Help... total newbie, worried about tetras and molleys

[stew]

Hello all, I hope you can help me! I'm new to fish so please bear with me i'm still learning.

My local pet helped me set up my 28 gal fresh water tank, I filled it with tap water and used aqua plus declorinator, warmed the tank up to 78 degrees, than as per thier instructions waited 25 hours. I then went down and picked up 6 neon tetras and 2 gold dust mollys. The store told me they would live together just fine.

upon getting then home nad adding them to my tank I then jumped on the internet and did some reading. Aperanly tetras like <7 PH and my molleys are designed for 7.4+. Is this going to be a problem? All the fish seem happy 12 hours later but I certainly don;t want them to suffer if I am doing the tetras harm. My PH is currently at 7.4

Any help insight or advice would be greatly apreciated!

Stew.

 

[Terry]

Your ph is fine, i would'nt worry about that. I would be more concerned about cycling your tank. The ammonia, nitrites, are very toxic to fish so concerntrate more in controlling that than what your ph is. The fish that you got are fine together.
Here are a couple of sites that may be of help.

www.thekrib.com
www.tomgriffin.com

HTH

 

[Allivymar]

Most fish bought in the lfs are already acclimated to the local Ph levels; I wouldn't worry bout the neons unless you are trying to breed em (they will need that really low Ph to breed).

Only thing that might be a small prob is the mix of mollys and neons. Mollys are happier in water with salt (although they certainly can survive in completely fresh water); neons do not do well with salt in their water.

And let me add one more link to Terry's great suggestions; its from the krib FAQ, and talks specifically about the nitrogen cycle, which you will need to know if your neons and mollies are going to survive the next few weeks: http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html

 

[stew]

thanks so much for the replies!

The Ph seems pretty stable on day 2 at ~7.4, i'm just relived that my tetras are ok with ph that high.

I will monitor amonia and nitrate levels dailey, and i'm sure I will have more questions!

Thanks again

Stew

 

[Allivymar]

Not a prob Keep the questions comin!

 

[Sinuhe]

I just started a new aquarium as well, and my tap water pH is even higher, around 7,8-8,0. Rather than trying to lower it, I'm planning to choose fish that either like alkaline water, or at least can handle different types of water. Right now, I have 2 Zebra Danios in it for cycling purposes. After about 24 hours in the tank, they seem to be doing fine, even if they usually prefer more acidic water.

 

[madasafish]

I'd be most worried about the tetras in ammonia-rich cycling water. They're very sensitive to low levels of toxic chemicals (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate). Whatever you do, don't add more fish to the tank yet. If your LFS helped you set up the tank, and gave you such retched advice, I'd take the neons back and tell the employees you'll come to get them when the tank is fully cycled--after the far superior advice of AquariumAdvice members!!

As per cycling, you can do this with danios or other hardy fish, or with BioSpira, a very concentrated solution of nitrifying bacteria. If you are able to get the BioSpira, you may not need to return the neons. If you cannot get it (and it's tough to get), return them toute suite.

Read up well about the nitrogen cycle, and don't get bogged down by the jargon. Once you understand it, it's easy to monitor and your fish will really appreciate you. Think of it this way--you'll have one of the small number of truly healthy tanks in the US! Most people have NO idea about cycling! That's why so many people lose all their fish in the first week. And I'll say it for the n-th time, shame on your LFS employees for allowing you to go home uninformed about tank cycling!!!

 

[madasafish]

Oops, always like to say it, and forgot to this time...

Good luck!!!

 

[stew]

The Krib website was very helpful, I feel confidant I can monitor the amonia and nitrite leves during the cycling and I will watch it carefully (I've become totally neurotic!) I'm real glad I have a good forum full of knowlegable people to lean on!

I'd really like to keep the tetras for now, and they do seem happy and really active but in hindsight I should have done more research before buying. I'm leaning towards adding more mollies after the cylce is complete, they are a fun fish! I'd liek a little more variety in the tank later on but thats material for another post!

 

[AJ]

I would just like to add I have one very happy neon living in a tank with a pH of 8.0. If you add them slow, then can adjust to different pHs.

 

[William]

I had a tank cycled with 3 long finned tetras [ before I knew about this stuff ]

They suffered through amonia levels around 3 or 4ppm, but they made it through, and are thriving now, and growing like weeds.

I still feel bad for putting them through that, tho..

 

[melisphillips]

I cycled my 10 gallon with five neon tetras and 2 honey gouramis and Bio-Spira... Two months later they are totally happy with some more friends that I recently added like cories, shrimp, a frog and cherry barbs! So you should try and get some Bio-Spira. Good luck!

 

[stew]

Wow thanx for all the replys!

I've tryed to find bio spira locally with no luck They all try to sell my cycle (which I already have) but if its is useless like many on here claim I guess it was a waste of $. I'll keep a close eye on amonia levels the next few weeks and hope for the best. 4 Days, so far so good

 

[Allivymar]

*looks embarassed*

I cycled my 8g tank with 2 angelfish. Then 2 month later added a common plec. LOL I knew NOTHING about the cycle at that time or proper tank accomodations. I still have guilt over that, especially since one of the angels killed the other one after 6 months of living in that cramped space. Surprisingly, I still have the original angel and the plec.

Btw, you can order Bio-Spira from here: http://www.fishstoretn.com . Bernie, the dude that owns the store, is a mod over at fishgeeks.com and pops into here from time to time. You'll pay about the same amount (including shipping!) buying from him as you would buying in a store (and theres no shipping cost there). I *think* he can ship up to Canada; I'm betting no one up there carries it yet - that may be why you haven't found it.

 

[stew]

Thanks again allivymar!

I'm betting the bio-spira would take a few weeks to get here (by them the tank may be cycled) I guess i'll just hope for the best!