I really need so much help. I'm fighting giving up.

Hi!! So I have a 10 gal aquarium I've had since Dec. 1. I, like many, did not cycle my tank beforehand. I added 7 fish, and one addition a few days later, of which 5 have died. The remaining three have been seeming pretty healthy despite the high ammonia until recently. I have a lonely little cherry barb and I have no idea what to do with the poor thing so that's another issue (I got her before finding out they live in schools). She recently started hiding out a lot more and seldom coming out, and now she swims a little strange. Upon observation, all three fish have what I believe to be fin rot. I have melafix ready to use. I also noticed a few weeks ago my platy was favoring a corner and rubbing on the ground a lot.
I have been working SO hard to try and get ammonia levels down. I've done countless water changes (admittedly I haven't done one in a week or two, but I'm currently prepping water to do so since I know how bad that is.) and there is still high ammonia. It was fine for a few days, in fact everything tested almost perfect, but I've tested it again and also today and its higher than ever at 1 ppm. I only feed them every other day and I'm very careful to not feed much.
Also my male molly tries to breed with my male platy all the time the poor guy :/
I have this weird film in my filter box thing (I'm not sure what it's called haha) that when I took the filter out, it infiltrated my entire tank. It looked disgusting. I also have a slight oil layer on top.
I'm so tired of fighting this and part of me says to give up but I won't. I'm really tempted to buy a cheap tank, cycle it, and put my fish in there temporarily while I start over on my 10 gal and cycle it then put them back. I just have no idea what to do at this point and any help is appreciated. I feel terrible for my poor fish

 

Welcome to the forum . I think that if you sell or give away your fish, you can redo the tank, and buy more of one species. Salt baths help against fin rot. But you can probably dose melafix as well. Ive been at the same place where you are. I wanted to quit so badly, but I justified to keep going. Eventually things got better. Never give up on things that you love

 

Welcome to fishlore.

Sorry to hear that you are struggling with your tank. After 3 months of being set up, your tank should probably have cycled itself by now. So a few questions at this stage:

What are you using to test your water?
What are your other test readings (nitrites, nitrates and ph)?
Have you tested your tap water parameters?
Have you replaced any of the media in your filter (sponges, cartridges etc) and replaced them with new?
Are you using ammo-lock or anything similar?

There are plenty of people willing to help out here, and they may have some further questions for you to try and get to the bottom of this.

 

Welcome to the forum . I think that if you sell or give away your fish, you can redo the tank, and buy more of one species. Salt baths help against fin rot. But you can probably dose melafix as well. Ive been at the same place where you are. I wanted to quit so badly, but I justified to keep going. Eventually things got better. Never give up on things that you love

Thank you!! I really do not want to sell them or give them away, but I have considered it for my barb to give her a better life.

Welcome to fishlore.

Sorry to hear that you are struggling with your tank. After 3 months of being set up, your tank should probably have cycled itself by now. So a few questions at this stage:

What are you using to test your water?
What are your other test readings (nitrites, nitrates and ph)?
Have you tested your tap water parameters?
Have you replaced any of the media in your filter (sponges, cartridges etc) and replaced them with new?
Are you using ammo-lock or anything similar?

There are plenty of people willing to help out here, and they may have some further questions for you to try and get to the bottom of this.

I use the API master test kit.
I tested everything the morning after a 30% water change: Ammonia is about 0.125ppm (half in between yellow and the light green)
Nitrites are 0ppm
Nitrates about 2.5ppm (in between yellow and orange)
Ph is 6.0 (? I need to figure out how to raise it)
My tap last I remember has 0.5 ppm of ammonia in it, but I didn't test anything else.
I have replaced the filters before, but learned recently you don't have to so the past two months I've rinsed it out with tank water. I use a cartridge.
I also use seachem prime. Thank you for your response!!

 

Hey there. I'm really sorry to hear about everything. Struggles in the aquarium world definitely can be disheartening. I myself gave up the hobby for a few years after a disaster with a new tank similar to yours. But, the hobby is so so rewarding! Defiantly don't give up something you love, it always gets better.

Now onto the subject of your fish. Like Carson already said, your tank should definitely should be cycled by now. By answering the other questions they asked, we should be able to get to the bottom of this.

