Insane snail and killer Molly.

Question
My snail is insane, it curls up and floats on the filter current every couple of days. I'm starting to worry that its a bit challenged. Our silver Molly has killed every other fish in the aquarium. Is there anything we can do to change this disturbing behavior? The only normal pet is Pepe, the ghost shrimp. Is he safe from the insanity? Or will I have to separate all three?

Answer
Dear Rebecca,
Fortunately your snail is not insane. Floating up at the top in the filter current is a normal snail thing to do. Snails are typically lazy and quiet creatures and only come out and explore their enviroment when they want to find food or lay eggs.

I'm not sure about your Silver Molly. Would he happen to be a male? Sometimes males can become very aggressive especially if there are no females around. Some male mollies have a stronge instinct to breed so if there aren't any females around, he may substitute other fish. Sometimes male mollies can also simply be territorial. Fish tend to become bullies if there is not enough space in their aquarium also. So if your aquarium is small, this could be another cause for the silver molly's aggresion. At least a 20-30 gallon aquarium is best for mollies because of their size an activity level. Male mollies do best with a large group of females to school with. Two males may fight if there are females around and if there are too few females, one or two females may be chased too much by the male. Larger groups of females helps disperse the chasings. A peaceful group of just females sometimes sounds best!

In case you aren't sure. Male Mollies can easily be told from females by looking at their bottom fin just before the tail, in males--it is pointed, but in females-- it is fan shaped like a normal fin.

Pepe the ghost shrimp will probably be safe from your Molly. But of course, make sure to provide plenty of hiding places for your shrimp because when shrimp molt their outer exhoskeloten, their bodies are very soft and vunerable to "picking" fish like mollies. It's also important with any aquarium to have hiding places in the form of aquarium safe driftwood, rocks, roots, and plants to provide good refuge for any fish that just wants to get away from it all.

I really hope this helps!
Only my very best wishes,
Karen~