Rolled in on the petsmart bus...

[Snail87]

I got two mollies at petsmart, and two days later... I have this minus two fish.. please help!

 

[venymae]

Hello! Your tank set up looks very nice! I love the black sand/rock combo. Sorry about your fishes though
First question is did you cycle your tank? If you're not sure, click the guide to starting a freshwater aquarium below and read it! If yes, how?
Second question is did you buy healthy fish? Were they active, no spots, rounded tummy? Both of these things are very common beginner mistakes when starting an aquarium, so don't worry the people here are great and will help you out!

 

[Snail87]

Hi, thanks for the reply. i've had the tank up and running for about a year. I ran the filter, and added bacteria for a couple days. I made the mistake of adding the new fish WITH the water from the bag...

 

[venymae]

Ok, so it's been up and running with fish in it for a year? Or without fish? Were the bacteria from a bottle? And yes, generally you want to avoid the water because it can carry disease

 

[Snail87]

Yea, its had fish for the year, the bacteria were from a bottle.

 

[venymae]

So a few questions. What size is the tank, what kind of filteration do you have, and what other fish (besides the mollies) were in it?

 

[Snail87]

I have a 20gal tank. I'm using a fluval 20. I'm getting a 50 gal at the end of the month, with a fluval 205. But I don't want to contaminate the new tank. As for fish:

 

[Snail87]

Also, planted (obviously). Not sure how much that helps filtration. Lol

 

[Mamabon]

That's a lot of fish for a 20 gal. The 50 will be much better. Someone told me to double your filter. For example, I have a 20 gal tank with 14 fish, using a Fluval 50 filter since they didnt have a 40 and I have it on lowest setting. I don't know what is recommended here tho.

 

[Snail87]

I do a 50% water change every three weeks, with a random 3-5gal water change when the brown algae gets bad. I'm also looking at RO units to remedy that problem. Lol

 

[Mamabon]

I do 20-25% water change every week with 14 fish in a 20 gal tank. I clean filter once a month thoroughly. If possible, do water change at least every other week. They say smaller changes more often is better. I just got over a high nitrate problem. You have a lot of fish to clean up after and you don't want anything getting out of control.

 

[venymae]

Well as long as you are upgrading to a 50 I'd say you are ok. The 20 IMO is overstocked so make sure you keep up on your water changes.

 

[Snail87]

I've never had a problem before. But a friend of mine got a fish this past week as well, and it happened to him too. :/

 

[Rivercats]

I have a 20gal tank. I'm using a fluval 20. I'm getting a 50 gal at the end of the month, with a fluval 205. But I don't want to contaminate the new tank. As for fish: View attachment 228078

On a tank that size I suggest a Fluval 406 or at least a 306. I run 406's on my 55g tanks.

Also I don't suggest stocking with Guppies and Mollies as they can cross breed. Just as Platies and Swords can.

My suggestion is not to add anything new to the current tank and if the fish are all fine when the larger tank is ready you can transfer them. Then I suggest QT'ing all new fish for about 4 weeks in a smaller tank before adding to the main tank with established stock.

 

[Rivercats]

I do a 50% water change every three weeks, with a random 3-5gal water change when the brown algae gets bad. I'm also looking at RO units to remedy that problem. Lol

Do you know your nitrate level? You should be changing 50% weekly. Also what type lighting do you have and how many hours a day do you run it? What type of algae are you getting? Brown algae is usually diatoms which is common in newly set up tanks not older tanks unless tap water or substrate is adding silicates into the water. When dealing with algae issue it is best to only run lighting 6 hours daily until the algae is gone. I have several planted tanks and most are only on 6 hours daily.

 

[Snail87]

Thanks guys! I got the fluval 205 running, my light cut down. (It's a full spectrum). The white fuzz is completely gone after medicating, and water change. I did loose. A platy, but I had him going on 2 years, so I'm not sure if it was disease related.

 

[venymae]

great! glad to hear things are looking better