What is WRONG???

[Essjay]

How did you test for GH - a strip, a liquid tester or from your water provider's website? The reason I ask is because some strips only measure up to 180 ppm, so if your water is harder than that it will still measure only 180. If your water provider lists hardness on its site, that will give a more accurate level - you need a number and the unit of measurement.

 

[Byron]

I concur with CaptainBarnicles here. The GH and very high nitrate may be a factor even if not directly responsible. That is how these issues work, by slowly weakening the fish making them more susceptible to disease and other problems. [As I have been typing, Essjay has posted and that question needs answering too.]

How long have you had this molly? How long has the tank been running?

Nitrates at 80 ppm is really very high and will affect all fish going forward. You should test the tap water on its own to see if nitrate is present. Methods to deal with nitrate in the source water vary somewhat from the easier method if nitrate is occurring solely from the biological system of the aquarium.

 

[HutchesonJ]

What else do you have in the tank and how are they behaving?

Mollies are a hard water fish so your water may be too soft at 180, also if Nitrates are reading 80 you ought to do a big water change if you haven't already don't be scared to take half out and replace it with fresh dechlorinated water

Ok thank you so much I am always so scared to do water or gravel changes. When I do the water change can I change the gravel too?..
I had 3 platy males a pleco a glo Danio and a dwarf gourami and 2 female Bettas..
Then in my 10 gallon I have 2 platy females 2 African Dwarf Frogs 2 corydoras a albino pleco and a louch.. their water is about the same on all test readings should I do a water change in that one too?
And is store bought distilled water better for me to use than tap water when their sick like this?

 

[HutchesonJ]

How did you test for GH - a strip, a liquid tester or from your water provider's website? The reason I ask is because some strips only measure up to 180 ppm, so if your water is harder than that it will still measure only 180. If your water provider lists hardness on its site, that will give a more accurate level - you need a number and the unit of measurement.

I used the 5 in 1 test strips.

 

[HutchesonJ]

I have had this molly longer than most my fish in there but he came from a different pet store with 2 female Molly's and they died within the first week. Every fish I have bought from that store has died fast.
(I went 3 times never again)
I did the water change and going to be able to watch their behavior tomorrow...
Should I use aquarium salt and water conditioner?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

You should always use dechlorinater when adding new water to your tank like Tapsafe, Prime or API tap water conditioner. Make sure that the new water is roughly the same temperature as the water that's already in your tank.

I would highly recommend you investing in a liquid water testing kit as the strips are notoriously unreliable. A lot of us swear by the API Master Kit. This will give you accurate results and although it's pricey, you'll be able to get many more tests out of it in the long run.

You can also go to your water providers website and look up the water hardness for your area, this is probably the most important piece of information when it comes to deciding what fish you want to keep. Bettas need very soft water, corys prefer soft to medium and mollies and platies need hard to very hard water.

I'm not sure what you mean about changing the gravel? Do you want to replace the existing gravel? Or do you mean use a gravel vac to suck out the muck trapped in the gravel? Replacing the gravel could bring problems as the nitrifying bacteria that is essential in any aquarium (as they are what converts the ammonia into something less dangerous) live there, so if it was me I'd take just a bit out, push the gravel at the front of the tank away from the glass then cap it off with the new gravel.

Water changes are what keeps your Nitrates diluted to a minimum, so it's important to do them on a weekly basis and the more you can change out the better.

It appears I've been waffling sorry! Going forward, find out what your areas water hardness is and we can go from there

 

[HutchesonJ]

As for the water conditioner and temperature... Yes I always make that as close as I can and use conditioner..

But sadly there is no way I can afford the other tester .

And yes I was talking about replacing the gravel but that is a much better idea. I knew there is good bacteria in the gravel but I also heard that the internal Parasite (that they are getting treated for with Metrocleanse) lives in the rocks?..

My water hardness here is 130.

What is the best way for me to add water? and can I mix my tap and distilled with each other?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

It may be worth saving up a little each week/month so that you can get yourself a liquid testing kit. It doesn't have to be APIs, there are other brands available that may be less expensive, worth shopping around.

What makes you think there is an internal parasite in your tank? From the information you've given us, I would have to conclude that the reason you're losing Mollies is because your water is too soft to meet their requirements. They need the minerals in hard water to function. Same with platies and guppies.

Using distilled water is of no benefit that I can see, just do bigger and more frequent water changes making sure to gravel vac the gunk out. Do you have a gravel vacuum? Can you share how you usually do a water change?

 

[HutchesonJ]

It may be worth saving up a little each week/month so that you can get yourself a liquid testing kit. It doesn't have to be APIs, there are other brands available that may be less expensive, worth shopping around.

