sdial

Hi! Please help, thanks!

I am brand new to having a tank and am seeing a few problems that make me nervous. I want to get on top of it (or be calmed down about it) before it gets on too far.

I set up the new tank on the 26th and let it run for 5 days before adding fish (yesterday, June 1.). The water conditions were perfect according to the 6 test strip and ammonia strip I used, except for me not learning yet that I should have added some food to start the nitrogen cycle. :-( Yesterday, I had 3 neon tetras, 1 black tail tetra, 4 glo-fish, two black mollies, two snails, two tiny sucker fish and I now have a deceased dalmation molly. (I took back the dalm molly today and replaced it with 2 more black tail tetras because I just bought one and realized he was lonely because he is a schooling fish.)

The fish were placed into the tank yesterday after having floated the bags for at least 15 minutes...releasing a few at a time. They were all very happy. Eating well, good energy, nothing frantic, fins out...except the dalm molly and single black tail tetra.

The dalm molly never did eat and was very sluggish after a few hours. He buried himself under a fake coral and I found him dead this morning. What is freaking me out is that the two black mollies that were great eaters and very active have spent most of today at the bottom of the tank. Are they resting after a big day of transition yesterday?

Also, the other fish are all staying at the top of the tank today. Out of fear, I rechecked the water...(3 times, lol) and all that had changed was that the ammonia was up .25 from 0...so between ideal and stressed.

I was just about to be so happy that the one original black tail tetra just appeared and seems to have figured out he can be in his school again, but he is tilting and "shivering" and maybe gulping?

I DID SEARCH FOR THE MOLLY STUFF FOR A FEW HOURS BEFORE FINDING THIS FORUM. I'm sorry if the info is right here, but now I don't have anymore time to search!

Thanks!!!!

Lucy

Hi sdial Welcome to Fish Lore

I'm really sorry about your fish.

Fish sometimes go through a period of adjustment and have to get used to their new home.
However, it sounds like yours are feeling the effects of a cycling tank.
It would be a good idea to start doing 50% daily water changes using Prime as your water conditioner. Prime will detox the ammonia for 24hrs between water changes making it safer for your fish.
Increasing aeration might help.
Your tank is cycled when readings are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite and 5-10 nitrate.
I would also suggest getting a good liquid test kit such as the API master kit. The strips are inaccurate and cost more to use in the long run.

Good luck.

sdial

Thank you, Lucy. I know I made a couple of common mistakes and I am bummed...I asked a lot of questions, but the "just wait 24 hours to add your fish" rule I was told doesn't appear to be very accurate.... :-P

Do you have any thoughts on the "tremors" or "shakes"? I really want these fish to be healthy and make sure I do all I can to keep them so.

Also, I have a seachem circle hanging on the wall that still says my ammonia is safe. Should I still to a 50% change?

Thanks for your patience!

sdial

Oh, I did throw several algae things in for the suckers and the snails...isn't that supposed to help the cycle as well?

Shawnie

welcome to fishlore!!! dont feel bad as we all started out this way its an everyday learning experience .....the tremors or shakes could be from them having a different pH than the tank they came from....until you have a reliable test kit, its always best to do water changes with some dechlorinator(prime) until you know whats going on...

sdial

Will do!

Lucy

My first experience with tropicals was with 5 guppies for my daughter, the store told us to run the tank for 3 days then add fish. Yeah right. Poor things never stood a chance.

What's going to cycle the tank is the ammonia created by fish waste and left over food.
Bacteria will begin to develop that will convert the ammonia to nitrites. Another bacteria will develop that processes nitrite into nitrate.

However, when you're cycling with fish it's double edged sword. The ammonia and nitrite are toxic to your fish. So although you need the ammonia to cycle, you also have to keep it low for the health of your fish.

Since the strips are showing ammonia, I'd do a water change. Some of your fish are at the top and some at the bottom, which can be a symptoms of ammonia poisoning or lack of oxygen.

sdial

I will definitely do the water changes.

Good news for the moment is that are all swimming normally again...INCLUDING the black mollies! Yea!

Another quick question...I had goldfish food from the poor little fish that started this bug for me... (A mom of a 3rd grader in my daughter's class threw goldfish into her swimming pool and made whatever fish the kids could catch their goody bag for the party. I felt so bad for these fish I bought a small tank for them and of course they only lasted a couple of days...)

I didn't realize I was feeding the new fish the goldfish food until this morning (less than 24 hours). What I realize though, is that they like it MUCH better than the tropical fish flakes I purchased this morning.

I looked at the back and there is a decent difference between the two. Not huge, but is it enough that I should totally avoid using it with them?

Lucy

I'm glad your fish are perking up.

Ok, seriously, what was that mom thinking? I suppose she didn't add dechlorinator to the pool.

I'd go with the tropical flakes since goldies nutrition requirements are different from some tropicals.

sdial

Hahaha...I'm not sure what she was thinking! Now I need to blame her for costing me all this money to start up a new hobby! LOL

I am having my tonsils out Thursday (have 4 kids) and all I want to do is stare at the fish...My poor family. I haven't even started preparing for thier survival while I am down for the count!

I a thrilled that they are perking up. I have spent all day trying to figure them out. I am sure I will calm down in a couple of weeks...I hope.

Lucy

Best of luck with your surgery.
I'm sure your family will take good care of you and appreciate you much more once you're up and around again. lol

Good luck with your tank

sdial

Thanks! Am sure I will be on here frequently. THanks for all your help!

sdial

OK...did the 50% change and now they are mad at me again...I think all the debris disrupted from the bottom has made issue with their oxygen...There are lots of bubbles coming from the filtration system, so I am hoping once everything settles they will come back down from the top and just relax again. I thought I was filling it slowly, but I may have to do it with a cup instead of my fish bucket next time to see if there is less disruption.

Mollies are back on the bottom...I wonder if that is how they cope...by shutting down for awhile.

Shawnie

was the temp the same from the tap as the tank water? and what did you use for a conditioner? with water changes, you need to vac up the poo/food waste also..

catfishlover123

Welcome to fishlore!
So sorry about your loss. It's always hard to lose a fish.

JESS01

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It's supposed to be a fish. Welcome, anyway. Your molly problems are probably from an uncycled tank, like Lucy said.