mollylovers

Hi, the ammonium levels in our tank are quite high because the food we feed our mollies often settles to the bottom and then begins decomposing. We deed the fish very little twice a day and scoop the remainder off the top of the water after about two mins. The problem is that the filter pushes the food under the water and it sinks, but the bigger issue we seem to be facing is that the mollies will take a mouthful of food bring it halfway under and spit it back out allowing it to fall to the bottom of the tank. Is the food to big? Does this happen often? Do mollies even like flake food? Any suggestions would be a huge help.

Thanks

Gunnie

Welcome to FishLore! It's great to have you with us!

Try shutting your filter off while you feed your fish, or if possible, turn the flow down. Also, unless you have babies in the tank, it's not necessary to feed the fish twice a day. Try cutting back to once a day and see if that helps. If they are spitting the food out, they probably don't like it. Try soaking it in garlic juice to see if that will help with the taste. As far as I know, flake food is what most folks feed their mollys. If the garlic doesn't help, try feeding them The Omega One brand or the New Life Spectrum brand of flakes and see if that gets them to eating better. These 2 brands are your better foods, and fish seem to like them.

You also need to do a good gravel vac of your tank now. Vacuum about half your gravel, and in a few days, vacuum the other half. You need to get the ammonia down now for your fishie's sake. What is the current level? If the gravel vac doesn't help get it down below 1, you will have to do a large water change. You can also get some amquel plus to use as your water conditioner until this issue is resolved. The amquel plus will neutralize the ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, and reduce the stress on your fish. Make sure you get the plus type.

mollylovers

Thanks for the ideas. We have sucked up some of the gravel tonight and with it we did a 25-30% water change. The water looks clearer for the time being. Do you recommend that we clean the gravel again tomorrow or say Friday? Also, we have changed their food to one of the recommended brands that you told us about in the other post. They still seem to not like it very much. We were told by the lady at the first store to try and feed them peas. We thought this was a little nuts but just wanted to see what you guys and gals thought. Lastly, how do the water test kits work? Are they litmus paper based? Easy to use and read?

Thanks for your help!

ewolfe315

I find it hard to believe that your mollies don't like flake food. All my mollies are absolute pigs when it comes to feeding time. Hardly ever do I see a flake make it near the bottom of the tank. As a matter of fact all my fish are gluttons.

Miy mollies eat everything from flakes(Tetra Min) to frozen blood worms.

As for the water test kit, trust me on this DO NOT get the paper strip test as they are rarely accurate. The best is the Freshwater Master test kit from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. A bit more pricey then the paper strips but much better. You can always find great sales online or even on ebay. I just purchased another set for $17 online, but locally at pet stores they go for $30 around my town.

They test PH,Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates and are the most accurate around in my opinion.

Also how big is your tank and do you have any bottom feeders such as catfish or loaches.

John