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Male Mollies - chasing each other

23 11:44:10

Question
Hello Lynda :)

I just have a quick question.  I usually ask Richard about my molly problems, but he's on vacation :( I'm not sure if you know much about mollies, but I thought I'd ask anyway :)

Anyway. I had a balloon molly that gave birth to at least 50 fry (if not more) a few months ago.  I've separated the males from the females, and I have... maybe 20 males in a 30 gallon tank. Maybe less, maybe more.  None of the petstores around here will take the mollies, so I'm trying to find homes for them as fast as I can.

The main reason I'm writing this, is because the males /constantly/ chase each other around. It's an odd chase though, because all they do is chase each others anal fins! It isn't that they nip or anything, they just get their noses as close as they can to the anal fin and chase.  They even (this sounds kinda funny) line up with six or more at a time and all chase each others anal fins in a line, all around the tank!  I mean, we think it's funny to watch them, but I wanted to ask if that's healthy, or if they could possibly kill each other by doing something like that.  I haven't lost any fry yet (They're all between three to five months old now) and none of my fish have become sick or stressed or anything.

It just seems like weird behaviour, and I just wanted to know if it's harming them in any way.  I had two male mollies in my main tank once, both bought at different times, and the one male bullied the other one until he died.  These ones are all from the same litter (?) and they don't do anything like the other two mollies that I bought seperatley, whereas they don't actually bully eachother, save for the chasing.

Please let me know if their behaviour is harming them, and what I can possibly do (besides sell or give away some of the fish) to ensure their health.

Thanks in advance and for all your hard work :)

Sincerely;
Julzy Robbins

Answer
Hi Julzy,
Mollies do chase each other in a playful manner.  If they are not hurting each other, let them be, but if you notice aggression, then you will have to remove the aggressive ones.  I have noticed that Mollies do this, which is why it is better to have one male molly with females.  
The way you have described their behaviour, it seems harmless to me.  They are only playing.  Mollies do play, but sometimes they can also be very aggressive.  Observation is the key.  For now it just seems to be playful, as they haven't hurt each other.  They are having a good time!
Lynda