You said you took your filter out? I'm assuming just to clean it, although correct me if I'm wrong. Just incase you didn't already know this, when your tank is cycled you should only clean the filter by washing the gunk off in old tank water-running it under a tap can kill off good bacteria and cause a mini spike.

What do you mean by oil on top? If there is a film on the water surface then that means your tank isn't being agitated enough by the filter, which can also trap toxins in the water. If you haven't already, test your ph. I've heard that if your ph is too low a tank can take up to 6 months to cycle, or never even complete it. Do you know the parameters of your water source? Sometimes water from a well or something will have ammonia in it. If you wanted to test this you could fill a tub with tap water, leave it over night and then test it.

On the topic of rehoming fish, unfortunately I believe mollies also prefer to be in groups, and really should be in a larger tank, although that's not something to worry about right now.

Edit: fish rubbing on decor or the ground I think might be a sign of ammonia/nitrite poising. Another thing you might consider trying to bring those ammonia levels down is a tank flush- which is the process of doing a 100% water change using multiple small water changes until all the water in the tank is replaced.

 

Hey there. I'm really sorry to hear about everything. Struggles in the aquarium world definitely can be disheartening. I myself gave up the hobby for a few years after a disaster with a new tank similar to yours. But, the hobby is so so rewarding! Defiantly don't give up something you love, it always gets better.

Now onto the subject of your fish. Like Carson already said, your tank should definitely should be cycled by now. By answering the other questions they asked, we should be able to get to the bottom of this.

You said you took your filter out? I'm assuming just to clean it, although correct me if I'm wrong. Just incase you didn't already know this, when your tank is cycled you should only clean the filter by washing the gunk off in old tank water-running it under a tap can kill off good bacteria and cause a mini spike.

What do you mean by oil on top? If there is a film on the water surface then that means your tank isn't being agitated enough by the filter, which can also trap toxins in the water. If you haven't already, test your ph. I've heard that if your ph is too low a tank can take up to 6 months to cycle, or never even complete it. Do you know the parameters of your water source? Sometimes water from a well or something will have ammonia in it. If you wanted to test this you could fill a tub with tap water, leave it over night and then test it.

On the topic of rehoming fish, unfortunately I believe mollies also prefer to be in groups, and really should be in a larger tank, although that's not something to worry about right now.

Edit: fish rubbing on decor or the ground I think might be a sign of ammonia/nitrite poising. Another thing you might consider trying to bring those ammonia levels down is a tank flush- which is the process of doing a 100% water change using multiple small water changes until all the water in the tank is replaced.

Thank you so much for your response!! you are correct, I took my filter cartridge out to clean it, and I used tank water to rinse it. I actually just found out that's how to do it like 2 months ago and before then I was replacing it.

The oil I referred to was like a rainbow-y shimmer on top. I researched about it and turned my airpump back on after a few weeks of it being off (simply because I forgot I had it; my tank is in my bedroom so the noise was a little irritating one night) and now I haven't had a problem with it.
I tested everything yesterday after I did a 30% water change:

Ammonia is about 0.125ppm (half in between yellow and the light green)
Nitrites are 0ppm
Nitrates about 2.5ppm (in between yellow and orange)
Ph is 6.0 (a little odd, it used to hang around 7.2)

As of now, I have thrown away the idea of fin rot. All three of my fish now have developed white spots and patches on them overnight and through today. I'm afraid of it being ich. Both my cherry barb and platy are acting really strange. The barb swims in patterns like how fish flop out of water (just she is in water), and often swims/floats upright. My platy is usually quite active, but is now just staying still in corners on the ground to the point where I thought he was dead multiple times. The problem is, I have no idea where they would even get ich. I haven't introduced new fish and this is my only tank (and the only tank in the house).

 

There we go! I think we found the problem with your cycle not completing. Your ph needs to go wayyy up. Once ph reaches 6.0 or lower, the nitrification bacteria will begin to die off, thus causing your tank to recycle. Aside from that, it's too low for your fishies to live comfortably I believe as well.

Now, there are a whole lot of ways to raise ph. I personally have never done it, so in addition to anything I say I would do some thorough research on how to conduct a safe ph raise.

