Poor molly

Okay. So I got 1 male golden panda Mollies and 5 females. All was well.
Until one female turned into a male. Meaning I have 2 males and 4 females. Not as good. The ‘Alpha’ male bullies the weak male. I’ll call the bully Alpha and the weak guy Beta.
Now both males are always touching and bothering the females but this is more. Alpha follows Beta and nips at him.
So I put the weak one in my krib tank and he did better actually. But I decided to move him back in with mollies while changing their decor.
Now Beta molly seems happier being back with the mollies in that he is chasing the girls etc. BUT Alpha is still bothering him. I was told (and it makes complete sense) to return Beta and keep strong Alpha. I don’t want to return either but I’m inclined to keep Beta as hes had a rough time. Maybe that’s dumb.
ANYWAY as of now Alpha is in a breeding net in the same tank. I feel guilty he’s alone in there but he didn’t listen to me when I sternly told him to be nice. How long should I keep him in the breed net in the same tank? And if I HAVE to return one which should it be? I don’t want to have to return and only would if one of their lives was awful.

 

What size tank is this and what are the water parameters?

 

Twenty gallon long
Ph 7.4
Ammonia 0 (.25 but that’s my false tap reading)
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 5ppm

I did a very large water change yesterday and put in four tiny danios and got a lot of new decorations and removed a bunch of old ones hoping to confuse Alpha but no.
Until Beta openly became a boy all was fine. In fact he’s so fat I thought he was pregnant! He was def not getting harassed in the krib tank that I saw but he did have a bit of a back fin missing. It’s already coming back.
Back in this tank he gets chased and then nipped and now that Alpha is in the breeder net betta doesn’t know what to do with himself now.

 

I think the tank size may be your issue. Mollies tend to get nippy if they are in smaller tanks. Usually they need to be in 29 gallon or more for a trio. I'd probably be inclined to rehome at least one of the males.

 

When it comes to mollies I only keep females.

Return both males, unless you have the ability to care for the large numbers of babies you will end up with.

 

I think the tank size may be your issue. Mollies tend to get nippy if they are in smaller tanks. Usually they need to be in 29 gallon or more for a trio. I'd probably be inclined to rehome at least one of the males.

Well they are golden panda mollies. That might make no diff but they are apparently a drop smaller? Also I had them in a 31 gallon and the issue there was they both cluster around the females even with more room. So Alpha will always be right near Beta unless B spends all life hiding. I'm not discounting your theory at all and maybe it would be fine in a huge tank and I thank you for your input. Let’s be honest I’m just not thrilled to take them back to Petco. Just wondering lesser of two evils.If I have to rehome a male which would you recommend? The weak or strong? The other issue is I don’t know anybody who Can take them so they will wind up back in the pet store and I’m worried for the weak one—bc of more moving stress but also simply bc he’s not as aggressive so he might just wither.
Haven’t had any babies thus far prob bc of cories but I can take those to the lfs and I have a five gallon to put them in. But that doesn’t mean I can’t take both back just saying what my plan had been.
thank you!

Also in general do you think the isolation net helps behavior or no? Just in general!

 

I have never had success "training" a behavior like that out of a molly. I'd probably be inclined to take multiple back honestly. So at least one male, if you want the harassment to stop completely you could take both males back.

 

I just found out I have pneumonia so if I can’t take them in to the store until Th would you recommend leaving the weak or the strong in the breeder net or letting them duke it out?

 

I'd be more inclined to keep the weaker one in the net as long as the stronger one isn't stressing anyone else out.

 

I'd be more inclined to keep the weaker one in the net as long as the stronger one isn't stressing anyone else out.

Ok

alsooooo so I have driftwood in there and the water is tea colored
It’s been since hesterday
How bad is that

 

The water color is fine, it doesn't hurt the fish

 

Ok

alsooooo so I have driftwood in there and the water is tea colored
It’s been since hesterday
How bad is that

The tea color is harmless. It's even more natural than really clear water. I've got some tanks that are a bit darker as well because of the driftwood. I just let it be.

 

The tea color is harmless. It's even more natural than really clear water. I've got some tanks that are a bit darker as well because of the driftwood. I just let it be.

I love it. And it helped the bullying bc the alpha doesn’t do it in the dark room in the darker water. He can’t see. As soon as curtains are opened or lights on be bothers Beta but otherwise he’s fine.
I have the spiderwood soaking for my acrylic tank and I know spiderwood has less tannins and I’ve been told on here it won’t stain the acrylic but I’ve read it does twice and that’s too many times for me. What’s disappointing is that I love wood in the tank but I think no matter how long I soak I’ll always have tannins leaching. I do have one darker tank at least. It’s funny bc that’s mollys zebra danios and cories and I think the tank with the kribs might prefer the darker water.