My New Molly Is Acting Weird.....

[BettyM]

I am very new to this.I have had fish before but it has been about 3 yr's.So I set up my 10 gl tank yestereday morning and set out and bought some fish today.I bought 2 mollies and 2 something else{i forgot what they are} .They start with a "G".And I bought a pacogtamist{sp}sucker fish.So I have been watching them and they starated off fine.Well one of my mollies started floating side way's and straight up and down. What does this mean?TIA!!!!

Betty

 

[BettyM]

Well that molly is still acting weird and the one's I coundn't thiink of thier name's....are 1 dwarf gourami and 1 pink kissing gourami.The male dwarf and the female pink are just sitting in the bottom cornor and the male is leaning side way's.What do I do?Am I gooing to loose them?

 

[BettyM]

PLEASE HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My black molly is upside down in the bottom of the tank.He is still alive.What do I do?

 

[zelandonia]

You might want to read throught the pinned threads about cycling. Your tank is not cycled and therefore ammonia and nitrates can build up to harmful levels in your tank. Did you declorinate the water before adding it onto the aquarium? Do you have an ammonia test kit so you can see what the levels are in the tank? If they are too high you might have to do a partial water change to decrease them. Do you have a thermometer in the tank- what is your water temperature?

Hopefully this helps a bit until someone with more experience posts additional help.

Good luck, sorry about your fish.

z.

 

[BettyM]

Thank's for responding!!! My temp is 72.And I don't have a test kit and I don't know anything about water.My husband does though.I will see if he can test it for me but it want be until tomm morn.He is on night's.So what are the reading's suposse to be?I just feel sick about this.How long are yoiu suppose to "cycle"for?It is a 10 gal.TIA!

 

[Monte20]

make sure to condition the water. the metals and toxins in tap water will make the fish "drunk" and will eventually die (1 maybe 2 days)
http/www.aquahobby.com/products/e_aquasafe.php

get a water heater. they are pretty inexpensive. mollies prefer water 78-82 or so.

and if the fish went in the water before it cycled then the nitrites, nitrates, and ammonia will be very harmful to the fish. you can try Hagen Cycle Water Treatment to help drop those levels quickly.

i hope your fish stay ok. i know how it is to need help. hope this helps out.

 

[zelandonia]

The directions in the test kit will tell you what the levels should be.

Cycling is a process whereby 2 types of bacteria form within your filter. The first is a nitrosomonas species which converts ammonia to nitrite. The second is a Nitrobacter species which converts nitrite to nitrate. Ammonia is produced by fish waste, dead fish, dead plants, and excess food. Ammonia and nitrite are both harmful to your fish but nitrates are relatively harmless. Nitrates are removed from the tank by water changes. When your filter is new is acts as a mechanical filter and does not contain the bacteria. Over time, the gram negative bacteria grow within your filter transforming it onto a biological filter. The process of cycling can take several weeks. When you are cycling a tank with fish it is important to monitor the levels of these chemical so you know where you are in the cycling process and so that you can reduce the level of toxins by water changes. Some of your fish may not survive cycling. There is also a way to cycle your tank without fish using ammonia. Although it is too late to start this now, a search for "fishless cycling" may help you understand more about the process of cycling.

As an aside, I stopped keeping Mollies in my freshwater tank because they never lived very long. I did some research and seem to remember that they do better in a slighly brackish environment when they mature. Someone else on the forum may be able to give you more advice about your choice of fish species because my knowledge in that area is not extensive.

Make sure your husband declorinated the water as chlorine and chloramines will damage the delicate gill tissue and can cause the fish to die rapidly.

z.

 

[Monte20]

i have mollies, for about the past 7 months. aside from a current small fugus problem, no issues. they do like brakish water as said above. i have slowly dropped the brackish level step by step so other fish can move in. all my fish have acclimated well. even the pleco, rafael, and corys. brackish enought to keep the mollies happy, but not too much to upset the others. they ALL reproduce so all is well so far. i sure hope your fish turn out ok. pls let us know.

 

[BettyM]

Thank's for all of the help everyone!!!! I have sad news though....when I woke up this am I went to check on them and I lost 3 overnight.I lost both of my mollies and 1 gourami.I am just waiting now to see how my other 2 are going to do.I have a question should I get a couple a feeder's to put in there?

 

[dwarfgourami]

If by feeders, you mean fish (as in feeder guppies)- no. You should not be adding any more fish until the tank has stabilised, which will probably take 4-6 weeks.

What you need to do now is to do a partial water change- take out 40-50% of the water ( a syphon is handy, you can buy them cheap at the pet shop) and replace with water that you have dechlorinated (using dechlorinator from pet shop) and brought up to tank temperature either with water from hot tap or water from kettle. Do that straightaway. The next day do another smaller one, say 20-25%. Then keep doing a 20% water change every day and test every day (before you change) for ammonia and nitrites- keep to this regime until there are no readings for either.

Which gourami is still alive? If it is the dwarf, we'll keep fingers crossed for him, they are sensitive but if he can cope with this he should be alright. If it is the kissing gourami, he is going to grow too big for your tank, so you will need to rehome him eventually- or buy a bigger tank.

During this cycling period, feed very sparingly, maybe only every other day. They can catch up later, the important thing now is to keep the toxin levels as low as you can. Good luck!

 

[BettyM]

Ok,I want buy anymore fish for a while.I was gonna get like those lil minnow gold fish thing's.Thank's for all of this advice.I can a do my water changes but I can't go to a pet store as of now because we are 30 to 40 mile's away from anything including a w-m.I moved my tank to a different local and put a night light behind it and was able to get the temp up to 75.I only have my pink kissing gourami and my sucker fish left.They seem to be doing great now.The pink is swimming and acting normal.I checked the clorine and I finally got it all out.I really do apperciate all of this help you are all giving me.I feel like I will have a couple to survive.THANK'S.

 

[Monte20]

glad we were of some use. this forum rocks. full of experience and help.

 

[BettyM]

I have another problem I think.....I woke up this morning to a cloudy tank.What does that mean and how do I fix it?O,by the way I don't have a test kit yet.

 

[Monte20]

the cloud is supposed to be there. its the cycling process progressing. do small water changes daily (10% or so). after about a week the cloud will dissapear and water will be crystal clear. the cloud is the bacteria growing and feeding on all the extra ammonia and other yucky stuff.

 

[BettyM]

O, ok I had no idea....lol.Thank you so much!!! That make's me so relieved.