help...please

[punk9690]

i just now today bought 6 new black mollies and im not sure exactly how to care for them im kind of a beginner at keeping fishes and i want to take care of em so that they wont die so quick...can you tell me specifically what i should do to care for them??? please! thanks!

 

[lyquidphyre]

Welcome to aquarium advice!

I think this post was placed in the wrong forum. Try freshwater "Getting Started" =o)

 

[lmw80]

The post has been moved.

Welcome to Aquarium Advice punk9690!!

What kind of setup do you have for these fish? Gallons? filter? heater? etc. You should treat your water before you put it in the tank. Also, you should buy test kits for ph, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite and test no less than once a week, especially for a beginning aquarium.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:93e615d5ff] Welcome to AA, punk9690!! [/center:93e615d5ff]

Adding to Lori's post:

You should treat your water before you put it in the tank.

With a dechlorinator.

you should buy test kits

The liquid kind is better than strips.

 

[punk9690]

my fish live in a 10 gallon aquarium...yea i have a filter in it now...and i dont have a heater but i do have a thermometer for it to keep track of the temp. but i dont kno if its enough...i have a question do black mollies have a tendancy top try to get out of the aquarium because apparently they must not like it in there...it is quite nice but...oh well. i dont think i would have to because the type of water i have is freshwater. it has no chlorine in it but that is a good idea to test the water...thanks for the advice! and thanks for welcoming me!

 

[lyquidphyre]

You should go ahead and buy a heater because mollies are tropical and they like to have their water a little warmer than room temperature.

Always always treat your water with dechlorinator to get rid of any impurities.

i dont think i would have to because the type of water i have is freshwater.

Don't have to what?

 

[shawmutt]

Well the first thing you want to do is buy a heater. This will help regulate your water and protect against temperature variations. You can get a sufficient one for less than $15. A 50W heater will be fine.

The next thing you want to do is read the article on cycling, click here. This is an excellent article involving what you are going to go through in the next few weeks.

You also want to purchase test kits (mentioned by someone else before). The best one I have seen is Aquarium Pharmaceutical's Freshwater Master test kit. It has all the tests you need and only costs ~$20. Knowing the results of these tests will go a long way towards us helping you with any questions.

You also may want to do some more research on the mollies--I believe they are brackish fish that benefit from aquarium salt added to the tank water.

Good Luck!

 

[punk9690]

ok i will probably get all that stuff...so thats all they need to survive just that stuff...and food and,etc.? ok thanks for the info!

 

[newaridiar]

I keep mollies and I love 'em
Like shawmutt said, mollies are brackish fish, so they need (or at least will be happier) with some aquarium salt added.
Mollies also do great with algea flakes/tabs or other vegetation added to their diet. (I feed mine tropical flakes daily and algea wafers a few times a week-daily when there are alot of babies in the tank because it is SO cute to see the ball of tails when all the babies eat it)

IME mollies will have babies every 3 or 4 months, so if you have females and males together, expect to have baby fish in the future, even if they don't have them at first or you don't have any males b/c the females can store up sperm for a while.

I keep mine without a heater, but to do that well you'd have to do without air-conditioning b/c it would make the room colder and therefore the tank, so if you have an AC, I'd stick with a small heater.

I personally have never had a molly try to get out of my tank, though they do tend to hang out at the middle or top parts of the tank.

 

[Menagerie]

i have a question do black mollies have a tendancy top try to get out of the aquarium because apparently they must not like it in there

One of mine jumped to its death Make sure there is no gaps in the top!

 

[punk9690]

you get my deepest sympathy...i kno how you feel...but yet my fishes keep dying...i better go shoppin today for my fishes! lol i think theyre a lotta responsibility! i kantevn keep any alive for more than a week...im sure ur guys' information will help me a lot! thanks!

 

[lyquidphyre]

I think what the problem is, is it doesn't sound like you have cycled your tank. here is the skinny on cycling-

Fish poop. Poop creates ammonia. Too much ammonia will kill a fish.
However, just enough ammonia will create "good bacteria" that will eat the ammonia and make it safe for the fish.

If you havn't cycled your tank, you need to go to the store and get a gravel vac and a clean, never been used before, bucket. This will help you do water changes which will help keep ammonia down.

Here is your store list (some things you prolly already have)
Filter
Heater
A top for the tank (light hood/light strip)
Testing Kits (like suggested before)
Gravel Vac
Bucket
Dechlorinator

Now, once you have all of that go home and
*gravel vac and empty out 20% of the water in the tank. Replace it with new water that you have put dechlorinator in also make sure the water temp. is about the same temp in your tank now-maybe a little warmer.
* Test your waters with your new testing kit. You might want to report back your readings so we can better assist you! Until your tank is cycled you should do water changes every other two or three days.
*plug in your new heater!

I know it sounds like a lot, but this will help keep your fish from dying

 

[punk9690]

yea i found out why my fishes have been dying...it was that freshwater i was using...it had tons of acid in it...bout 6.4pH in it and it was acid...yay!!! i put regular water in it...and its pH was...7.4. wow that was wierd...so will ammonia kill em too??? because i bought sum tablets called ammonia clear which removes ammonia and is for freshwater aquariums...removes harmful chlorine& chloramine from tap water...reduces ammonia stress in fish and protects fish from ammonia burn. and i bought a heater...was it supposed to be a 50 watt??? yea i think one of you put to get a 50 watt heater...thank you guys soo much!!! im so happy im crying! lol

 

[lyquidphyre]

The best way to get rid of ammonia is by water changes and cycling... tablets and packets aren't in your fishes best intrest. Granted, what you purchased removes the chlorine.. so thats good but don't depend on it to remove the ammonia.

Make sure to do water changes so the ammonia doesn't get to high =o)

 

[Menagerie]

and i bought a heater...was it supposed to be a 50 watt???

50 is great for a 10 gal tank.

When I first set up a tank for my fiance 18 months ago, I had no idea we would still have most of the fish after 2 moves and me not knowing anything!!

The only thing I add to a tank is dechlor. It's nice to get rid of ammonia, but then the tank will never cycle. You need to allow the ammonia to build up so the proper bacteria can grow. By doing 10% water changes every other day, the ammonia will not reach toxic levels and your tank will cycle, but it will just take longer.

 

[punk9690]

would it be ok to change 10% of the tank water every...3 or 4 days??? or wait more???

 

[Menagerie]

The cycle can take 6-8 weeks.

 

[punk9690]

ok...thanks!

 

[punk9690]

umm...i just bought Mexican Lyretail Molly its a platinum colored mollie i figured i would buy those too since they are community fish...do these need special prefences...so bought them todaydo i need anything for them???