Hi guys i have a question, i lost a molly fish in my aquairum and afterwards i tested for my ammonia levels, it seems to be .25 ammonia a very light green ammonia im using api freshwater master test kit. Do i still need to water change or no?
Aquarium Question
- Thread starter Rollxr
- Start date
Ellie Potts
Fishaholic
Yes! In my opinion, always do a water change after losing a fish. Any idea what caused the loss?
How much percentage water change?
At least 60% water change
Then check ammonia for the next several days and whenever ammonia is above 0, do another large water change.
Then check ammonia for the next several days and whenever ammonia is above 0, do another large water change.
This is basic first aid for fish but you should also do it if you lose a fish.
Clean the glass and filter. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean every day for a week. This cleaning removes most of the harmful pathogens and poor water quality and gives the remaining fish the best chance of recovering.
If there's a disease involved, the cleaning and water changes can buy you some time to try and identify the problem and treat it.
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Basic First Aid For Fish
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.
Clean the glass and filter. Then do a 75% water change and gravel clean every day for a week. This cleaning removes most of the harmful pathogens and poor water quality and gives the remaining fish the best chance of recovering.
If there's a disease involved, the cleaning and water changes can buy you some time to try and identify the problem and treat it.
--------------------
Basic First Aid For Fish
Test the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge. This removes the biofilm on the glass and the biofilm will contain lots of harmful bacteria, fungus, protozoans and various other microscopic life forms.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use the media. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens so any medication (if needed) will work more effectively on the fish.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration to maximise the dissolved oxygen in the water.
Hello. Mollies are a challenge. They're really brackish water fish. Many keep them in fresh water, but due to their physical make up, they'll be healthier with a little salt added to their tank water. They also need near perfect water conditions, which alone presents a problem, since most water keepers feel it's okay to miss a water change once in a while. You can't if you keep Mollies. Also, larger tanks, at least 30 gallons are best, because there's enough water to forgive a small mistake in tank management. A larger tank is always better and large, frequent water changes are a must. They have special diet requirements too, but that's for another time. Platys are a much better choice if you want to keep live bearing fish.
10 Tanks (Now 11)
Others disagree with this statement. There is a distinction between sodium salts and other (calcium, magnesium) minerals.
For example, this extract written by Charles of Goliad Farms:
"Why is there controversy concerning mollies and salt? It’s largely because mollies can tolerate marine conditions. In fact, it’s this tolerance that has allowed P. latipinna to range from the Carolinas, around the tip of Florida, and all the way around the Gulf of Mexico to the Yucatan peninsula. I say “tolerate,” because this species is rarely found in marine or even brackish conditions. It’s natural range includes coastal streams to which they got by moving through bays, probably when the bays were relatively fresh due to high rainfall and flooding. It’s their tolerance of salt that led to the myth they require salt to be healthy. That is not true, they don’t. That said, they do prefer hard, alkaline water. Use of cichlid salts to increase the hardness and pH is appropriate. A pH of 8.2 is ideal."
Hello. Absolutely, there is debate on whether Mollies are brackish water fish or not. Just like there is a debate on their diet, the best water conditions, how much space they need and so you need to raise them yourself. I wouldn't keep these until you get some experience with live bearing fish. There are several other live bearing species that are much easier to keep. For example Guppies, Platys, Swordtails, Killies and Endlers.
10 Tanks (Now 11)
10 Tanks (Now 11)
Lanpenn
Fish Fanatic
Is your tank cycled?
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