comets and mollies

Hey Guys,
A friend has two small comets in an aquarium. She wants to know if she can put mollies in with them.
Thanks
Mel

Meekaboo

Originally Posted by Meekaboo

Hey Guys, A friend has two small comets in an aquarium. She wants to know if she can put mollies in with them. Thanks Mel

Mollies would need warmer water.

Hey Rick,
Thanks for the info. I'll pass it on.
Mel

mollies are a brackish water fish, that can live in a salt water tank. They do not do so good in fresh water. FYI: twocents:

I have had some fun with mollies in the past by putting them in my pond. One year, I had so many, I was selling them back to the fish store that I bought the parent fish from. They don't make it through the winter, even in So Cal unless you bring them inside.

In a pond, you want a .1% saline content for Koi. That is also fine for the brackish varieties as well.

Dr. Dave...........You are saying I need to be adding a little salt to the pond ?????

Yes I do, but first go here and read what the University of Florida has to say.

http://drdaveskoi.tripod.com/html/remedies.html

Further research has led me to use half of what they recommend, then test the salinity with a kit and adjust to no more than .1%. Water has salt in it naturally and rocks add salt to the equation.

If you have water plants, be cautious and stay on the safe side till you know their limits. I am researching water plant health and don't have any recommendations on salt levels for various plants. Maybe there are experts on plants lurking that have some references for us.

I try to maintain my tanks with baby Koi at .1%, I also keep a solution of 3% handy for emergency baths (no more than 10 minutes with areation) if I see them scratching.

My pond varies from .05% to .1%. Be carefull, evaporation does not diminesh the salt (the Great Salt Lake and the Salton Sea is are good examples).

I found this on KoiVet.com

Salt - Sodium Chloride for Parasites
Written by Dr. Erik Johnson
Thursday, 03 April 2008 21:57
Salt can be used in freshwater systems by adding one teaspoon of salt to each gallon of water every twelve hours for three treatments. You are gradually increasing the salinity to a level of 0.3% or three teaspoons per gallon total. The dose goes in gradually over 36 hours to avoid shocking the filter (especially Nitrobacter, which results in a short Nitrite surge). Some sensitive fishes will also do better when salted if it's added so gradually. Salt should be of the non-iodized table salt variety, or an Aquarium salt recommended by the Pet Shop. Live plants can be killed or yellowed by this, so be careful to remove these before treatment. As a general rule, plants with a defined root system will usually survive salting, while floating varieties like Anachris, Cabomba and Wisteria are flatly killed. My Apons died back 50%, Cryptocoryne couldn't care less, Pennywort hated it but did not die, Anubias yellowed and recovered, in the ponds, Lilies yellow marginally but do not even stop flowering. Iris is impervious, and Hyacinths hate it but they only yellow in the older leaves, and bounce right back.

Is there a way to measure the salt once added?
Yes, there are electronic salt meters which are accurate, easy to use and surprisingly cost effective. You can get one from PondRx.com - check out the where to buy section of this web site.
What can salt do for me?

Salt at 0.3% is credited with the clearance of the following:
Ichthyophthirius (72 hours at tropical temperatures)
Chilodinella (24-36 hours)
Costiasis (Ichthyobodo necatrix)
Almost every single Trichodiniid/Tripartiella organism.
Glossatella (24 hours irregardless of temp)
Scyphidia (24 hours irregardless of temp)
Epistylis (24 hours irregardless of temp)
Trichophrya (24 hours irregardless of temp)
External Tetrahymena
Inhibits trematode reproduction, clears 30% of adults.
Inhibits Lerneiid reproduction