New tank - all going crazy!!

[Majinox]

Hi

I moved this text from members into as guess in the wrong place.....We bought a fluval rekord 60 3 weeks ago which was almost all required and of course listened to the sales assistant, but did leave the tank for 3 days using tetra cycle before introducing 4 mollies (2 girls & 2 boys - a mistake I think and may take girls back to the shop) and seemed to be going well - at least they seem content ( although one of the boys seems constantly on heat) and healthy. Imagine our surprise when we discovered 5 babies on Saturday and again all seems fine. However the other girl looks ready to burst and worried that things are out of control!

Tonight they are all hanging around at the bottom of the tank, it seems to stick around the pregnant one but now worried something else may be wrong :-(

I have been changing 25% water every day and then a 50% last night as the KH was very high (around 20) although dropped to around 12-13 tonight. I wonder if this is because I changed the poly pads weekly as they had plant debris in them? Reading some articles say don't change the foam filters but no mention of these so don't know what to do on that score?

Nitrite 3mg/l and nitrate 25mg/l - levels seem to be ok but not sure about ammonia as have a tetra test 6 in 1 strip tester and it doesn't show ammonia levels!!

Help!!!!

Thanks, Steve

 

[ocminpin]

Hi steve!

My group of mollies have had many batches and I'll tell you this...
2-3F:1M ...
Males will constantly pester the females to breed and will eventually stress her to death. I'd suggest taking one of the males back and getting money back/getting another female.
Males and females as well will hang around the female about to birth because they will eat the fry as they're born... A male gets even more excited around birth because if he eats the fry and fertilizes female it's the way his lifeline will be passed on...
What can I say... Nature.

As for your ammonia/ nitrites/nitrates.
Both ammonia & nitrites need to be kept at 0.... And nitrates at 20 or below. If ammonia or nitrites are .25 and above do a PWC of at least 50%... While You're cycling with fish you will generally be required to do daily PWC's...

As for fry.. Breeding net will work or.. I put mine in a separate 10g to grow big enough to go in main tank or sell... Mine were 1 1/2" @ 13 wks...

Oh also the strips aren't very accurate., we all recommend the API liquid master test kit.., very accurate results..

If you have any questions, ask away... We're happy to help

 

[HeatherW]

yep! hanging out at the bottom I think means that another birthing is immenent (did I spell that right???) needless to say - more babies on the way. you can either leave them in your tank and do a "survival of the fittest" approach or try and save them. trust me - some will survive! if not - they will make more! haha

fish in cycling - yep, you are really going to want to go ahead and get the liquid test kit. api master test kit is great - maybe $25 and many more tests than the strips. much more accurate and you will need that while you are cycling. test your water daily and do PWC as required. anytime you get your ammonia or nitrites higher than .25ppm it is suggested to do at least a 50% water change (PWC).

lastly - filters, pads etc. do not change them! you can rinse them in used tank water if needed, but during your cycle you are best to pretty much leave them alone. you will keep these same filters in there for 6 months or more! all your good bacteria is in that pad so when you throw it out you are throwing out all the stuff you need to keep your tank healthy

hope this helps!! and welcome! ask away! there are many more knowledgeable people on here than me and they are great about helping you through this!!

 

[HeatherW]

oh - almost forgot to mention. if you provide hiding spots for those babies they will have a much better chance of survivng. I bought some fake plastic looking grass stuff - you can cut it into sections. put some in the gravel and some I turned upside down and floated on the top. seems to be working well.

btw mollies can have 30 - 40 fry at a time, so when you only have 5 left that lets you know about how many were eaten (unless it was a really small batch - which can happen)

 

[boadams87]

Hi

I moved this text from members into as guess in the wrong place.....We bought a fluval rekord 60 3 weeks ago which was almost all required and of course listened to the sales assistant, but did leave the tank for 3 days using tetra cycle before introducing 4 mollies (2 girls & 2 boys - a mistake I think and may take girls back to the shop) and seemed to be going well - at least they seem content ( although one of the boys seems constantly on heat) and healthy. Imagine our surprise when we discovered 5 babies on Saturday and again all seems fine. However the other girl looks ready to burst and worried that things are out of control!

Tonight they are all hanging around at the bottom of the tank, it seems to stick around the pregnant one but now worried something else may be wrong :-(

I have been changing 25% water every day and then a 50% last night as the KH was very high (around 20) although dropped to around 12-13 tonight. I wonder if this is because I changed the poly pads weekly as they had plant debris in them? Reading some articles say don't change the foam filters but no mention of these so don't know what to do on that score?

Nitrite 3mg/l and nitrate 25mg/l - levels seem to be ok but not sure about ammonia as have a tetra test 6 in 1 strip tester and it doesn't show ammonia levels!!

Help!!!!

Thanks, Steve

Here u go.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html

 

[Majinox]

Thanks everyone for your help and advice. My first post was a bit of a blurt and trying to calm down now!



Above is our tank, there is a bit of cover and our 5 fry are now swimming around as bold as brass - only 10mm long so amazed! I think I will let nature take its course with the next birth as no room in our tiny house for another tank and couldn't raise them properly and the survivors i'll see if i can get credit at my lfs although this does upset us - my wife compares it to us eating our 2 year old!

Our original plan was to put in the mollies and then some tetra neons and a couple of guppies for different colours but looks like its going to be mollies for now!

I thought, put a few fish in the tank and we wouldn't get attached to them like a dog but even after only two weeks they are part of the family so couldn't take them back I think... So I guess it's time to get a few more girls and hope that diverts the attention of our amorous male (Charles) and give camilla a break!!

I will buy the api test kit everyone raves about and then the measurements you all quote will make sense an continue with "pwc's" - so many acronyms!! - and NO more filter changes

Cheers

 

[boadams87]

Its cheaper on amazon

 

[librarygirl]

Yes get a liquid test kit. DO you have liquid for the nitrite and nitrate or just strips for those too?

If nitrites are really 3 that's very high for fish. I bet ammonia levels are up there too. WHat size tank is it? Mollys are messy fish and should be in a 20+ gal tank.

What dechlorinator are you using with water changes? I'd do a few 50-60% water changes with temperature matched dechlorinated water (feel both with your hand, tank water and new water and try to get them to feel about the same) to get those nitrites down. Until you get a liquid kit do a 50% water change daily. Good luck.

 

[Majinox]

Ok.. Another 50% water change tonight - wife doesn't think its the most romantic gesture on valentines but.....

Noticed one of my boys losing colour too - this reminds me of when I started sailing as an adult after a gap of 22 years, the old boys laughed at me when I capsized 5 or 6 times and commented " so you thought you could do this from just reading a book?"

Experience goes a long way, thanks for all your help so far!

 

[Majinox]

All seem back to normal now - phew! Well according to the test strips, api kit ordered !