Tank Stocking Aggression Issues & Fish ID help?

[Ambience93]

Hi All,

Tried my hand at salt water fish a few years back and let's just say I'm better off here LOL! Any how, I've had my 29g Biocube running for about 2 months now (recycled from the saltwater experience) About a month ago I stopped at Petsmart and bought some cheap fish in case any died in the Nitrogen cycle. I got a red minor tetra, 2 mollies (one dalmatian one black) and a see-through fish that I don't know what it is but thought at the time it was something easy like that. You can already see my ignorance here. Anyways, after an over-feeding scare with an automatic feeder since the tank is at my office and the fish are left alone on the weekends, I waited a few weeks taking time to bring the ammonia levels back down before adding any more fish. Last Thursday I tested my water, got 0ppm of Ammonia and Nitrite, and about 10ppm of Nitrate so figured I was safe to add fish. Came back with from Petsmart with 2 mollies- another dal and a creamsicle, and 2 albino cories. All was fine Thurs & Friday, but Monday I came in to one dead molly that was obviously bullied to death, assuming the missing fins were from before it died and the poor thing wasn't eaten after death. Took it out right away and water parameters are unchanged. However, it seems like this transparent mystery fish is now bullying one of the original mollies, so I've separated the victim in a breeding tank. I've been doing research and although I can't figure out what kind of fish I bought, it sounds like maybe he wants some of his own kind in the tank and he'll stop being a jerk? My other thought, and I can't be sure, is that his insides are a little redder than normal, and maybe that means something? Any advice is appreciated- I will be going to a real fish store for the next stocking trip!

I couldn't figure out how to upload the photos, so you can see them at my google photos below

Mystery fish- https://photos.app.goo.gl/xiwQZXUMCcUuVB9N2
Current quarantine- https://photos.app.goo.gl/yTfpDmeinifhgWed2

 

[Colin_T]

The white fish is an albino or white widow/ skirt tetra, and it's a long finned variety. The original colour form of that fish is a black widow tetra or black skirt tetra (same fish different name). They need to be kept in groups and are renowned fin nippers. Take it back to the shop.

Don't use an automatic feeder over the weekend. Fish get their body temperature from the surrounding water. this means any food they eat goes into movement and growth. They don't need to eat to keep warm. Because of this they can survive for days, weeks and even months without food so a 2 day fast over the weekend will not affect them.

Can you post a pic of the red minor tetra?

I can't figure out pics either so I do the same as you, post a link to them on here

 

[seangee]

Mollies like hard water and cannot survive in soft water. Tetras and Corys prefer it soft (but will be ok if its slighlty hard.

Definitely +1 for don't worry about feeding on weekends.

 

[Byron]

Return the tetras, both of them. Tetras need a group, but the two species mentioned (White/Black Skirt and Red Minor also known as Serpae) are especially aggressive and known fin nippers. As for the molly, these need space, as they attain 4-5 and even 6 inches. They are especially sensitive to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. And they need relatively hard water.

Also agree do not use a feeder, these are frequently disasters if they should malfunction. Fish can survive well over a week with no food, if healthy; so a weekend is not an issue.

 

[Essjay]

Any advice is appreciated- I will be going to a real fish store for the next stocking trip!

Even a 'real fish shop' is quite likely to give rubbish advice. My advice is to listen to what they say, then research it for yourself before buying. The best site for researching fish is http://www.seriouslyfish.com/knowledge-base/
Find out how hard your water is before buying any fish, and check with Seriously Fish that the fish is suitable for your hardness. Your water supplier's website should give your tap water hardness - you need the number and the unit as they could use any one of half a dozen units and you may need to convert it into the two used in fishkeeping.

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Another +1 for don't worry about feeding on weekends. I keep a small tank at my office and nobody feeds it on weekends, and my healthiest looking betta lives in that tank.

Also +1 that you should return the tetras. They're not very community friendly and really do need to be in groups of their own kind.

I've made the mistake, too, of just buying a fish that looked like it would be okay without researching it first. It wasn't okay after all. There's no shame in returning a fish to the store. Sometimes things just don't work out the way we thought they would.

 

[Ambience93]

Thanks everyone! This is the photo of the red one I believe is a Serpae https://photos.app.goo.gl/TgW2TbCIqfLiMvdp2
He seems totally cool, but one of the dalmatian mollies is now bullying the poor black one
It's my understanding that I can have about 29 inches of fish for my 29g tank... Should I stay away from more Mollies? I thought I should get a school of 5-6?

Question- is Petsmart going to kill the ones I return, or let them back with the others?

I believe I have hard water, because I was concerned about the PH and they said it's okay that it's high because of my water hardness.

Thanks for the advice about the feeder, I feel a lot less guilty about it now! And, thanks all for the constructive criticism, it's nice being on a FRIENDLY forum! I'll do some more research around here and see what my best friendly fish choices are!

 

[IHaveADogToo]

Question- is Petsmart going to kill the ones I return, or let them back with the others?

No, they are going to treat those fish like a SKU number and put them back in display tanks to be resold. The only exception is if you say they're sick. Then they might quarantine them for a few weeks before putting them back on display to be resold. They don't euthanize fish just for being returned.

Also, the 1 inch per gallon rule is flawed. Try punching in your desired stock on aquadvisor and see what it says. That's much more reliable than a silly flawed rule. http://www.aqadvisor.com/

 

[Byron]

It's my understanding that I can have about 29 inches of fish for my 29g tank... Should I stay away from more Mollies? I thought I should get a school of 5-6?

I believe I have hard water, because I was concerned about the PH and they said it's okay that it's high because of my water hardness.

First, I would confirm your water hardness rather than rely on a guess from the store. A basic pH (meaning, above 7.0) is not necessarily indicative of harder water. Check the website of your water authority, you want to know the GH which is general or total hardness. Or call them and ask. Give us the number and the unit of measurement they use so we can be certain.

As for the mollies, what are the tank dimensions? A 29g cube sounds like it might not have much length, and for mollies this is important as they should grow to 4-5 inches. Whatever the dimensions, a 29g is not really adequate for six mollies. And remember, if you have male and female, you will have fry more than you can handle before long. And females acquired fro a store may already be impregnated (unless they were kept isolated from birth, not very likely) and this can mean several regular (monthly) batches of fry for a while even without males present.

The photo is likely a Red Minor (or Serpae) tetra. Return it if you can. It needs a group of 10-12 which would fill your 29g plus maybe some substrate level fish.