Molly Help Please!

[Froggiebaby2010]

My hubby and I decided last Christmas to start a freshwater tank for our daughter, so about a week before we bought fish we bought and set up a ten gal and let it run a week to do a fishless cycle, and then stocked it with the shanbukan(sp?) Goldfish we adopted as a two-ish week old a couple months prior, a couple red tail tetras and two black tail tetras,an angel,a pleco,a dalmation molly and an African chylid(again,sp?) That the idiot at pet smart said was a non aggressive fish...the molly lasted about a week each time we replaced it, and after noticing the angel being relentlessly chased, rehomed the chylid after which the actual "fish guy" at pet smart said it was most likely why the mollies were dieing and tried one last time with a molly. This one lasted just until the end of the exchange period, but about two weeks prior started acting funny. It would be totally fine most of the day and then lay on the bottom motionless until I got the net out a couple hours later thinking it was dead. I couldn't bear to see another molly die so we got another angel to keep the original company, and went through this whole death cycle three times with plecos( figured out there was not enough algea growth) and ended up losing a couple tetras also, which were eventually replaced with an albino pleco and another angel and didn't have any issues again up until a couple months ago when my daughter tried to feed a foil Rollo wrapper to the fish and the pleco managed to eat it. I also had something happen during a water change (I still have no clue what) and we lost every fish but the three angels( which actually ended up spawning after) and two black tails, and yes I will admit it, I actually cried over my sweet little goldfish...and now to my current problem, we upgraded from the 10 gal to a 30 and let it run a few days with the filter from the 10 to help cycle and then transferred the deco,fish and half the water from the old tank about a week ago with no issues. Two days ago hubby surprised the kids and I with 3 red tail tetras, a rainbow shark,pictus catfish,common pleco,two danios and a beautiful dalmation molly, which, I'm so sad to say, I just discovered dead already... It was just swimming and playing with the danios and angels literally an hour ago, no funny behavior and no signs of illness... Mollies are my favorite fish but I refuse to keep buying them just to watch them die, but they seem to be the only fish I can't keep alive...I do a 25% water change every 2 weeks unless its looking cloudy or fish are showing signs of stress. And the filter is changed every 1-2 months with the old kept behind the new for a couple days and the water has been a constant 76°F since day one...I'm meticulous about the tank and I can honestly say I treat the fish about like I do my children and it breaks my heart that I can't figure out why every molly dies....please help!

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Welcome to the forum, there's a lot here to talk about, but I'm glad you came for help. Nearly everything you heard at the LFS you were going to was wrong based on what you've described here.

First, let me say that I have nothing but respect for you and your family's efforts, but you are doing just about everything imaginable wrong. I don't mean to say that to hurt you, but that's the primary issue. And it started from the beginning. A10 gallon tank is extremely small compared to the size required for most of your original stocking as individual fish let alone all of the ones you have together.

Even upgrading to a 30 gallon tank, many of the fish would still be at the limit for smallest tank size. The tetras are shocking species which should be kept in large groups, generally, no less than 6, but more is always better. Angels require tall tanks, and yours may or may not be tall enough for a full grown angel. Full grown the angel will be roughly the size of a mans entire hand.



Turning my attention to the Molly problem, the answer likely exists in your water. Mollies are great fish (some of my favorites too) but have particular water needs, that is very different from the tetras and angelfish. Mollies require hard water. Your water is likely soft. Mollies are also susceptible to ammonia and nitrite problems much more than other fish. And sadly, one or even two weeks is not enough time to cycle a tank from scratch. The transfer to the larger tank with media from the old filter was a good move, but unless you are feeding the bacteria in the filter ammonia through a fish less cycle, you aren't actually accomplishing anything. The bacteria we need in the hobby need to be fed or they will not grow in their colony.

You never mentioned owning a test kit, I recommend the API Master kit. You need to know that ammonia and nitrite levels are at "0". You should also determine your gH. Your water company should be able to tell also, or you can get a test kit or ask your LFS to test it. Ask for specific numbers in either degrees or ppm.

Sorry to be so negative, but these are some reasons why you are not having better success.
Check out or beginners resource center for a wealth of information.

 

[NickAu]

Regarding LFS giving bad advice.
 
I am banned for life from the local PetBarn because I dared contradict a sales person when they were trying to sell a customer a 5 gallon tank 1 betta 1 BN 10 guppies, I told the customer in a uncycled 5 gal those fish will be dead in under a week. 
 
If it was me I would go back to the LFS and tear the sales person a new one for bad advice.