks in it too. Most of the time his sail fin is 80% up but he thinks he's the king of the tank (he is the biggest) so when he gets territorial it stands right up. It looks really cool when he does that.

Wolfgang8810

i dont think that they need to be in salt water or brackish water however ive seen people use conditioning salt averyonece and a while

armadillo

He's an absolute beauty. I think if your other fish can take a bit of salt, I'd give it a go to see whether he perks up, or is not responsive. Some of my mollies (I have a couple of sailfins, and others) really went for it when I put salt in, while others were starting to get slightly ill. Don't know if it's from the salt but now I avoid it unless there's a case of ich in the tank.

paul219

Yeah i have 4 sailfin mollies. 3 females and 2 males. The males are red and orange they are very ice fish, I don't add salt to the tank.

capekate

Thanks so much for the replies !
I really think they are beautiful fish, but if they really do like alittle aquarium salt, then I guess I cant keep them with my tetras. hmmm... will have to think about that some more.

Zerotona, your Ginger is gorgeous and yes, I can see the aquablue in his fins. Perfect name for him with the ginger colored specks. The sailfin that I saw at the store was a black/white spotted one and was very interested in a female there and was showing off his fins.
IF I had to use the salt, is there any other fish that can tolorate that as well?
thanks again, ~ kate

zerotona

All other livebearers can deal with a bit of salt and bumble bee gobies are very cute and also like some salt in their water. I am going to get one of them soon

capekate

hmmm bumblebee gobies.. never heard of them I had a bumblebee catfish once. I will have to check them out. thanks...