Yes, but it doesn't necessarily mean they know what they are doing to properly keep fish.
Mollies are relatively inexpensive and breed prolifically....mass die-offs with these fish don't cost the shops much $...
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New tank advice
- Thread starter Rick147
- Start date
Mollies are relatively inexpensive and breed prolifically....mass die-offs with these fish don't cost the shops much $...
D
Deleted member 149562
Guest
Not only that but the shops can afford to alter their water chemistry....which you could do after the aquarium is fully cycled in a couple months time....however...it takes alot of extra work and extremely careful use of additives that if not absolutely spot on will kill the fish literally overnight
The whole idea of owning and keeping fish is to keep things simple, keep things safe for the fish and you.....if you chemically alter the water chemistry, it has to be repeated exactly each and every time you change the water, and that is not as easy as it might sound.
D
Deleted member 149562
Guest
Good. I am pleased you were able to take them back without too much grief from the shop.
Did they actually ask why you took them back such as the aquarium is uncycled and too small for them?
I told them everyone advice on here, also that I will most likely bring the rest back (when I can come to terms with it lol)
Why fish can I keep suitably? I was to get this tank right and then upgrade to something much bigger, I’d forgotten how nice it is to watch fish and also learning another hobby
D
Deleted member 149562
Guest
Try not to be disillusioned, it is not your fault that you were given poor advice at the shop and now face having to return all of the fish. Stop beating yourself up, you got lousy service from the shop and you are not the first or last to experience that.
The sooner the fish are returned, the sooner you can crack on with the cycle process....and then go to the Seriously Fish website as linked above and decide on the fish you would like to have and check that they will thrive in your water chemistry and aquarium size. You will have a few disappointments along the way, that is inevitable cos not every fish will thrive in soft water and your size aquarium, but that site will guide you with excellent advice that you can trust. And everyone here is more than happy to help too.
Before you know it, your aquarium will be cycled in a month or so and you can finally sit and watch the hooligans playing
You'll get there.....fishkeeping is full of bumps in the road and curveballs to negotiate...but you WILL get there once the aquarium is sorted out and you have started from scratch
The sooner the fish are returned, the sooner you can crack on with the cycle process....and then go to the Seriously Fish website as linked above and decide on the fish you would like to have and check that they will thrive in your water chemistry and aquarium size. You will have a few disappointments along the way, that is inevitable cos not every fish will thrive in soft water and your size aquarium, but that site will guide you with excellent advice that you can trust. And everyone here is more than happy to help too.
Before you know it, your aquarium will be cycled in a month or so and you can finally sit and watch the hooligans playing
You'll get there.....fishkeeping is full of bumps in the road and curveballs to negotiate...but you WILL get there once the aquarium is sorted out and you have started from scratch
ClownLurch
Fish Gatherer
Very soft water.
As mentioned upthread the pet stores are after your money. If your fish die you may well go back and buy more from them in a few weeks time then when they die more again a month later etc.
Buy fish suited to your PH and hardness and you may well be buying a new fish or two every couple of years.
I know it’s hard to take.
I was out of fishkeeping for 20yrs and was strangely lucky to get back into it during the first months of C19 lockdowns which meant I couldn’t get my hands on any fish so was able to do a lot of research before buying. Maaaan was I asking some questions that are asked a few times a week if not a day on here. The long term regulars like @Essjay @Byron @Colin_T @Wills etc are very knowledgeable and have the patience of Saints guiding posters through the same problems and mistakes time after time after time. We are lucky to have them.
Ask the store if they’ll take em back and give you a smaller credit note for more suitable fish once you’re ready. I’d do a silent cycle myself and stuff your tank with the silent cycle seven plants to speed things up.
Best of luck.
ClownLurch
Fish Gatherer
Get yourself on seriouslyfish.com and start inputting fish you like the look of. Water PH, hardness, temperature, tank size, etc are what you’re initially trying to match up then ask around on here for minimum numbers, aggression issues, inter breed compatibility issues etc.
Best of luck.
Looks like you are getting some great advice here so just wanted to chip in here on this point.
You are right, any fish you see locally in your fish store will more than likely be going into your local tap water so there are two ways of looking at it.
