Goldfish and molly chasing each other?

Hey so my friend gave me her male molly to put in one of my 20gs. I acclimated him with bag mehtod and he is in there now.

There are 3 comet/feeder goldfish in the tank, and the bighest, Muh, is chasing Hopper the molly. Hopper started chasing him back and nipping at his analfin like he did with the females mollies in Savs tank.

The goldfish will be going back into my 33 gallon pond soon once it stops having snows here in CO

Is this just them establishing the natural heirarchy/pecking order?

 

Mollys really prefer groups, imo.
Also, would like to point out that comets get HUGE (I have some that I got from petco as youngins that live in a 400gal+ outdoor pond that are nearly a foot long). They will eventually grow to large for your 33gallon pond, and will need something a lot bigger.

As for the problem at hand, I would remove the Molly. Do you have anywhere you can keep him? I’m not a fan of keeping comets with other fish, especially mollys who can get a little nippy.

 

Mollys really prefer groups, imo.
Also, would like to point out that comets get HUGE (I have some that I got from petco as youngins that live in a 400gal+ outdoor pond that are nearly a foot long). They will eventually grow to large for your 33gallon pond, and will need something a lot bigger.

As for the problem at hand, I would remove the Molly. Do you have anywhere you can keep him? I’m not a fan of keeping comets with other fish, especially mollys who can get a little nippy.

Ok, we are planning on getting a larger pond soon. We will be getting more mollies soon.

The tank also has a leaf fish and bumblebee and a spotted raffle catfish so babies from the mollies wont be a problem.
We dont have anywhere to put the molly but the goldfish should be going out in a week or so.

 

Ok, we are planning on getting a larger pond soon. We will be getting more mollies soon.

The tank also has a leaf fish and bumblebee and a spotted raffle catfish so babies from the mollies wont be a problem.
We dont have anywhere to put the molly but the goldfish should be going out in a week or so.

I would just make sure there is plenty of hiding spots for the molly as of now, until the goldfish are gone.

Also, leaf fish need a minimum of 50gallons and the catfish need a 45gal preferably. Do you have plans to get a bigger aquarium soon?

 

I would just make sure there is plenty of hiding spots for the molly as of now, until the goldfish are gone.

Also, leaf fish need a minimum of 50gallons and the catfish need a 45gal preferably. Do you have plans to get a bigger aquarium soon?

We are getting a 55g once summer starts

 

I'll be taking the molly back and putting him in another tank, don't want to risk any casualties.

 

u need to keep more than 1 molly in a tank they can be nasty to other fish

 

u need to keep more than 1 molly in a tank they can be nasty to other fish

Yeah... so what do you recommend because I've had him in a 3.5g alone for a while... he was bullying my females. I don't want to get rid of him.

 

u should have 2 males and 3 females that will fix this for u and add in some floating riccia and java moss

 

u should have 2 males and 3 females that will fix this for u and add in some floating riccia and java moss

Hmm.. see, sadly this wouldn't work. I had 1m 3f and he almost bullyed 2 females to death. He is alone in a 3.5 gallon that I know is too small... I'm asking what I should do other than get more mollies/put him back in.

Also both tanks are planted, thought I'd add.

 

Yeah... so what do you recommend because I've had him in a 3.5g alone for a while... he was bullying my females. I don't want to get rid of him.

Curious how many females there are in the tank? Mollys sometimes need a different ratio than other livebearers (most livebearers are 1 male to 3 females). I would suggest something more like a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio.

*edit: have you looked into rehoming him?

 

Curious how many females there are in the tank? Mollys sometimes need a different ratio than other livebearers (most livebearers are 1 male to 3 females). I would suggest something more like a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio.

*edit: have you looked into rehoming him?

I agree

 

Curious how many females there are in the tank? Mollys sometimes need a different ratio than other livebearers (most livebearers are 1 male to 3 females). I would suggest something more like a 1:4 or 1:5 ratio.

*edit: have you looked into rehoming him?

I have a 1 male 3 female ratio. And sadly it is a 13g so I can't really add anymore fish. The problem is... i'm really attached to him, and really don't want to rehome him. I tried with Frostclaw, but he doesn't want to get more mollies. Also my mom is super attached, and she has a really hard time with this whole thing. Even with me moving Hop next door, we both cried... i don't think rehoming will work.

 

this is tricky to help u with u can put him in a breeding net but that would be crule but that may be what u can do

 

this is tricky to help u with u can put him in a breeding net but that would be crule but that may be what u can do

Mmm... I'd rather not as i feel like it would cause a lot of stress for all the fish. The 3.5g is better than a net at least.

 

I agree with u or may be get him a tank of his own there isn't much u can do

 

Mollies should be in a 30-gallon long tank or larger. they are territorial, and they get large.
You should not have females and males together in such a small space. the males don't know any better than to breed breed breed. The females have nowhere to rest.

 

Update: We got the pond all good and up and running, so we transferred the goldies over. Hop is pretty much alone in the 20g and loving it, swimming and exploring, no longer in the corner. The leaf fish, who was also hiding from the goldies, is now active too!