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please help -black eye mollies

23 16:56:48

Question
Hi Kathryn,
 I was reading through the answers you've been giving people and they all seem great! so I was hopeing perhaps you can help me please.

I recently brought some mollies which are in my tank with my platties, yoyo leach and bristle nose.

And this morning when I came to feed them I relised that two of my mollies has got one pittched black eye.. I've been so worrie been searching on the net to find the answer but I cant find anything.  I hope you can help,
Cheers from chan :-)

P.s: I'm kinda new with the fish- any ideas on how my mollies and/or plattioes can breed? thanks :-)

Answer
Hi Chantelle,
I would not worry about the black eye, they often have markings that effect the eye colour, in fact, one of my mollies is the same as yours. Unless it is protruding from the fish's head, don't worry about it.
I would be more worried about the size of your tank. Mollies and platies only need around 45 litres, but loaches need around 150 litres when they are fully grown, and bristlenoses need around 150 litres too. Thankfully, they can both live in a slightly smaller tank for some time, as they are not incredible fast growers, but if your tank is under 150 litres, then they will need to be rehomed sometime in the future.
As for breeding, I almost laughed out loud at that! The majority of people can't get their Mollies and Platies to stop breeding, as they are soooo prolific. They are livebearers, so will not produce eggs, but will give birth to live young. If you are serious about wanting the fry to live, you will need to move them immediately into another tank, or a "breeding net".
A few things beginners do that can be dangerous that I'd like to warn you about:
Never to 100 percent water changes. It kills all the beneficial bacteria in the tank, causing the death of your fish, which you don't want, naturally. Just do 30 percent water changes every week.
Don't change or even wash both your filter pads (if you have pads in your filter) every week, Just clean one in tank water every month or so, and do the next one the following month.
Give them a varied diet. Don't just feed them flake food, but vary it with frozen and live bloodworm, brineshrimp and daphnia, with the occasional piece of cucumber.

I hope all goes well with your tank, and if you need to ask any more questions, I am more than happy to answer them.
Good luck, and best wishes,
Kathryn