Angelfish & Balloon Molly. Plus other questions!

[NathGalapa]

Hi All,

Does anyone else have Balloon mollys and Angelfish together and how do they get on? Any advice would be appreciated!


Recently got a 70L tank filter and heater all setup got my water tested on Saturday and it was all fine so I added into my tank the following..

6x Neon Tetras
1x Angelfish
1x Pakastani Loach
4x Balloon Mollys

I have no live corals or live plants in my tank, Just artificial plants etc..

Can anyone else shed light on what else I could get in there to bring the tank to life a little bit more? Another question is what do people think on feeding tropical fish cucumber etc? I am yet to try this so would like to know a little bit more before I put it in my tank!

All advice and ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
[emoji106][emoji3]

 

[fluttermoth]

Hi there, welcome to the forum

I'm afraid I'm going to have to start out by giving you some bad news. Aquarists don't keep mollies and angel fish together, because they need different kinds of water. Mollies need hard water; that is water that has a lot of minerals dissolved in it, whilst the angels (and neons) need soft water. Depending on what sort of water you have, one or other group of fish isn't going to be happy; you can find out the hardness of your water on your supplier's website.

I'm afraid your tank isn't going to be large enough to house the angel, in the long term. Angels grow really quite large (around six inches in body length, and around a foot tall), so need a tank that is a minimum of three feet long and 18" in height.

All loaches are social, and need to be kept in a group. Your loach, on its own, might become too nervous to eat properly, or it might try and treat the other fish as loaches, which will stress them out, as they'll feel bullied. A 70l tank isn't going to be big enough to house a group properly.

If you could give us; the dimensions of the tank, plus the pH and hardness of your water, we can help you come up with a decent stocking plan

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Your tank is already overstocked.

I know it doesn't seem like it yet because the Yoyo loach and the Angelfish haven't grown out yet. But once they reach maturity you'll see. That angelfish will be as tall as the aquarium, and the loach is going to reach half a foot long. Your tank is the bare minimum size for one of them. Not for both.

I'm sorry to say it. I know you came here looking for suggestions on things to add to your tank. But I can't advise you to add anything to that tank. In fact, I would advise you to remove things from the tank, or get a bigger tank.

 

[Colin_T]

Hi and welcome to the forum

Keep the feeding down to only a small bit every couple of days and do a 75% water change about 4 hours after you feed the fish. Continue this feeding water changing regime until the filter has established in about a months time

Most people that use cucumber. zucchini, pumpkin, etc use it to feed suckermouth catfish. the fishes you have won't readily take it

 

[NathGalapa]

Ok great thank you for your reply, I believe the size of my tank and the fish I have is alright according to the shop I bought them from? I don’t know if you guys do the same where you buy them from but there’s a point score thing depending on the litre of your tank, It still says I have around 4 points left so I can add more fish! All my PH levels are perfectly fine and I am adding live plants when I can.


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[NathGalapa]

Would you advise on getting rid of the mollys? And getting something else?


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[Colin_T]

Whilst your fish to tank ratio is probably acceptable now, I think most of the replies are concerned about the adult size of the fish. Angelfish can get to a good size (about 4 inches long) and the Botia lohachata will reach 4inches. The balloon mollies won't get much bigger than they are neither will the neons.

If you plan on getting a bigger tank down the road then the angelfish and loach can be moved into that when you get it. However, if you weren't planning on getting a bigger tank then you can either return the angelfish now, or wait till it is bigger and then take it to a petshop and trade it for something smaller.

The real big issue will be the water chemistry for the mollies, and water quality during the next month. The loach is a scaleless fish and don't tolerate ammonia, so if you get an ammonia reading it could cause problems to the fish. The mollies will struggle if the general hardness (GH) is less than 200ppm.

Can you take a glass full of tank water to the petshop and have them test the general hardness and pH? Write the results down (it should be numbers like GH 120ppm, and pH 6.8) and post them on here.

 

[NathGalapa]

Ok great thank you for your reply again, I have spoken to another fish store called MaidenHead Aquatics and they have advised me that my water levels are perfect, Also I should just keep an eye on my AngelFish as he grows over the coming months if he begins to become a bit boisterous then maybe suggest rehoming him?

Yes I am expecting to get another tank eventually, soon I hope!

I guess il just have to keep an eye on them and see if they become fin nippy or anything like that.

I am new to all this so really all info is so helpful to me!

Thanks [emoji5]


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[IHaveADogToo]

the size of my tank and the fish I have is alright according to the shop I bought them from

I hate to be so blunt here, but the pet shop you bought these fish from gave you bad advice. It sounds to me like these "points" the pet store used to help you stock your tank were based off of the current size of your fish, not their full-grown-adult size. Ignoring the size these fish grow to, and only counting their current size is the only way they could have possibly come to any kind of number that says this stocking is okay. And that in itself is a bad practice because fish grow, and in just a few months they will outgrow your tank and you'll be looking for a bigger tank or to unload some fish.