What makes you think there is an internal parasite in your tank? From the information you've given us, I would have to conclude that the reason you're losing Mollies is because your water is too soft to meet their requirements. They need the minerals in hard water to function. Same with platies and guppies.

Using distilled water is of no benefit that I can see, just do bigger and more frequent water changes making sure to gravel vac the gunk out. Do you have a gravel vacuum? Can you share how you usually do a water change?

Yeah I will for sure look for a cheaper one...

The lady at aquatic Exotic looked at some of my videos and she said it is a internal Parasite called planaria... and they have the white stringy poop coming from them but only the mollys and platys seem to get it?.. or at least them are the only ones I've seen poop out long white stringy poop... She had me get them the fritz para cleanse and she said put it with their food.... I am honestly lost about how to give it to them with food when I'm supposed to be not feeding them on certain days.. but I have frozen bloodworm cubes and tropical flake food and pellets.. any advice besides jus add water to dry food like google keeps telling me lol cause she won't tell me how it how much and neither do the directions...

Yes I have a gravel vacuum.. and when I do my water changes I fill buckets up with tap water put a thermometer in them to check the temperature is the same as tank then I slowly poor that water in and use the water conditioner usually 10 ml. Of the conditioner with every water change.. I also have the bowl buddy tablets (I usually use for the Betta) and aquarium salt and api aqua essential is the new bottle of water conditioner and stress reliever I have.

 

[Byron]

I know that as you are a new aquarist, all this must be rather overwhelming. Stay with us though, we will get you through it.

First general advice: do not add any additives, treatments, medications to the tank water without very good cause. Diagnosing issues like disease is not at all easy for even the experienced aquarist, and as these substances can cause stress they are worse than doing nothing. A good conditioner to deal with chlorine, and chloramine if that is in your tap water too. Most conditioners will do this, the API Tap Water Conditioner is your best one here, but the one you use now is likely OK until it runs out.

On this, what is the "stress reliever?" If this is something like Stress Coat, forget it. None of these things are necessary, and they do affect fish negatively.

Planaria are small white flat worms that live in the substrate, and may be a sign you are feeding too much. There are other internal worms. Metronidazole is not going to do anything for planaria.

Water changes need to be regular, no less than once each week, and should be substantial, at least half the tank volume. In any aquarium. Do not add salt, just the conditioner. As for mixing tap water and distilled/RO water, this may not be advantageous. We need to know the parameterrs of your tap water on its own, this means the GH (general hardness), pH and KH (Alkalinity). You might be able to get thi data from the web site of your water authority. It is important to know these parameters before getting any fish. You did mention the water hardness as 130, which I assume is in mg/l or ppm, but please confirm. There are different units to measure GH and KH, we need to know which.

Do a good clean into the substrate (gravel) with the water changer each time to change water. And keep the filter clean, rinse all the organic matter (the brown gunk) out each time.

As for food, do not overfeed. Bloodworms are not nutritious, I would use a couple of good foods. Fluval Bug Bites are ideal for all omnivorous and carnivorous fish. The herbivorous fish that eat plant matter or algae need a "green" food.

 

[HutchesonJ]

It may be worth saving up a little each week/month so that you can get yourself a liquid testing kit. It doesn't have to be APIs, there are other brands available that may be less expensive, worth shopping around.

What makes you think there is an internal parasite in your tank? From the information you've given us, I would have to conclude that the reason you're losing Mollies is because your water is too soft to meet their requirements. They need the minerals in hard water to function. Same with platies and guppies.

Using distilled water is of no benefit that I can see, just do bigger and more frequent water changes making sure to gravel vac the gunk out. Do you have a gravel vacuum? Can you share how you usually do a water change?

 

[seangee]

As for the water conditioner and temperature... Yes I always make that as close as I can and use conditioner..

But sadly there is no way I can afford the other tester .

Don't stress about it. Some will give me flack for this but I never test my water. Hardness should be relatively constant so you may be able to get this from your water supplier's website or you could take a sample of tap water to a local fish store to check. If your fish store staff are knowlegeable they could tell you if you have hard or soft water if their water comes from the same source (but please be aware that it is dangerous to assume your fish store staff are knowlegeable). And once your tank is cycled there is no need to test for ammonia or nitrates. The key to keeping a stable environment is detailed by @Byron in post #25. 50% or bigger weekly water changes really are the key to having long term healthy fish. It doesn't have to be an expensive hobby if you get the basics right.
Having said that knowing what your hardness is will help you decide which species to keep, hard water fish can't survive in soft water, and soft water fish won't live very long in hard water.