Tank Trouble

[boberga]

So last night when I went to feed my fish 3 juvenile angelfish(0.5 inch) 3 guppies 2 molly and 1 platy I noticed my dalmatian molly not swimming properly, from what I read I believe it was whirling disease. When I woke up today I noticed my silver molly died and my salvation molly was on the ground laying on its side not moving but still breathing and this is before I got my test kit so today I returned the 2 mollys because I still had the 14 day guarantee but I can't give back the others cause I don't have the guarantee for them and when I returned them I got the master test kit api and these where the results
PH 7.6
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrate 40 ppm
Nitrite 2.0 ppm

What do I do so I do a 20% water change right now?
I've had this tank for 3 weeks now and can't give away any of the fish.
All the fish where totally fin swimming happily together doing fine

 

[Ch4rlie]

First question I have to ask, is this tank cycled?
I ask this due to the fact you have said you have 2.0ppm nitrite, this is usually either down to the tank not being cycled or you have a spike.
 
So, if your readings are accurate then I would suggest at least a 75% water change, this would bring nitrite down to 0.5ppm at worst.
 
 
What is the tank size btw?
 
Has the tank got a filter?
 
Do you add tap safe / dechlorinator to the water before adding to tank?
 
Are there any other symptoms the fish are showing?
i.e gasping, swimming erratically, at surface of water, red gills etc etc
 
The more information you can provide, the better.

 

[boberga]

20 gallon tank
Tetra pf 20 filter
100 wat heater
Tetra 20 air pump
I use top fin water conditioner and wait half an hour to an hour before putting the water in the tank.
Other fish don't have any symptoms.
I'm not sure if the tank is cycled or not (probably not) my dad bought and set it up exactly 3 weeks ago with 3 juvenile angelfish about the size of a nickel.

 

[Byron]

This is most likely a cycling issue.  There is an article about cycling, please have a read so you will understand what is happening.
 
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first/
 
There are some other pinned articles related, all this is in the "Cycle Your Tank" section of the forum.  I believe they tell you what to do now, like the water changes daily.
 
Byron.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Actually, they tell you that the last thing one wants to do during a cycle is change the water. The reason is it slows the cycle. On the other hand, failing to change the water when it is needed is even worse. For this reason people tend to err on the side of over changing water.
 
There is not one can do to blunt ammonia. But in the world of ammonia not all things are equal. 1 ppm in one tank may be toxic while in another it is not. And with nitrite there are other ways to deal with it than water changes. Cycling with love fish involves a bit of science and avoiding a lot of the urban myths.
 
That said, you should do 3 things here to understand it all. First read the article on fishless cycling here http/http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/421488-cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first Even though you are cycling with fish, it will give you an explanation of the cycling process.
 
Then read the two articles on rescuing a fishless cycle. It is Part II that will be most helpful in your situation. Pay attention to the sections on ammonia and especially nitrite. The article with tell you how to use plain old salt to help with that. If after all the reading you have questions, ask them before you act.
Read this one first http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433769-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-i/
Then read this one http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/433778-rescuing-a-fish-in-cycle-gone-wild-part-il/
Then come back with your questions.
 
I will leave it to others to help you with understanding why mixing mollies, platys and angels can be a problem in terms of water parameters.

 

[Byron]

The critical issue at this stage is the cycling obviously, and saving the remaining fish if that is possible.  But TTA does make a pertinent point about compatibility of fish, and to ensure I don't lose this thread I will just comment briefly.
 
Main issue is the tank size; angels need space, and three is not a good number.  Five is minimum, sometimes four can work; otherwise a mated/bonded pair.  Two, three and sometimes even four angelfish together is a recipe for trouble as this is insufficient for them to establish their natural hierarchy and the result is usually stressed and then dead fish from the dominant male.  Without knowing the tank size we can't offer much more.
 
Livebearers are moderately hard to hard water fish, while angelfish are the opposite, being soft water.  However, in a tank of sufficient space, with moderately hard water, this can perhaps work.  However, mollies in particular are very demanding in their need for minerals in the water, and GH is particularly critical to their health long-term.  You should ascertain the GH (general hardness) and KH (carbonate hardness or Alkalinity) of your source water (presumably tap) from the municipal water authority who may have this on their website.  They may have the pH as well.  I realize you give pH as 7.6 which I assume is the tank water.  While the pH is connected to the GH and KH, we cannot assume the GH/KH from a basic pH so it is advisable to get the numbers so you know.  We can discuss this further later.
 
Byron.

 

[Vethian]

Hello,
 
I just finished my fist tank cycle not too long ago and added fish before knowing not too.  What do you have in that tank? Any live plants?  You may need to add some filtration with biomedia.  with the airpump, you can make something cheap and easy. Like this:
 
[youtube]https/www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXDzgM9x3tc[/youtube]