komarsha

last week i discovered babies in my 10 gallon tank. I had 3 mollies and have no idea which of them gave birth. two days ago the one started acting a little strange, just hanging around where the strongest current is from the filter. last night he (or she) looked terrible, eyes appear to be covered in something and he/she could barely swim. i have done two water changes (only about 25% each time) since the babies came because i was told that is needed due to the increased population. i just started a second tank getting ready because i knew i would have to move the babies out eventually. They are currently in a breeder box. Tonight i came home and found my second fish looking odd, kind of covered in salt and little white dots on him. i'm assuming ICH based on the threads i read.

now i don't know what to do, move the babies out right away, possibly use chemicals to fix although i know that's not the best way to go. i'm new to the fish world, i have only had my tank for six months and really just wanted to keep it small while learning...but with the new babies i'm just at a loss. any advice would be appreciated!!! thanks

CHoffman

Hello komarsha
I don't know much about fry. So hopefully someone with fry experience can help you out in that department. But for Ich in adults it's fairly easy to get rid of from what I understand. You need to raise the temp. of your water to 83 degrees. You'll need to do daily water changes and vacuum the gravel to get all the spores..It will take about 2 weeks and it should be gone.

I see in your information that you don't know about the Nitrogen Cycles. I would suggest reading up on it. Here is the link.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
That is a great place to start.
If you have any other question just ask.
I see you only have two post. Welcome to Fishlore

komarsha

i'm going to have to get a heater. i just checked my levels and nitrate is too high. i feel bad learning all this at the expense of the fish. i don't know why everyone said start out with molly's, they're easy and don't need all that fancy stuff!

CHoffman

What are your other levels?? nitrite and ammonia??..I found out about the nitrogen cycle the hard way too..(after I had fish). All you can do is what is best for them now. If you have any ammonia or nitrites you'll need to do daily 50% water changes and treat the water with Prime..It makes the ammonia less harmful for the fish but still allows the bacteria to use it for the cycle. Since your nitrates are high I would defintaly do a 50% water change now.

komarsha

i did change the water just now so hopefully that will help. i'm still trying to figure out the other levels...what they mean and need to be that is. the test strips i bought have six tests:
nitrate 160
nitrite 3.0
harndess 300
chlorine 0
alkalinity 40
pH 7.2

Shawnie

O my.....I wouldnt trust the test strips..because with that high of nitrates, you would have alot of deaths....so if you can get a liquid API master test kit, thats more reliable and will let you know where you stand..I would get the prime and do daily 50% changes of water like choffman has recoomended and continue this until you can get a better test kit....goodluck!

CHoffman

Test strips are not very accurate..Most people on fishlore recommend API master kit. It's liquid testing and is very accurate. You don't have a test for ammonia, you'll need to get that...Left over food and waste from your fish (poop) turn into ammonia..Ammonia is very dangerous for your fish. When enough good bacteria get built up in your tank they start turning the ammonia into nitrite which is less harmful but still dangerous. Then the nitrite get turned into nitrate which is not harmful in small amounts 10ppm or less. You are in the middle of your cycle since you have nitrites. You need do do 50% water changes everyday and add Prime as a water conditioner. until Ammonia is 0 Nitrite is 0 and Nitrate is 20 or below 10 or lower is best...Then your cycle is complete and you can do weekly water changes...

komarsha

i guess the babies are just too much on the little tank. do you think they will make it through the water changes and all that? or should i pull them out to help stop the madness in there?

CHoffman

I'm definatly not a fry person..SO i wouldnt know..But if you pull the fry out you'll be having to do the same thing with the tank that they are in. If it were me..I would leave the fry in there and just keep up on the waterchanges with Prime..YOu could see if somone wanted to take them off your hands. List them on craigslist or your classifieds. Hopefully someone with fry experience can help you further with the babies. Your doing a good job learning about all of this..It can be overwhelming at first but your doing the right thing by learning and doing what's best for your fish.

Shawnie

I dont think the babies threw it all out of wack that fast...but they have been exposed to ich if thats what they have and I wouldnt put them in the new tank until you treat for ich..which is the higher temps for two weeks as recommended...the prime and daily changes will keep everyone safe until the other tank cycles and getting the new test kit will help you tons...mollys are big waste producers and sometimes we over feed them which will throw all kinds of water parimeters out of wack on a 10 gal...believe it or not, the smaller tanks are harder to keep stable than the bigger ones...

komarsha

thanks for all your help! i'll keep you posted.

komarsha

two of my fish died. Kong i expected because he was the one not doing well to begin with. the other i noticed appeared fatter but today i came home from work and he was dead. i feel awful. the third fish seems to be doing fine and the babies are okay from what i can tell. i'm doing the water changes daily and the numbers appear to be getting better so hopefully every one else will be fine going forward.

CHoffman

I'm so sorry ..It can be very hard when you lose a fish...even worse two. I'm glad your numbers are getting better!!!..That's excellent. Just keep on doing what your doing and you'll make it through...You'll be happy when it has cycled then you can stop doing waterchanges everyday and just do them once a week..I hope your babies make it..You'll have show us some pics..

komarsha

i did take a few but they weren't coming out very good. think my batteries were dying and with all the fish stuff going on, i just can't deal with the camera...you should see my house...who can clean when the fish need me! but i do have to make up some time with the dog, he is not a fan of the fish these days since i just sit and stare at them!!!

CHoffman

..You sound just like I did when I got fish and started learning about all of this..IT's amazing what there is to learn. You'll get hooked..But it sounds like you already are.lol..I'm glad your researching and learning about your little fishy babies.

komarsha

UPDATE: i'm down to 4 fry and one adult. they seem to be doing great though. tank is back to normal. my second tank is coming along. i'm in no rush to get more fish. i figure i will wait for the babies to grow up and see how that goes. i'm going to keep both tanks going though so i always have a spare in case of emergency! i have them in two different rooms so it's actually nice. i got to decorate it toally different.

CHoffman

Thanks for the update.. I'm glad to see your tank is back to normal..Having two tanks is allot of fun...It sounds like you have everything under control..Good job Komarsha..I'm jealous...It would be so fun to have babies!!!

komarsha

it is fun. they are adorable. but talk about heart breaking. i started out with at least 20 after the eating fest was over. they are just now getting to know me and coming to the front when it's feeding time. i think they think the filter stream is a water slide because they are going right over to it and letting themselves get shoved all the way down.

CHoffman

How funny..lol...I would love to see that.....They are just like little kids...will find a way to play with anything..