DEADFISH

OK, well i have a 10 gallon tank fairly new, about a months old...have a filter, heater, and some plants/rocks
I have an albino catfish that has lived since my last set of fish that when i went away 5 died (all but catfish) because my sister didn't feed them or something.
Now i got 2 Dalmatian mollies, and the one albino catfish.
the one Dalmatian molly gave birth to 15 babies 3 days ago now in another tank.
then this morning when i woke up the molly was lying on the bottom of the tank.
looked like it had velvet kind of...just like gold dust but not much was on him...and he was perfectly fine until this morning when he died.
he was eating properly and everything.
PLEASE HELP ME!

chickadee

If it was Velvet, it doesn't have to be all over them. It is still a parasite and since she had just spawned and given birth, she was in a state of stress which would make her more vulnerable. It could also me that the tank may not be totally cycled after having it only a month. Could you please post the readings on an Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test if you have them? It would help a lot.

If there is Velvet in your tank then you need to raise the temperature Slowly (no more than a degree every couple of hours) to 83 degrees and leave it there for at least 14 days. Also do a 30% water change to get rid of any possible Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates that there may be in case the problem is with the tank cycle process. (before you raise the temperature.)

Please let us know the water testing readings if you could.

Welcome to Fishlore.com. This is a very good place to learn about the fish you care for. It is my hope that I have helped a little and that you enjoy your time on this forum as much as I have.

Rose

DEADFISH

I don't have a thing to test for nitrates, nitrites and ammonia...should i get one? i changed about 50-75% of the water since a fish died in it and didn't want it to affect the other two fish and the water temperature is at abou 75ish so i'll make it go up.
I bought the fish and 1-2 days after she gave birth then 3 days after birth she died...so it all happened within about 5 days
did i do something wrong?

Isabella

It would be really good if you had tests for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. This way we could see whether there's anything wrong with the water, or not. Besides, are you familiar with cycling a tank?

DEADFISH

yes, I've had tropical fish for over a year now, but i stopped and got rid of that tank (when i went away my sister didn't feed them) and lost all my fish so i went and got a new tank about the new fishabout a month ago (went away and this time my mom killed my fish) so I've stuck with just a couple mollies both female then one had fry (15) and died 3 days later.
so I'm kind of confused...
thanks for the help so far

Isabella

If you've had your current tank for about a month, there is a possibility that your tank was still cycling and that the fish died of ammonia or nitrite poisoning. How long after you bought your tank did you add fish to it? And how many fish did you add at once?

DEADFISH

well i had about 5 then i went away they died EXCEPT: one albino catfish so i did about a 90% water change then left it for about a day or two and did a 50% water change and then the next day i bought 2 dalmation mollies so i've put those in the bag that they came in and let the bags float in the tank (they told me to do that) for about half an hour to get used to the water then i put the two fish in the tank with the catfish and they were all happy and everything then, the one had 15 babies and 3 days later(today) the one that gave birth died...

Isabella

I understand ... but I just would like to know how long after you have bought this tank (that you have right now) have you put the fish in there. And how long have you had this tank?

DEADFISH

i've had the tank for a month.
and i put in the 2 mollies about 5 days ago
but do you mean like from after i bought them?
or what?
becuz i let them float in their bag in the tank for about 30 minutes then let them into the tank

Isabella

You've had the tank for about a month. You've said before that 5 fish died, so you must have added these 5 fish even before these last 2 days, correct? If that is the case, the 5 fish died because of ammonia and/or nitrite poisoning. Meaning, you've put too many fish and too soon into your tank that wasn't cycled yet. It ususally takes about a month to cycle a tank. Only after the cycle is done is it safe to start adding fish to your tank. And you should be adding 1-2 fish at a time (if they're small fish). If they're large fish, only one at a time. Say, one fish per one week. This way, there is enough time for beneficial bacteria to develop in your filter. It is the bacteria that are required to keep the tank filtered biologically - that is, it is the beneficial bacteria that remove toxic compounds like ammonia and nitrite from your tank. Which is why it is so important to cycle the tank first, and even before that: to understand what cycling is. Please read this: http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm, and then as many articles as you can in here: http://www.fishlore.com/Beginners.htm.

What I meant was: how long after you purchased your tank and filled it with water and turned your filter on, how long after all of that, did you add ANY fish to your tank?