Something funny going on with my fish

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ChanEKC

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 5, 2016
Messages
26
Location
Washington
Okay so I'm fairly new to owning an aquarium. We got our tank and our fish a little over two months ago. We started with 5 Molly's and I told the kids when the tank finished cycling that we could get a couple more. After 5 weeks our black molly died and I'm not really sure why. But we kept an eye on the other 4 and they didn't show any signs of illness. So two days ago I went to test my water at the store (PetSmart) the day before my weekly water change and everything was in normal range. So I told the kids that we could get more fish. And this is where I messed up
I was really tired when we went to the store. (I'm a single mom of two and a few months ago my mom passed now I care for my 2 little sisters to so sometimes I'm not all there) so when I heard that everything was normal even without a water change I told the kids we could get more fish. And we left the store with 4 Guppy's and one new molly (after I got some sleep I realized that I was only supposed to add one or 2 new fish at a time) when I woke up 2 guppys had already died. So I changed out 50% of the water because all of the other fish were acting really stressed. And then a few hours later another guppy died. So I did another 50% water change, but this time I did a deeper clean, grabbed a large mixing bowl and put the tank water in it and then put the fish in and took all of the plants out and kicked all the rocks up to loosen as much debris as possible and siphoned out 90% of the water. I also had a spare filter that I put in (while keeping the old filter in there as well) to try and help put more air in the water. Then I put clean treated water back in the tank and added some of new water to the bowl before returning the fish to their home. And they started to act like everything was normal again for a little bit and then all of the Molly's started laying in the bottom corner and the remaining guppy stayed next to the surface (this is what they looked like in the morning)

None of them are really moving. So I went and bought a "hospital tank" and put 2 of the Molly's in there and did a 25% water change in the main tank. The two Molly's in the hospital tank are still at the bottom practically laying on the gravel and the ones in the main tank have changed positions from the bottom of the tank to the top of the tank. Its strange they seem to take turns. One of them will swim around at a time, and then after a few rounds trade places with another that is acting strange. I went and bought some tests for the water and everything is in normal range for the tank.

I have no idea what is going on and I talked to a couple friends who have some knowledge of owing aquariums and they have no idea. So now I'm here
Does anyone know what is going on with my fish??
 
I'm curious if I should start adding Marine salt? Because right now they are all in fresh water. And I know that Molly's and Guppy's are typically brackish water fish. Maybe that would help? I dont know my fish were completely fine before I add thew new ones.
 
I usually add salt to my tank after a 50% water change. But doubt it will help with your problem. It certainly won't hurt. I dissolve it in tank water in the microwave & wait for it to cool before adding to the tank.
The most common problem is overfeeding. They should get just a tiny pinch of food twice a day. If you change out more than 50% of the water, the tank will lose most of its beneficial bacteria and may need to cycle again before it balances.
Swim bladder problems can affect fish activity/behavior (they sink to the bottom, gather some energy to swim a little, then sink again or swim lopsided) but it usually effects just one fish, not several. There is no cure for it.
I'm sorry you're having problems. It takes a little time to get a tank stable and healthy for the fish. Until then, just buy a few, cheap fish. Once those seem to be doing well (a couple of months or more) then add a couple more over a few weeks.
Sometimes there isn'the a clear answer to fish problems.
I know the kids are excited, but patience is essential. It's a great learning opportunity for all of you.
So sorry about the loss of your mom. I went through that a few years ago & I still cry sometimes.
 
UPDATE
The 2 Molly's in the hospital tank are starting to act like themselves again, but the fish in the main tank are all staying right on the surface and will periodically swim around but stay still for the most part. I think I'm going to give my mollys a couple more days in the hospital tank before them back to the main tank (since they're finally starting to eat again)

I'm pretty good about not over feeding the fish. I use 2 flakes per fish 2x a day of the TetraMin Tropical flakes and they gobble that up just fine (it only takes them a minute or two to finish it)

My fish were fine till I added these new ones so I was thinking maybe one of them brought in something undesirable with them.

I thought that the good bacteria was stored in the filter? I thought I read somewhere that the good bacteria wasn't in the water but now that I know I'm not going to take out that much water again
 
Would you have test results? Ammonia and ph would be ones of interest. Just in case, the cardboard strip tests are notorious for giving false results.
 
The main tanks PH is 7.4 and as of right now the ammonia is .25ppm
Everything else is 0.

When I went and got the hospital tank I bought a general test kit with the water vials so I could frequently test the water through this. The cardboard tests were 2x the cost so I didn't get those
 
I redid the test when I got home and I must have misread the results because now the ammonia is 0.

Another update. The Molly's in the main tank seem to be doing a lot better today, they are starting to swim around alot more. The last lonely guppy still won't move from the surface of the tank. The only reason I'm even sure that he's alive is cause he swam about an inch away from the thermometer when I adjusted it.
 
It sounds promising, fingers crossed.

I guess some thoughts reading through was if there was an acclimatisation problem for the new stock. With the existing stock I'm pretty much at a loss why they would be under the weather so quick. Only thing I can think of is if a small tank and the water from the fish bag was added which was high in ammonia or something else.

Most of the good bacteria will be in the filter but also on any surface. You are right, there is minimal bacteria actually in the water.
 
Thank you Im glad I won't have to re-cycle my tank!!
The ammonia levels are pretty stable now they just bounce between 0 and .225ppm so im guessing that's going to be a normal thing for the tank.
The final guppy ended up dieing so I think I'm going to keep my tank as a "Molly's only" tank. The Molly's seem to all be doing really well now but nim gonna keep my eye on them for the next couple weeks just in case
 
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