As some others have said, mollies and angelfish don't like the same water parameters. Yet the pet shop sold them to you knowing full well you were going to put them in the same tank, and didn't even bat an eye. You should always do your own research and never trust the pet shop to know what they're talking about. I'm not saying don't buy fish from them anymore, but I am saying you should always research fish for yourself, and never rely on the pet shop to have the information you need. They're just happy to get a sale. They don't care about the wellbeing of the fish.

 

[NathGalapa]

I hate to be so blunt here, but the pet shop you bought these fish from gave you bad advice. It sounds to me like these "points" the pet store used to help you stock your tank were based off of the current size of your fish, not their full-grown-adult size. Ignoring the size these fish grow to, and only counting their current size is the only way they could have possibly come to any kind of number that says this stocking is okay. And that in itself is a bad practice because fish grow, and in just a few months they will outgrow your tank and you'll be looking for a bigger tank or to unload some fish.

As some others have said, mollies and angelfish don't like the same water parameters. Yet the pet shop sold them to you knowing full well you were going to put them in the same tank, and didn't even bat an eye. You should always do your own research and never trust the pet shop to know what they're talking about. I'm not saying don't buy fish from them anymore, but I am saying you should always research fish for yourself, and never rely on the pet shop to have the information you need. They're just happy to get a sale. They don't care about the wellbeing of the fish.

Mmm I don’t quite think they are just happy to get a sale to be perfectly honest with you.. They are quite passionate about them I thought! [emoji23] They did say about the fish growing but apparently it shall be perfectly fine based on there points and my 70L tank! It makes me want to start again and get info myself from these forums but then again it’s there job to tell me what they advise, so what do I go by?

What is a nice perfect few different fish to pick? Baring in mind I literally love the Angelfish!

Other forums say just keep an eye on the angel with the mollies that’s the main question I want to answer here.. Will my Balloon Mollies be ok with my Angelfish?

Thanks.


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[Colin_T]

Will my Balloon Mollies be ok with my Angelfish?

These two species of fish will get along and not attack each other. However, if the general hardness (GH) of the water is too low, the mollies will suffer. If you can get the GH up to 200ppm then the mollies should be ok and the angelfish should be ok. But if the GH is less than 200ppm, the mollies could die.

 

[NathGalapa]

These two species of fish will get along and not attack each other. However, if the general hardness (GH) of the water is too low, the mollies will suffer. If you can get the GH up to 200ppm then the mollies should be ok and the angelfish should be ok. But if the GH is less than 200ppm, the mollies could die.

Oh great I am happy to hear this!

How can I improve the PPM and what does that stand for sorry? As I said I am new and very intrigued into all this!

Thanks



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[Colin_T]

ppm is parts per million. It is what most test kits read in. Other kits read in milligrams per litre (mg/l) and others read in degrees hardness (dgh).

Before increasing the general hardness (GH) you need to find out what it is now. If you take a glass full of tank water to the local petshop they should be able to test the water for you and tell you what the GH is. The GH will be a number followed by either ppm, mg/l, or dgh. PPM and mg/l will have the same number, but dgh is different.

If the petshop doesn't test water you can buy test kits and use them at home. If you do buy test kits get an ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH (that uses Bromothymol Blue as the indicator solution) & GH test kits. And get liquid test kits rather than paper test kits. Check the expiry date on any test kits and keep them cool and dry.

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To raise the GH of water you need to increase the minerals dissolved in the water. The easiest way to do this is by adding a Rift Lake Water Conditioner (white powder sold at petshops) at about 1/4 to 1/3 dose rate. But you need to know what the GH is first and then add enough Rift Lake Conditioner to raise the GH a bit without raising it too much.

Your water might already be hard enough (have enough minerals in it) so you won't need to add anything to increase the hardness. If the GH is 200ppm or more then you won't need to add any Rift Lake Conditioner.

 

[NathGalapa]

I just googled it before your reply and understand it, I have some test strips at home I may give one a go later.

Would you advise me not to add anything else to my tank then Colin?

Thanks for your help, Sorry for the 21 Qs


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[Byron]

You asked for help, but are refusing to listen to the members who do know and have tried to help. So I will cut to the issue bluntly.

You must return the loach and the angelfish. They will not be healthy in this tank because it is too small and the loach must have a group of at least five and there is no room for that.

As for the molly, balloon mollies are genetically modified and will have health problems solely because of that. You should never buy balloon fish, it is a cruel practice to the fish and purchasing them only continues the practice. Aside from that, mollies need hard-ish water or they will not last anyway.

You cannot use numbers to determine how many fish in a tank. Each species of fish has evolved over thousands of years to require specific environmental conditions, and without these they will not be healthy. Numbers f thee species are part of this; shoaling fish refers to a species that lives in groups, often hundreds, and without others of its own species it will be highly stressed and weakened. Loaches are shoaling fish, as are tetras. Mollies are not.

Please take the advice we are giving you, your fish are not going to be healthy. There is a lot one must know to have healthy and happy fish, and members here want to give you help to achieve that.