wakingupnow

Hi.

Well, I have 1 black female lyretail molly and 1 white male (i think lyretail) molly and I have a few questions about them.

My white molly I'm not too sure what he really is because his tail isn't as curved and pointed at the tips as my black molly. What could he be?

This is a picture of Inky and Snowy:




Also, Inky had white stuff right in the insides of her mouth and also her gills look white. I used parasite clear because of my passed black molly (blackie) had internal parasites. Anyway, Inky's mouth cleared up, but her gills still look white, but I can't get close enough to get a good look. Is this normal?

My water parameters are good and stable and the other fish I have in there is 1 pleco, 2 platys and 5 tiger barbs.

midnightwolf

im sorry but i dont know his fins just may not be as alsberate as hers are... your tank is wayy over stocked i dont know what pleco you have but the common needs like 75+ gallons. also you should have no less than 6 tiger barbs or they will nip the fins of your other fish

Shawnie

they look almost like a molly/platy combo ...

catfishlover123

Which type of pleco do you have? I think the molly in the second picture has ICH.

Shawnie

I dont see any signs of ich...maybe my eyes are old LOL

catfishlover123

Sorry about hijack this thread wakingupnow. In the second picture, the fins look like there glinting. Yo know, the ICH spots?

wakingupnow

Hi and thanks for the replies.

I really don't think its Ich on my white molly. That is just how his fins look.

I know the tank is slightly overstocked at the moment, but I have an 8 gallon cycling which is almost complete. When my pleco gets bigger, I'm going to get a much larger tank for him. Right now he is no more than 2 inches long and he is doing very well. When I first got him his fins were all tattered, but they have grown back very quickly and nicely. I have no idea what type of pleco Unbar is. I had another thread asking for an ID of him, but most said he was a common pleco, though he doesn't have the amount of bright spots on him like I've seen on commons.

As for the Tiger barbs, I first had two (I had no idea about fish then, but I'm trying really hard to learn) and then I decided to get 4 more, but my little one Stryper died, so now there is only 5. I will indeed get another barb or two when my 8 gal has cycled so I can move some fish around.

catfishlover123

Well, it looked that way to me. Could you get a larger tank for it? Your pleco will have stunned growth if you put it in an 8 gallon tank. I think you should move one of your mollies into the 8 gallon tank.

Shawnie

as far as your unbar, its not his size but the amount of poo he will leave in the tank...it will make it very hard to keep the ammonia and waste down with him in there..although they do grow slow, its his waste to worry about... if you barbs arent nipping at others now, you may have a good school of 5 going

wakingupnow

Oh no, I won't put Unbar in the 8 gal. And yes, I am getting a larger tank too.

I've come to realize my ignorance put me in a bad position at the moment so I do water changes every day with the gravel vac and I test my water often too.

Yea, the barbs are doing well, but I think a larger tank and a few more could make them even less aggressive.


Still no ideas on my mollies? He does look weird for a molly..Maybe he is a cross breed or something, because he has dots on his dorsal fin like a sailfin. Maybe, just maybe.

Shawnie

I still think the mollies might be a platy/molly combo as I said up there ^^ but again, not sure....dont blame yourself about "ignorance" as MOST of us have been there ....learning is what this site is about

Nick G

They both just look like Mollies to me. The only other fish a Mollie can crossbreed with is a Guppy, and the result is called a Muppy. But they don't look like that to me.

wakingupnow

Thanks Shawnie, that makes me feel a little better.

That would be cool if he is a Platy and Molly mix, I didn't know they could mate.

Nick G

They can't. Mollies can only cross with Guppies, and Platies with Swordtails.

wakingupnow

Ahh. Thanks, that is what I thought.

Shawnie

check their tails out..thats not a molly tail...and it doesnt look like a guppy tail either....maybe they cant breed but darn, they do look like a combo LOL ...very unique for sure

Nick G

Hmmm, see what you mean. Maybe they are Muppies. Their tales look more Guppy like than Molly.

wakingupnow

Well, when looking at molly pictures on here, IMO some look like platy tails and others (lyretail is what I look for) look like curled and tipped.

It's hard to explain.

midnightwolf

i used to have a molly like the one in the 2nd picture except he had a larger sailfin

wakingupnow

Hmm. Maybe a mix between a lyre tail and a sail fin?

midnightwolf

maybe it wasnt attached all the way bown so it lifted pretty high

agabr123

that's what i was thinking. livebearers breed like rabbits so it could be anything really