Mollies Misbehaving

We have just setup our first freshwater tank.
We have introduced 2 x Regular Mollie Fish (male and female) and 2 x Balloon mollie fish (male and female).
The male balloon mollie seems to be bullying all the other fish, paying extra attention to the female regular mollie. Chasing her around the tank for the first 3 hours and it doesn't seem to be easing up.
Is this something to be concerned about, or are they just establishing hierarchy?

 

If you stock male and female Molly be prepared for fry, and stock 2 females for every male. They are worse than rabbits, and the short answer is they are breeding. Keep an eye on fins. If he starts nipping, you may want to return him.

 

Some fish are just mean and no measures you take will stop them. My black ruby barb killed two males, one female, and then himself. One hot night he must have been harassing the females too much and died from heat exhaustion.
I don't know if mollies tear plants up, but plants can help fish to get away from each other and demarcate territories.

 

Some fish are just mean and no measures you take will stop them. My black ruby barb killed two males, one female, and then himself. One hot night he must have been harassing the females too much and died from heat exhaustion.
I don't know if mollies tear plants up, but plants can help fish to get away from each other and demarcate territories.

Thank you

 

Generally, unless your tank is large, you should stick to one male molly. Plus, with their genetic, inherited spinal disease, the balloons should be the eventual loser in a conflict. It's a fierce thing to dump on a new hobbyist, but many believe balloons shouldn't be sold because the "cute" deformity the fishfarms select for may cause pain. Deformed fish are the cruel side of the hobby/business.
They are profitable. The reputable stores around here have begun to stop stocking them. One hasn't sold any for years.
So you have normal behavior. If your plants haven't grown in yet, the mollies are bored. and bored fish get up to mischief as well. But ultimately, with two males, they will strive to leave you with one.
I love mollies, but only in large groups where 5+ males get along just fine.

 

Some fish are just mean and no measures you take will stop them. My black ruby barb killed two males, one female, and then himself. One hot night he must have been harassing the females too much and died from heat exhaustion.
I don't know if mollies tear plants up, but plants can help fish to get away from each other and demarcate territories.

I agree.
My first dalmation mollies were horrible.
Mine don't tear up the plants.

 

See, I have aggressive female mollies lol. My males all died, I still feel awful... My most aggressive molly has been in my betta tank since the whole ordeal but even after removal the male didn't recover. The betta and her are seemingly more than friends. =P
But in general mollies are pretty aggressive in my experience. They beat up every other live bearing fish I get so I think I am done with that species. I loved their sailfins but when they go around killing all my other fish it kinda makes them a bit less attractive in my eyes...

Also on the plants, mollies will definitely pick, that is what they do all day in the wild, scavenging algae off rocks and wood. But they won't rip off leaves or uproot plants. They will help clean them off though!

 

I think your problem is probably 2 males & 2 females. Not enough females for the males to share and all the attention is focused on just a couple females. I personally would recommend bringing the males back and seeing how the females do on their own. You will probably have babies within a month or two so you might have plenty to pick from if you wanted to keep one or two of the babies...

 

See, I have aggressive female mollies lol. My males all died, I still feel awful... My most aggressive molly has been in my betta tank since the whole ordeal but even after removal the male didn't recover. The betta and her are seemingly more than friends. =P
But in general mollies are pretty aggressive in my experience. They beat up every other live bearing fish I get so I think I am done with that species. I loved their sailfins but when they go around killing all my other fish it kinda makes them a bit less attractive in my eyes...

Also on the plants, mollies will definitely pick, that is what they do all day in the wild, scavenging algae off rocks and wood. But they won't rip off leaves or uproot plants. They will help clean them off though!

mollies aren't aggressive. I have loads and never had a problem

 

mollies aren't aggressive. I have loads and never had a problem

Mollies can be docile yes, but that doesn't mean they CAN'T be aggressive. Out of all live-bearing fish, aggression is more commonplace with them than the others. Every fish has its own temperament, but anecdotes are called anecdotes for a reason, not everyone will experience the same story. The only fish out of the live bearers at my LFS that I see peck and pick at one another are their black sail-fin mollies. But once again, no 2 fish are the same.