So, naturally stores sell ph balancers, but I'm not sure heavy chemicals is what's best for your fish, especially now. Adding baking soda or crushed coral can raise ph too. For the addition of baking soda, I've heard you could add about2/4 of a teaspoon per ten gallons, and test your results. Keep doing this until your parameters go up by .5, let the tank sit for a few days or so and add a little more baking soda. Continue this until your ph raises to a safe amount, which for you would be between 6.8 to 7.6 (we really just want your tank to cycle.) You have to be very cautious when doing this as raising your ph too quickly will shock your fish, and could possibly kill them. I'm not sure about the crushed corals, but I do know they're a little more safe than baking soda, but as for right now baking soda may be the quickest fix. Also, this wont be a permanent solutions. If your water is soft, you'll have to raise the ph regularly to stop it from dropping again.

As for your fishes health right now, I'm sorry to say it sounds like there's a few problems going on. To begin with, lets clarify the ich. A picture of your fish would really be helpful. Ich isn't always introduced by new fish. The bacteria that causes it is always present in the tank, it just lies dormant until the fish is weak enough for it to attack. Raising the heat in your tank SLOWLY might be able to help with ich, although there's a lot going on in your tank that might do more harm then good by shocking your fish. A quality medication might help, but like I already said pictures would be good so we can identify it before treating for anything. The symptoms your fish are showing by acting weird are likely signs of ammonia poisoning.

I would start doing 50%-60% water changes daily. With that amount of ammonia in the tank 30% water changes wont be doing much. Prime can also help with detoxifying ammonia I think, so it might be worth buying.

 

There we go! I think we found the problem with your cycle not completing. Your ph needs to go wayyy up. Once ph reaches 6.0 or lower, the nitrification bacteria will begin to die off, thus causing your tank to recycle. Aside from that, it's too low for your fishies to live comfortably I believe as well.

Now, there are a whole lot of ways to raise ph. I personally have never done it, so in addition to anything I say I would do some thorough research on how to conduct a safe ph raise.

So, naturally stores sell ph balancers, but I'm not sure heavy chemicals is what's best for your fish, especially now. Adding baking soda or crushed coral can raise ph too. For the addition of baking soda, I've heard you could add about2/4 of a teaspoon per ten gallons, and test your results. Keep doing this until your parameters go up by .5, let the tank sit for a few days or so and add a little more baking soda. Continue this until your ph raises to a safe amount, which for you would be between 6.8 to 7.6 (we really just want your tank to cycle.) You have to be very cautious when doing this as raising your ph too quickly will shock your fish, and could possibly kill them. I'm not sure about the crushed corals, but I do know they're a little more safe than baking soda, but as for right now baking soda may be the quickest fix. Also, this wont be a permanent solutions. If your water is soft, you'll have to raise the ph regularly to stop it from dropping again.

As for your fishes health right now, I'm sorry to say it sounds like there's a few problems going on. To begin with, lets clarify the ich. A picture of your fish would really be helpful. Ich isn't always introduced by new fish. The bacteria that causes it is always present in the tank, it just lies dormant until the fish is weak enough for it to attack. Raising the heat in your tank SLOWLY might be able to help with ich, although there's a lot going on in your tank that might do more harm then good by shocking your fish. A quality medication might help, but like I already said pictures would be good so we can identify it before treating for anything. The symptoms your fish are showing by acting weird are likely signs of ammonia poisoning.

I would start doing 50%-60% water changes daily. With that amount of ammonia in the tank 30% water changes wont be doing much. Prime can also help with detoxifying ammonia I think, so it might be worth buying.

I've heard of baking soda working!! I actually just posted another thread about my fish and their health, I can try to link that. I wrote a lot of info and included 4 pictures. Unfortunately while I was writing it, my poor Cherry passed. The pictures aren't really clear, but you can definitely see spots on my molly. I might have to try those daily water changes. It will definitely be easier to do since this upcoming week is spring break so I have a lot more time on my hands. I actually already have prime, and I added it to my tank. I know its probably not advised, but the bottle says you can in emergency situations. Currently my heater is on and my thermometer reads 76 (but technically 80, it reads 4 degrees too high. I'm planning on replacing it soon).

Here is that link. I really wish I could post the video the screenshots are from, it is a whole lot more clear and you can really see how they behave.
I need help really fast!! White spots & fuzzy patches | Freshwater Fish Disease Identification Forum | 519601

 

Aw I'm very sorry to hear about your barb passing. It's never fun loosing fish.

