Molly Not Adjusting Well

[Baxtavious]

I recently got a new fish tank with 2 male mollies and an algae eater. It was a 10 gallon tank and everything was set up properly. A very small amount of salt and baking soda were added to meet the proper water conditions. One of the mollies died last week (I expect the alpha Molly was harassing him to much). It seemed that the alpha Molly would harass any other male in the tank. So I got 3 smaller new Australian Rainbowfish to pair with the Molly and algae eater. As I put the new 3 fish in I took out the Molly and performed a 25% water change. I also moved around the plants a bit so the Molly wouldn’t get to territorial. This seemed to be a mistake, as the 3 rainbow fish are doing well and the Molly is now extremely stressed. The rainbow fish remain schooled but for some reason the 4 of them all stay together. I am not exactly sure who is following who. I never see any signs of nipping or aggression. Just extreme panic from the Molly. The Molly seems to be on his last legs and now swimming awkwardly on the bottom. Anything I can do to fix this? Also for my own edification, what did I do wrong? Could it have been the water change?

 

[SaraB]

Your tank is overcrowded. Mollies need around 20g for 1 and 30g if you want to breed. They get up to 4" and are super active.
What type of algae eater do you have?
I'm not sure about the rainbow fish but I'm pretty sure the only schooling fish that can go in a 10g are micro fish like ember tetras or micro rasboras.
Im not trying to sound mean, you probably got some bad stocking advice from the store owners. Right now the best you can do is damage control.
Bump your water changes to 50% weekly and buy a test kit to keep an eye on the water parameters.
I've also never heard of baking soda in an aquarium before, can you explain what it's for?

 

[HannahJo]

Your tank is overcrowded. Mollies need around 20g for 1 and 30g if you want to breed. They get up to 4" and are super active.
What type of algae eater do you have?
I'm not sure about the rainbow fish but I'm pretty sure the only schooling fish that can go in a 10g are micro fish like ember tetras or micro rasboras.
Im not trying to sound mean, you probably got some bad stocking advice from the store owners. Right now the best you can do is damage control.
Bump your water changes to 50% weekly and buy a test kit to keep an eye on the water parameters.
I've also never heard of baking soda in an aquarium before, can you explain what it's for?

Some people use baking soda to raise PH levels. I've heard of it being done but sounds like it can become a hassle as you have to constantly dose for it to become and remain effective.

 

[SaraB]

I see. I don't use anything for my ph. If you buy your fish locally the ph should be the same/similar to the store. You can always ask to make sure as well but fish can adjust.

 

[HannahJo]

I see. I don't use anything for my ph. If you buy your fish locally the ph should be the same/similar to the store. You can always ask to make sure as well but fish can adjust.

Makes sense. I've heard a lot of people say don't mess with the PH unless it's totally out of wack, like super high or super low.

 

[earhtmother]

Chasing the **right** pH etc can become more of an issue than it's worth. Better to buy your fish locally so the water parameters are already similar, but fish can adjust to diffwrent parameters PROVIDING they are constant.

 

[kbalaz]

So much wrong with what you are doing. Too small of a tank, Rainbows are going to get too big for your tank. I believe they aren't really 'schooling' but they are staying together because they are stressed out. As Sara said, change out 50% of your water, wait three days then do another 50%. Stop adding salt and baking soda to your tank as well. Your fish are freaking out from you doing too much to the tank and its size.

 

[Skai]

.
I've also never heard of baking soda in an aquarium before, can you explain what it's for?

I think baking soda is a pH thing.

Which, OP I wouldn't bother messng with pH. It's more trouble than it's worth and most fish can adjust to the natural pH of your water if give proper acclimation time.