Do Black Mollys really need salt?

Question

Hello- I keep reading that Black Molly fish due 'best' with salt. I have several other community fish and I dont know how salt would affect them:

20 gallon tank
-1 black molly
-1 clown loach
-4 neon tetra
-2 serpae tetra
-1 angelfish

It always says that Mollys do 'best ' with salt, but it is not necessarily detrimental to thier survival? i have also read in places that they dont really need salt ? Does anyone have any personal experience ?

Can the Molly live a normally happy life with unsalted water ?

Thanks !

Answer 1

We used to have lots of mollies and they bred and everything. We never put salt into the tank. Actually, your collection looks a lot like what I had as a child. Except we had guppies, too.

Answer 2

Yes the mollies need salt. You have an overstocked 20. Most of those fish need to school. I'd add more of the same and split into two tanks, the 20 for the little ones and a 29 or larger for the angels and loaches.

Answer 3

well no they dont NEED salt. But as they are actually brackish water fish turned into freshwater, they perfer it. They will actually be more active and more fun in some kind of salt. Also there scales,coats, skin what ever you want to call it :) will look 10000 times better in the sale. I have two silk black mollys that i put into my brackish water tank and now they look like a silk black color which is beautiful.

but yes if you put them in your freshwater tank they will be just fine and live for a long time. with out any worries.

Answer 4

I have never added salt to my aquarium and I have black mollies. They were healthy, happy, lived for many years and had many babies. So no, you do not need to add salt.

Answer 5

every fish that you named except for the molly, hate salt. I suppose it could live in that water but it would do best in brackish ( salty )

Answer 6

In my experience mollies can do just fine in unsalted water.

MM