Those spots on your molly do look a bit like ich to me, and I noticed a lot of your fishes fins are clamped, which is a sign of stress. All those symptoms your fish are displaying are signs of ammonia poisonings, which usually has lasting damage the fish is unable to recover from. I'm going to be very very honest with you right now. It's unlikely these fish will make it. That being said, an increase in water changes and possibly a good medication like ich x will probably be your best bet at saving them. I also noticed what you said about you not doing water changes for a few weeks, which unfortunately was probably the cause of your parameters spiking, especially with the ph so low and your cycle unable to complete.

Another thing to be careful of is to make sure you're reading the tests in good lighting. Natural lighting or high light from a phone or something with a white background can will help you get a good reading, as often ammonia will give off false readings in the wrong light.

You got caught in a really tough situation, and I'm truly sorry you had to be introduced to the hobby this way.

 

Thank you so much for your response!! you are correct, I took my filter cartridge out to clean it, and I used tank water to rinse it. I actually just found out that's how to do it like 2 months ago and before then I was replacing it.

The oil I referred to was like a rainbow-y shimmer on top. I researched about it and turned my airpump back on after a few weeks of it being off (simply because I forgot I had it; my tank is in my bedroom so the noise was a little irritating one night) and now I haven't had a problem with it.
I tested everything yesterday after I did a 30% water change:

Ammonia is about 0.125ppm (half in between yellow and the light green)
Nitrites are 0ppm
Nitrates about 2.5ppm (in between yellow and orange)
Ph is 6.0 (a little odd, it used to hang around 7.2)

As of now, I have thrown away the idea of fin rot. All three of my fish now have developed white spots and patches on them overnight and through today. I'm afraid of it being ich. Both my cherry barb and platy are acting really strange. The barb swims in patterns like how fish flop out of water (just she is in water), and often swims/floats upright. My platy is usually quite active, but is now just staying still in corners on the ground to the point where I thought he was dead multiple times. The problem is, I have no idea where they would even get ich. I haven't introduced new fish and this is my only tank (and the only tank in the house).

be sure your not smoking/vaping near the aquarium...i seen 1st hand what thatll do to the water, (and lungs)...i noticed that rainbow shimmery color you mentioned on my sisters tank, it took forever to figure out...and it seemed that her vape was causing the problem.
anyway good luck

 

Aw I'm very sorry to hear about your barb passing. It's never fun loosing fish.

Those spots on your molly do look a bit like ich to me, and I noticed a lot of your fishes fins are clamped, which is a sign of stress. All those symptoms your fish are displaying are signs of ammonia poisonings, which usually has lasting damage the fish is unable to recover from. I'm going to be very very honest with you right now. It's unlikely these fish will make it. That being said, an increase in water changes and possibly a good medication like ich x will probably be your best bet at saving them. I also noticed what you said about you not doing water changes for a few weeks, which unfortunately was probably the cause of your parameters spiking, especially with the ph so low and your cycle unable to complete.

Another thing to be careful of is to make sure you're reading the tests in good lighting. Natural lighting or high light from a phone or something with a white background can will help you get a good reading, as often ammonia will give off false readings in the wrong light.

You got caught in a really tough situation, and I'm truly sorry you had to be introduced to the hobby this way.

Thank you so much for all of your help so far. Should I do a water change tonight? I would need to prep water for it. I would run to the store really quick to try and get some ich x but it closes in 30 minutes so I wouldn't make it in time.

If they do pass would it be advisable to completely start over on my tank, draining it, washing the gravel and everything in there? I hate that I'm asking this because of the possibility but I want every new fish I ever get to have a great, lavish life.

be sure your not smoking/vaping near the aquarium...i seen 1st hand what thatll do to the water, (and lungs)...i noticed that rainbow shimmery color you mentioned on my sisters tank, it took forever to figure out...and it seemed that her vape was causing the problem.
anyway good luck

I don't smoke or vape, and neither does anyone that lives here. Kind of strange thing that happened, I'm glad you were able to figure that out. Thank you!!

 

I can't recall the last time you did a water change, but if you haven't already done so today yes, I would do another water change- especially with the death of the barb. If you can get the ich x tomorrow that'd be great.

