Is my Dalmatian Molly attacking my Goldfish?
I have two dalmatian mollies[one male, one female] and one fancy goldfish [male] with a red cap oranda [male] in a 20 gallon tank. Lately my male molly has been trying to suck on my goldfish’s side and his tail sometimes too, and he tries to suck on the red cap oranda’s wen [his head]. I don’t know if he is attacking them or not… They swim away quickly and try to stay out of his path, but is my dalmatian molly attacking them? For a couple day I had a bubble eye oranda and the molly stopped doing his little sucking thing, but now the bubble eye died but getting his cheek caught in the filter tube, and the molly went back to his old habit. What should I do? Should I get another bubble eye oranda, even if ALL my other fish seemed to be a little bit frightened of him? Is my oranda and goldfish in danger?
I was told at the store that I could make a compromise between the two fish with keeping the water at 77 Fahrenheit. Will my fish end up dying?
Tags: bubble eye, cap oranda, cheek, compromise, dalmatian mollies, fahrenheit, Fancy Goldfish, Fish, Gallon Tank, Goldfish, habit, little bit, molly, red cap
November 5th, 2009 at 02:36
Tropical community and goldfish shouldn’t be mixed, for a whole host of reasons.
One is temperature, mollies require it to be warmer, 74-80 degrees. Were as Goldfish prefer it cooler, 66-70 degrees. Neither will thrive long in the wrong temperature.
Another is food, goldfish food has a higher vegetable content, were as tropical food has higher protein content. Both can eat the others, but it’s not a complete diet and can lead to deficiencies and obesity.
Another reason is exactly what you’re seeing. Goldfish are slow moving, and with their long fins can be fragile. Easy targets for more aggressive fish.
Mollies can sometimes turn mean, for no real reason. Often, getting them more molly tank mates can turn their attention to one another and away from bullied tank mates. But this may over stress the goldfish, and it’s never a sure thing.
You’r tank is also too small to handle all these fishes waste. Goldfish require a great deal of space, b/c of their waste production. It’s usually recommended to have 20 gallons for each goldfish and ten gallons for each additional goldie. Molllies and other fish can act out aggressively when water quality is poor. They get aggitated, and strike out at tank mates.
I’d seperate them if you’re able too, this is the best option for them. If that’s not an option, keep a close eye on the tanks water quality . Try to up thier feedings, maybe smaller bits more often? Or add more plats and cover to hide among.
Best of Luck!
November 5th, 2009 at 02:36
Several mistakes have been made.
1. A single fancy goldfish requires 20 gallons, and ten gallons for every additional fancy goldfish. So two require at least thirty gallons with double the filtration.
2. Goldfish are cold water fish; they are accustomed to the higher content of oxygen in cooler temperatures. Mollies are tropical brackish. The two should not be mixed.
3. If you have a heater, the goldfish are suffering. If you do not have a heater, the mollies are suffering.
4. Bubble eye goldfish should only be housed with similarly disadvantaged goldfish like celestials. Their eye sacs are too sensitive to house them with other fish.
~77F-82F is ideal for the tropical fish, but goldfish should not be kept above 75F. Anything higher will increase their metabolism and will shorten their lifespan. Compromises should not be made when it comes to animal care. Each species should be kept in a way that they may thrive.
November 5th, 2009 at 02:36
DONT MIX TROPICAL AND COLD WATER FISH TOGETHER!!!!!!!!!!!!!
November 5th, 2009 at 02:36
U shouldn’t put mollies with goldfish. First off they are tropical while goldfish are cold water fish. 2ndly goldfish create A LOT of waste and can easily kill your mollies