Firstly, if those fish come home with you after you get your tank stable and into your regular routines of water changes, feeding good food, healthy plants, filter maintenance etc they will be in a better place than probably 80% of the other tanks they could have ended up in - eg people who dont research, people who get bored and leave their tanks, tanks where the combination of fish dont work etc. So really what it comes down to is our advice here is not going to change the aquatics industry its just a fact so if you live in an area where most people have the same tap water as you and you see something in particular you want so long as you make the commitment to keep them to the best of your ability I'm ok with that because that is the best chance of a good quality of life those fish are going to get and getting the fish you want will keep you interested and interested fish keepers take better care of their tanks than those that get bored.
But then secondly, if you accept the parameters you have in this case soft water. And you pick fish that thrive in soft water (and boy do you have some great choices!) you will be rewarded with healthier, longer living fish, less prone to stress and disease and the fish you take home really will have a great home and life with you. And by buying softwater fish in your local area rather than hardwater fish - if enough people did it the stores would start to stock more softwater fish because they sell more but like I say our advice here is not going to change the aquatics industry so you will keep seeing hard water fish locally (just as I see soft water fish in my hard water area).
Wills
Discovering killifish is like discovering cheese (another of the finer things in life). There is a lot of variety under the one word, and not all cheese or killifish are even close to the same. I keep plant spawners - Aphyosemion, Epiplatys etc. Others go in for short lived annuals. There are big ones, small ones forest ones, savannah ones. They're in the streams around my cold Canadian region, in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America, the Middle East - and in an Australian pet store.
All this is to say you'll have to tell me which killies have caught your eye, and I'll be happy to offer specific info on what you'd do to end up having as much enjoyment from them as I have.
All this is to say you'll have to tell me which killies have caught your eye, and I'll be happy to offer specific info on what you'd do to end up having as much enjoyment from them as I have.
D
Deleted member 149562
Guest
The ammonia has got to be zero and stay zero (along with nitrites)
Those fish are not suited to your water chemistry and they will die whilst you cycle the aquarium properly, I'm sorry but that is the way it is. You're going to have to bite the bullet and return the Mollies and Angels til you have a fully cycled aquarium and then match your fish to the water chemistry that you have.
@GaryE and everyone else will telly you the same thing matey. The longer you delay returning the fish, the more chance they will get sick from bad water chemistry (especially ammonia and nitrites) and they will die. And the longer you delay, the longer you are going to have to wait for the aquarium to be ready for new fish that are suited to the water chemistry.
Those fish are not suited to your water chemistry and they will die whilst you cycle the aquarium properly, I'm sorry but that is the way it is. You're going to have to bite the bullet and return the Mollies and Angels til you have a fully cycled aquarium and then match your fish to the water chemistry that you have.
@GaryE and everyone else will telly you the same thing matey. The longer you delay returning the fish, the more chance they will get sick from bad water chemistry (especially ammonia and nitrites) and they will die. And the longer you delay, the longer you are going to have to wait for the aquarium to be ready for new fish that are suited to the water chemistry.
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The water the fish require is too different, yes that may seem happy and active now, and they may even seem that way in a while. But ultimately they won’t last very long under the conditions
The mollies need to go back as they won't live long in soft water. The shops in your area sell them because people want them. Some buyers may know that they need hard water and add minerals to their tap water to make it hard, and they keep them with other hard water fish. The shops may or may not keep them in hardened water but they don't really care. The fish will be in the tank for a short time - if fish don't sell, shops don't make money so they expect a high turnover of fish. Once the fish have left the shop, they don't care as they've got the money. And the chances are that when they die, the person who bought them will go back and buy more. Even more money.
If they survive cycling, you have another problem with angels. You have several so there is a good chance of there being at least one male and at least one female. If two pair up and start to breed, they'll take over 95% of the tank and keep all the other fish herded in the last 5%. They may be called angels but they are cichlids and cichlids are very territorial fish and behave very un-angel like in defending their territory.
There are many more fish suited to your tank and water than the ones you were sold.
If they survive cycling, you have another problem with angels. You have several so there is a good chance of there being at least one male and at least one female. If two pair up and start to breed, they'll take over 95% of the tank and keep all the other fish herded in the last 5%. They may be called angels but they are cichlids and cichlids are very territorial fish and behave very un-angel like in defending their territory.
There are many more fish suited to your tank and water than the ones you were sold.
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