Personally, I would restart if they do pass. Your water is displaying nitrates which restarting would get rid off, but it may just be better especially if your fish have ich, as everything in the tank will become infected. I believe ich has 3 life cycles, I only know two- which is where it buries itself in the substrate to reproduce and the other where it's free-swimming and looking for a host. I dunno the other one.

You could either treat the tank for the entire recommended time, with the addition of raising heat, or take everything out, wash it with hot water only, and let it dry completely for 1-2 weeks. The substrate you would need to spread out onto a towel I think- or just get new substrate all together. From there, then you can restart your tank. I would first focus on raising your ph, then going through with completing the cycle. Once your ph is at an acceptable level- I think buying something like a ph balancer and adding it regularly would help keep it in check (or the preferred crushed coral.)

It's very sad that that may become a possibility, but you're already doing better than a lot of new fish keepers by asking questions- and most importantly wanting to do what's best for the fish.

If you truly feel like your fish are suffering and think they have reached the point past no return, (this is if water changes and medication isn't doing anything) let me know and I can give you instructions on how to safely euthanize a fish if you wish.

 

I can't recall the last time you did a water change, but if you haven't already done so yes, I would do another water change- especially with the death of the barb. If you can get the ich x tomorrow that'd be great.

Personally, I would restart if they do pass. Your water is displaying nitrates which restarting would get rid off, but it may just be better especially if your fish have ich, as everything in the tank will become infected. I believe ich has 3 life cycles, I only know two- which is where it buries itself in the substrate to reproduce and the other where it's free-swimming and looking for a host. I dunno the other one.

You could either treat the tank for the entire recommended time, with the addition of raising heat, or take everything out, wash it with hot water only, and let it dry completely for 1-2 weeks. The substrate you would need to spread out onto a towel I think- or just get new substrate all together. From there, then you can restart your tank. I would first focus on raising your ph, then going through with completing the cycle. Once your ph is at an acceptable level- I think buying something like a ph balancer and adding it regularly would help keep it in check (or the preferred crushed coral.)

It's very sad that that may become a possibility, but you're already doing better than a lot of new fish keepers by asking questions- and most importantly wanting to do what's best for the fish.

If you truly feel like your fish are suffering and think they have reached the point past no return, (this is if water changes and medication isn't doing anything) let me know and I can give you instructions on how to safely euthanize a fish if you wish.

I changed the water two nights ago so it is pretty recent. I will be gone from 7:30-4 tomorrow so I need to figure out how I could get to the store, unless I ask someone else to do it.

I think if I do end up having to restart, I would get a different substrate. Right now I have blue gravel but I've been wanting something a little more natural looking. Aside from the inevitable sadness and frustration I would have if I lost the fish, I think starting over would be a lot less stressful and calming now that I know how to start a tank. I know I won't make the mistake of not cycling first.

Hal Jordan, my platy, is not doing much better, he is starting to shake his poor body like he's swimming but not swimming anywhere.

Finley, my molly, is still staying at the top. He swims towards my finger if he sees it in the water or outside just like he always does, but he's not quick to it now.

Side note, I'm completely new to the forum. How do you make it so the previous response you are replying to isn't included in yours?

 

Well, you're in a tough predicament with the medication. I think just being able to get it whenever you can will suffice, because quite honestly I'm not sure if that's the biggest issue right now. Like I already stated, the ammonia poising will have lasting damage on your fish, and unfortunately it's unlikely your fish will make a full recovery- meaning they'll almost always be in a weakened state, leaving them exposed to disease.

If you do restart, it will be a thousand times less stressful. Myself and other members would love to walk you through anything if you ever were to need help with a new tank. As for the gravel, I personally really like sand! I find it looks very nice and natural regardless of the color.

Sorry again to hear bout your fishies I really hope the water changes and medication will be able to help them. Just be weary, medication is very harsh on the fish and in situations like these might do more harm then good. That's why I personally like ich x because it's a bit more gentle than some other medications, but at this point honestly there's a chance any medication could backfire.


I'm also new to the forum, so I'm not sure if this is the best way but I just hold backspace and the quoted thread deletes itself from the reply.

 

Thank you so much for all of your help so far. Should I do a water change tonight? I would need to prep water for it. I would run to the store really quick to try and get some ich x but it closes in 30 minutes so I wouldn't make it in time.

