Fish Help??

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Bunnylova4eva

Bunnylova4eva

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So as you may know I got some mollies several weeks ago. Saturday one died after a couple days of being lethergic, not eating etc. When we went back in petco they tested the water and the Nitrates were up. I changed 2 gallons of the water (of the 10 gallon tank) but now ( as of today)my other two are both acting weird, the one being especially lethargic, hiding, not eating.

Anyone know what could be causing this?

Thanks a bunch!
 
Well the nitrates being up would do it, the question is why they're high. Did you leave the dead mollie in the water long?

Also how long did you run your tank before adding fish and do you have all the test liquids?

With mollies... I believe you can add a bit of salt - but I'd double check first, but I do believe they enjoy some aquarium salt in their water.
 
Fish tank was going for maybe like a week first. Then I got the first, waited a week, got another, waited a week, the second was aggressive, so after several days I returned it and got 2 more.

No, I didn't leave the dead one in there long. (long being?) it seemed to be dyeing for a day or so but I kept a close eye and when it had died, scooped it out.
I think it was just going on a month since getting any fish in the All new tank.

I'll add a bit of salt. When I originally set it up, I put the aquarium salt in, but since water changes haven't added any.

Adorable avatar by the way! :) I loveee it!
 
A fish tank can take several weeks to cycle properly. Being a newly established tank it is quite normal for the nitrates to be high. When the normal bacteria begin to grow and work on the water chemistry you should see these readings fall.

When it comes to water changes, I read you only changed 2gal of a 10gal tank. Don't ever be fooled into thinking you need to change more than that. Many people tend to change too much water and then the cycle only has to start all over again. And don't replace or clean the filter on the same day you do your water change. Need to leave some goodness in there to build up and maintain the water quality.
 
Yeah it cycles in about a month or so and Mollies aren't really a good fish to cycle a tank with.

Keep the tank lightly stocked while it is cycling and then slowly add more fish. 10s can be a little tricky since they are small. I've got a 10 going with 3 pencil fish, haven't wanted to push my luck and add more since the first go around the tank crashed. My fault, I should have known better.
 
do you not have a quarenteen (sp?) tank set up? if not you might seriously think about doing so as they are very important and needed to immediately get sick fish out of your community tank. even if you didn't leave the dead one in there long you still left him in there sick which could have easily made the others sick.
 
You said that Petco tested the water for you, does that mean you don't have a test kit at home? I would highly recomend the basic liquid test kit for fresh water, it will last several years and give you a great insight into your tank. During the first month you probably want to test your water every other day so you can change water if the Nitrates get too high.

Also, adding Stresszyme helps cycle the tank faster by adding good bacteria. Even after the tank is established I use it during water changes to help prevent sludge build up in the rocks.

Do you have any live plants in the tank? That is very helpful because it uses the excess nutrients and helps add oxygen to the water. The roots dig through the gravel and help prevent bad bacteria from building. Plus, it gives the fish places to hide and rest so they are less stressed. I think my fish have brighter colors and live longer living in a tank with live plants. I recommend anubus as a hardy, low light plant. I still have my original from when I started with fish well over 10 years ago. They grow slowly, but they are very sturdy. Be sure if you are buying plants they are true aquatic species and not submerged terrestrials, they will just end up rotting under water.
 
no, I haven't gotten the test kit (yes, I know, silly of me) some have recomended it others say I didn't need it. I had fish that were fine for about 3-4 years so I assumed it was fine..till they got ick and died, and I started from scratch on a new tank. Guess I'll add a test kit to my list of things to go get.

As to live plants, I don't have any of those either. Just a few fake ones. I've thought of it-last time I was in there I looked at them but didn't know which was better to get.

I added a bit of aquarium salt this morning. Who knows if it'll do anything, but maybe it'll help the fish a bit. The one fish seems mostly fine (besides not eating *as* much) but the other just hides now and hardly comes out. He'll go (rarely) to eat a little and then just spit it out.
 
Ick tends to happen in high nitrogen tanks because the fish are stressed, so their immune systems are compromised. Now that my tank has been cycled and running for a few years I only test a couple times a year, just to make sure everything is ok. I have a 20 gallon and take two bucket fulls out each week (about 2-3 gallons). By frequent, small water changes the quality is better and less stressful on the fish than infrequent, large changes.

You want to get the liquid tests because they are much more accurate than the test strips. The test strips are basically a waste of money because after they are opened the humidity in the air screws up the chemicals on the strips. The answers you get from strips also varies a lot, to the point that it really doesn't tell you anything. The kit that gives you all the basic tests you need has really good directions to make it easy to test.

A bit of aquarium salt is good for mollies. :)
 
Plants are the answer I think, they almost act like a filter themselves they take in the bad stuff from the water and put out good stuff the same way they do on land. Plus with Mollies the plants give protection for fry.
 
Bluesmaven wrote:
Plants are the answer I think, they almost act like a filter themselves they take in the bad stuff from the water and put out good stuff the same way they do on land. Plus with Mollies the plants give protection for fry.
Click to expand...

...unless you only have male mollies in the tank. lol I didn't want to end up with a gajillion little fish that I didn't know what to do with.

As far as plants do go though, I thinkdo that. What kind(s) are good?
 
well all today he's been like this when he does come out(and last night) I don't know why he thinks the thermometer is so great...? :



15287_011508_080000000.jpg


 
Yep, I did that (always do).
I'm just kind of stumped as the what the issue could be..and how to tell. Maybe I do need to go get a test kit. I don't know if I'll get there today, but would like to figure out what's going on with them before they both die. :/ He's still hanging out on/next to the thermometer. that's all he does or hide in the tunnel.
 
It is hard to tell from the picture, but do you have aeration in the tank? They may tell you that the water filter is enough, but in my experience it is not. He may be hanging toward the top because it have more disolved O2.
 
I have just a filter in there. I'll add an air stone or something. I think i have an extra aerator.
Good thought! Thanks!
 
any other ideas anyone? I put the aerator/airstone in there and at first they were swmming all around and now the one that wasn't doing to well is just back to hanging out by the thermometer. poor lil' fishy
 
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