Male and female molly won’t stop fighting

Hello, so I have 3 Dalmatian molly’s (2 females,1 male) ive had the male for about 6 months now, and got both the females almost 2 months ago.

When I first put them in together, the male wouldn’t stop chasing my white female, i’m guessing mating, and towards the end of that week she kinda gave up of swimming away and would just get nudged as she floats. Thankfully he stopped but turned his attention on my other black female molly.

The male will chase her nonstop, and it’s gotten to the point of them just nipping at eachother and batting their tails at one another... NONSTOP! I can’t even calmly feed them without them whacking eachother with their tails. My white molly has just distanced herself completely from them as the black female will start chasing her as well.

I really don’t like the idea of returning the female. but I just don’t know what to do at this point, as it’s been going on for weeks now and i’m possibly adding another female in tomorrow. I don’t want any of them to end up getting stressed or weak/tired. There’s no tail breakage or anything of that sort. Just constant whacking and chasing. Is there any way to stop this? Im not sure id consider it normal with how long it’s been going on. TIA!

 

Can you give us more info? Tank size, other tank mates and a picture of the tank would help.

The gender ratio for most livebearers is 3f to 1m. Another thing is tank size and available cover. Mollies should be a decent sized tank, I’d say no less than 29gal. Floating plants, lots of tall plants and some rock or wood hardscape should provide plenty of cover for females to get away from the males.

 

Yes, the male will chase the females when willing to mate.

 

Can you give us more info? Tank size, other tank mates and a picture of the tank would help.

The gender ratio for most livebearers is 3f to 1m. Another thing is tank size and available cover. Mollies should be a decent sized tank, I’d say no less than 29gal. Floating plants, lots of tall plants and some rock or wood hardscape should provide plenty of cover for females to get away from the males.

They’re currently in a 10 gallon. Im looking for something bigger atm possibly a 30 for them if my dresser can withhold the weight (I only recently started actually wanting to learn how to properly care for fish as I got the 10g with my ex). I have a 40 gallon cycling but I was planning on placing 2 orandas in it. No other tank mates other than 2 fry. lots of plants & floating plants. photos attached.

Yes, the male will chase the females when willing to mate.

But is it normal for them to hit eachother with their tails? lol

 

Fish fight in all sorts of manners depending on the species. Circling and "body slapping" when they wiggle their bodies and hit each other is pretty normal for many species.

Tank size is the main reason you are having issues. The females will never be able to get away from the male in such a small tank even if it is heavily decorated. Don't add any more, in fact you should think about adding them to the 40gal and then maybe add more females. If I remember right, you should be able to house goldfish with the mollies, you'll just have to keep in mind that both have a pretty big bioload. Also remember that mollies are very prolific, they can easily overrun a 40gal and you'll have more fish than you can handle.

 

Fish fight in all sorts of manners depending on the species. Circling and "body slapping" when they wiggle their bodies and hit each other is pretty normal for many species.

Tank size is the main reason you are having issues. The females will never be able to get away from the male in such a small tank even if it is heavily decorated. Don't add any more, in fact you should think about adding them to the 40gal and then maybe add more females. If I remember right, you should be able to house goldfish with the mollies, you'll just have to keep in mind that both have a pretty big bioload. Also remember that mollies are very prolific, they can easily overrun a 40gal and you'll have more fish than you can handle.

Ahh I understand now. I just found out yesterday that they should be in a bigger tank and wanted to buy a 30g as I wasn’t sure if they’d be okay with the orandas, because of the water temps. Thatd be a dream. Either way im gonna go ahead and upgrade them. Definitely seems more space would help the females out. The bio load is under control and manageable for me, and I was planning on maybe turning the 10 gallon into a fry/shrimp tank anyways. Thank you!

 

My dalmatian molly is also an incredibly angry fish. She has her own tank now lol