If they do pass would it be advisable to completely start over on my tank, draining it, washing the gravel and everything in there? I hate that I'm asking this because of the possibility but I want every new fish I ever get to have a great, lavish life.

I don't smoke or vape, and neither does anyone that lives here. Kind of strange thing that happened, I'm glad you were able to figure that out. Thank you!!

The room air fresheners will do this also, especially the ones that are oil types that spray or heat or "vapor release" but even febreze or the solid ones are releasing toxins with the scent.
and when it's in the water it can kill off biological matter, like you good bacteria or your fish. those air fresheners aren't toxic to you persay but directions say you shouldn't ingest it, but to a tank of fish, it will pollute the water pretty quickly and they have no choice but to ingest it, through their skin and it becomes systemic and causes stress and disease.

So, you don't vape, but do you have air fresheners or burn incense oils or scented candles?

 

It was probably just a harmless layer of biofilm on the water surface that had settled. Once the airpump was switched back on, it increased surface agitation that then broke it up. Problem solved and no harm done.

Spraying mist-type air fresheners near to a tank is advised against though. Put the febreeze down!

 

As of now, I'm not so sure it is ich, especially after getting replies on my other post saying it isn't. I used baking soda like you suggested (I also looked it up first) to raise my pH to 7.6 which is a little higher than I wanted to go, but they do not seem to be having any troubles with it. My water is a little cloudy but I assume it's from the baking soda.

Ever since I raised it, they are doing a ton better. The spots are all gone minus one spot on Finley's fin. Hal is moving all over the place again although he is a tad skittish, but he is generally a little skittish anyways. He was a little pale this morning, but he quickly came back to his normal bright blue. My guess is it's because I moved his hiding spot while he was in it.

I tested my water again, and lo and behold, ammonia is at 0ppm!!
Nitrites are also at 0, and Nitrates at about 2.5 (still in between colors, I tried different lighting too). The thing I'm trying to decide now is when to do a water change, and if my fish are still showing signs of illness what to do.

I really appreciate all the help so far, it's been so beneficial (haha beneFISHal).

The room air fresheners will do this also, especially the ones that are oil types that spray or heat or "vapor release" but even febreze or the solid ones are releasing toxins with the scent.
and when it's in the water it can kill off biological matter, like you good bacteria or your fish. those air fresheners aren't toxic to you persay but directions say you shouldn't ingest it, but to a tank of fish, it will pollute the water pretty quickly and they have no choice but to ingest it, through their skin and it becomes systemic and causes stress and disease.

So, you don't vape, but do you have air fresheners or burn incense oils or scented candles?

I do occasionally use candles, but since I got my fish, I haven't let a freshener be sprayed anywhere near my room.

It was probably just a harmless layer of biofilm on the water surface that had settled. Once the airpump was switched back on, it increased surface agitation that then broke it up. Problem solved and no harm done.

Spraying mist-type air fresheners near to a tank is advised against though. Put the febreeze down!

Yep, the airpump worked wonders!! Since I got my fish, I've just made the assumption that air fresheners are bad for them which turned out to be true. I correct myself in my previous comment, I sprayed one once and later my gorgeous blue platy turned pale, so I never did it again.

 

As of now, I'm not so sure it is ich, especially after getting replies on my other post saying it isn't. I used baking soda like you suggested (I also looked it up first) to raise my pH to 7.6 which is a little higher than I wanted to go, but they do not seem to be having any troubles with it. My water is a little cloudy but I assume it's from the baking soda.

Ever since I raised it, they are doing a ton better. The spots are all gone minus one spot on Finley's fin. Hal is moving all over the place again although he is a tad skittish, but he is generally a little skittish anyways. He was a little pale this morning, but he quickly came back to his normal bright blue. My guess is it's because I moved his hiding spot while he was in it.

I tested my water again, and lo and behold, ammonia is at 0ppm!!
Nitrites are also at 0, and Nitrates at about 2.5 (still in between colors, I tried different lighting too). The thing I'm trying to decide now is when to do a water change, and if my fish are still showing signs of illness what to do.

I really appreciate all the help so far, it's been so beneficial (haha beneFISHal).

I do occasionally use candles, but since I got my fish, I haven't let a freshener be sprayed anywhere near my room.

