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I have 2 mollies a Swordtail and a cory cat in the same tank. My mollies need a little salt to survive but is a little (1 teaspoon per 5 gallons) going to hurt my cory?

I (well, my fiancee) have mollies in a salt-free tank, and they seem to cope quite fine[1]. Are you sure that they NEED salt to be OK?

Cories do not want salt in the water. And really, I have a hard time seeing that a Poecillia (molly/guppy family) would need it either, as they are purely sweet-water living species. Admittedly, they tend to live in puddles rather than rivers, so the water is probably a littel bit (or a lot) harder, giving a higher conductivity, which in captivity would be artficially created with marine or aquarium salt, but I wouldn't think that it's necessary for their well-being.

[1] meaning that we've had babies from at least one of the females. Unfortunately, other inhabitants seem to consume the babies if we don't find them quite soon enough... We currently have two babies in a net-breeder in my huge tank [also no salt].


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Mats

as they are purely sweet-water living species.

Do not want to shoot you down but a little research is in order,this depends on the particular type of Molly,there are some that are quite comfortable in coastal or estuarine areas of the southeast U.S.A.
They can be rather adaptable though,there are some swimming 20 minutes from my house along with,Heterandria formosa and Hemichromis fasciatus in a warm springs area in the middle of one of our mountain national parks of all places.

AmandaMarie,go to the forums and do a search for cories and salt,you will have your imformation there,or
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... ories+salt

Birger

I would like to second my neighbour if I may . . . To the best of my knowledge mollies DO generally require a modicum of salt in their water for peak health, and further that cories definitely do NOT tolerate salt or brackish water.

Having said that, I doubt most LFS take pains to salt their tanks, but of course most LFS do not take pains to ensure their stock is in peak condition.

You may want to start here, but there are lots of other articles available describing suitable biotopes.

Good luck!

My Brother gave me a pair of Platies that eventually lived to the age of 5. He had them for 2 plus years, and I had them the rest. I never used salt in their tank. They lived with Aeneus Cories for about a year. A lot of LFS's in my area do not salt their tanks. I wonder if many Mollies don't survive because of osmotic stress. Too much salt when they arrive to their new home. You're getting good advice here, Amanda. Research is good. The only silly question is the one not asked!