deutinger

I just set up my new 10 gallon tank. I am going to get some Molly fish. At Petsmart they said that my tank is big enough. Is it? Also I have the salt for freshwater fish. Every time I clean the tank taking out 25% water do I need to keep adding the salt. If not, what do I add when I clean the tank?

ShaynaB

Welcome to Fishlore!!

I have two Mollies in a 10 gallon... They're prolific breeders, however so I had to set up another tank just for all the fry I have. (Two Mollies, A BAZILLION babies) I've never used aquarium salt for my fish and they seem to be fine.

I'd suggest getting a product called PRIME for when you do water changes and a water testing kit to watch your levels if you don't already have one.

Do you know about cycling your tank?

Also, you should only put 1 inch of adult fish in the tank. So you have a total of 10 inches to work with! Good luck with the fish!

deutinger

what is cycling my tank? Can they get too much aqarium salt?

sirdarksol

http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
This is an article on the nitrogen cycle.
Mollies don't need salt, though they prefer a mildly brackish water (okay, depending on the breed, some prefer pretty heavily brackish).
Yes, they can most definitely get too much salt. If the salt were to reach marine levels, it would slowly kill them. Beyond that, it would quickly kill them.
http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...tank-setup.htm
This article has the information you need on setting up a brackish aquarium.

COBettaCouple

Welcome to Fishlore.

The best way to avoid them breeding is to get all males. Females can come home pregnant from the store. 3 or more is best, but would overstock your 10g tank.

SDS - Would Mollies do better with aquarium salt or marine salt?

sirdarksol

Marine. Definitely marine. Aquarium salt is only good for fungus, parasites, and easing osmotic stress on hardwater fish (and there are better ways to do all three than with aquarium salt).
What you want to do with brackish water is recreate a scenario like what happens in an estuary: That is, a mixing of sea water (marine) and river water (fresh), leaving you with a lesser salinity. Aquarium salt is only the salt, while marine salt has the other minerals in the sea water.