Add some fritz turbo beneficial bacteria and your ammonia abs nitrite will be gone. You tank will tank too long to cycle without it.

 

Oh wow, I'm thrilled for you! Hearing that good news honestly made my day.

With 0 Ammonia and Nitrite, and nitrate present, I think it's safe to say your tank is probably cycled, although I would keep a close eye on the parameters for a while, especially with the nitrate so low. I also looked at that other thread of yours and I agree with the other members about it not being ich. If your fish seem to be getting better with the new clean water, I would just continue with water changes until all seems normal. The medication they listed like kanaplex and such would definitely help with things like finrot or any bactieral infections.

As far as the water changes go, I think it's safe to start doing 30% changes daily until any signs of illness have reduced. Too many water changes wont harm your fish, unless you're taking too much out at once (80%, 90%, 100%). The only thing I would be cautious about is the ph. I would test it after every change to make sure it doesn't drop again and add baking soda if needed.

Glad I could help, you seem like a fin-tastic fish owner.

 

This thread is amazingly helpful however, I'd like to add my 2 cents. Ammonia starts turning to far less toxic ammonium when pH is less than 7.5; when pH is below 6, almost all ammonia is ammonium. I doubt it's ammonia but maybe nitrite poisoning or sickness caused by stress.

Another misconception is beneficial bacteria dies in low pH. Bottled bacteria likes 7.5 pH and the shock of adding them to low pH could inhibit them but I doubt they'd die. Bacteria is everywhere. If pH is 6 you might not have the typical strains but you'll have bacteria. I say the pH dip shocked them. Livebearers prefer a high pH (mollies can thrive in saltwater - a pH of around 8.4 or so). A rapid dip or spike in pH could kill fish easily. My suggestion? Cycle the tank as normal and don't mess with the pH unless you plan to keep high pH fish. Cherry barbs can live in a pH of 6 - livebearers can't. Keep this in mind when you stock the tank

 

I actually didn’t know quite a bit of that, thank you for informing me. I had heard on another form about the bacteria dying in too low of a ph- had no idea that was false. There was a whole long thread on there discussing how one would go about lowering the ph enough so the OP wouldn’t even have to go through with a cycle, although I should’ve also mentioned about how if the ph is low enough, it’s possible to keep the tank safe while being uncycled. I just figured even though it was risky, the low ph in this situation was probably causing significant damage and needed to be adjusted

I do totally agree though about going forward with finding fish that suit your water better. The next time you stock your tank it would definitely be a lot easier to keep soft water fish.

 

Oh wow, I'm thrilled for you! Hearing that good news honestly made my day.

With 0 Ammonia and Nitrite, and nitrate present, I think it's safe to say your tank is probably cycled, although I would keep a close eye on the parameters for a while, especially with the nitrate so low. I also looked at that other thread of yours and I agree with the other members about it not being ich. If your fish seem to be getting better with the new clean water, I would just continue with water changes until all seems normal. The medication they listed like kanaplex and such would definitely help with things like finrot or any bactieral infections.

As far as the water changes go, I think it's safe to start doing 30% changes daily until any signs of illness have reduced. Too many water changes wont harm your fish, unless you're taking too much out at once (80%, 90%, 100%). The only thing I would be cautious about is the ph. I would test it after every change to make sure it doesn't drop again and add baking soda if needed.

Glad I could help, you seem like a fin-tastic fish owner.

Thank you!! They are doing quite well now!! I went to both of my lfs and the second was way more helpful. He explained what I could do to help them and was very informative. The remaining spot on my molly is slowly but surely disappearing.

I still have no idea why they were so sick other than the pH. The guy at the fish store couldn't figure it out either, so I guess it will remain a mystery for now.
I've looked into medications also. For now the person at the store suggested I could just leave it and watch them to see what happens and it seems to be going well.

Again, you've been so helpful, thank you!!

 

Glad to hear that they're doing better and glad to hear you have a knowledgeable lfs worker near you! Wish I was as lucky to have someone like that at my lfs.

As JustAFishServent said livebearers really can't tolerate low ph, which could possibly explain why they were so sick, along with maybe stress from the time while your tank cycled. For the barb the only thing I could think of is maybe he/she was weakened during the cycling prosses and the ph swing or just stress in general got the best of him/her.

I'm happy I could help!