Should I Be Concerned About My Panda Molly Nipping?

Should I be concerned my panda molly is nipping at my other two mollies?
My setup is a 20 gallon long tank, I have hiding spots for my fish but the three mollies just hangout in the top/middle of the tank. My two clown loaches hide in the castle so he doesn’t nip at them. I’ve been reading and would it be safe to say I need to put some females in the tank to stop his aggression. He was quarantined for a couple days and I’ve reintroduced him back into the tank he’s not as bad as he used to be but I still see him nipping from time to time.

 

It is natural for fish to nip each other. Sometimes they just do it because they are bored. I would only be concerned if the fish was causing serious injuries.

 

If you have all male mollies and he was the alpha then he is re-establishing his dominance. Usually the alpha will calm down in about a day but yours may just be very aggressive.

Do not add any females. Adding females will only increase the males' aggression and having less than 3 females for every 1 male can lead to fish being killed.

You said you have hiding places for your fish but what kind? Depending on the interactions between the loaches and the mollies, the subordinates might not feel safe hiding in caves. Also, mollies are mid level fish so they prefer not to spend too much time too low.

If you don't have any plants, adding some tall ones that will break line of sight to various parts if the tank might be a good idea. The places behind the plants would be good places for the subordinate fish to retreat for awhile.

If the dominant continues to nip the fins even with screened off areas after a day, then you might just have a very aggressive male. If so, then you will have to either put him in his own tank or rehome him.

 

If you have all male mollies and he was the alpha then he is re-establishing his dominance. Usually the alpha will calm down in about a day but yours may just be very aggressive.

Do not add any females. Adding females will only increase the males' aggression and having less than 3 females for every 1 male can lead to fish being killed.

You said you have hiding places for your fish but what kind? Depending on the interactions between the loaches and the mollies, the subordinates might not feel safe hiding in caves. Also, mollies are mid level fish so they prefer not to spend too much time too low.

If you don't have any plants, adding some tall ones that will break line of sight to various parts if the tank might be a good idea. The places behind the plants would be good places for the subordinate fish to retreat for awhile.

If the dominant continues to nip the fins even with screened off areas after a day, then you might just have a very aggressive male. If so, then you will have to either put him in his own tank or rehome him.

I don’t have a lot of plants yet since it’s a fairly new tank and my lfs is 40 minutes away but I have some driftwood a castle(which the loaches have claimed and a Little Rock piece. I’ll attach a pic of aquarium. I want to get some thicker plants for them to be able to hide so some suggestions on that would be helpful. Also they haven’t taken to hiding under the driftwood.

 

I don’t have a lot of plants yet since it’s a fairly new tank and my lfs is 40 minutes away but I have some driftwood a castle(which the loaches have claimed and a Little Rock piece. I’ll attach a pic of aquarium. I want to get some thicker plants for them to be able to hide so some suggestions on that would be helpful. Also they haven’t taken to hiding under the driftwood.

Aponogeton is a good plant because it's tall and spread wide so it makes a good screen. That's the main plant I have in my tank.

Some anubias also grow tall and would be good because the have broad leaves large enough for fish to hide under and behind.

I'm including a picture of my 20 high. I don't know if it will help but it will give you an idea if how apogenton grows.

IMG_20180730_085059_493

• Ravenahra
• Aug 10, 2018

 

Aponogeton is a good plant because it's tall and spread wide so it makes a good screen. That's the main plant I have in my tank.

Some anubias also grow tall and would be good because the have broad leaves large enough for fish to hide under and behind.

I'm including a picture of my 20 high. I don't know if it will help but it will give you an idea if how apogenton grows.

IMG_20180730_085059_493

• Ravenahra
• Aug 10, 2018

I do really like the look of the aponogenton but I also was thinking about the Java’s fern because of how thick and high it gets.

 

I do really like the look of the aponogenton but I also was thinking about the Java’s fern because of how thick and high it gets.

I tried a java fern but couldn't keep it alive. But if you can get it to grow it should probably do really well.