lokky.funky

Hi,

I have a 10 gallon tank with gravel filters. I introduced 12 mollies (5 black, 5 white and 2 orange mollies).

For the first few days, they were so active. One of the Black female even let out 9 fries.

One fine day, I thought of feeding them some worms and got it from one of the local pet shops. I fed it and they ate it so happily.

From that day onwards, I have lost 3 mollies (2 white and a black molly) one after the other.

Now, my orange female and a black female are not so active. They don't move around actively. I'm worried about this situation. Once they were one of the most active ones..

Could someone help me get out of this situation.

NOTE: I have read about the nitrogen cycle. But didn't try it. Would that be a reason for this problem (or) are they suffering from some disease.

Boxermom

Lack of cycling is probably one of your problems, as is overstocking. 12 mollies is an awful lot for a 10 gallon tank, topped off with all the fry (and trust me, the fry will constantly be coming, they can remain pregnant and giving birth for months even after the male has been removed). Molly get to be 2.5-3 inches each. I personally would't recommend more than 5 max in a 10 gallon. Is it possible to take some back to the store? Its likely one of the reasons why they are less active is because they are too crowded.

Molly also like salt in their water. Recommended amount is 1 tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons, so you'll want to use 2 tablespoons.

lokky.funky

Thanx. I'll try to reduce the number of fishes in the aquarium.

And to continue giving the right information, I have separated the fries and kept it in a separate cement tank. They are all doing well.

I now have around 8 mollies in the main tank of which 2 are male and the rest female. I'll try giving some of them to the pet store.

And tell me what exactly is Aquarium Salt. Normal salt without iodine or is it something else?

Boxermom

Its something else, you can get it at most pet stores that have a fish department. Just ask for aquarium salt (not marine salt, that's different and is used for saltwater tanks).

0morrokh

I agree, only 4 or 5 Mollies in the tank. Adding them all at once caused an ammonia spike and that's probably what is killing them. If you don't already have one, you need a test kit for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH. You should test the first three things daily to monitor the cycle, and a lot of water changes will be in order if you don't want to lose any more fish.