Questions on Stocking and Water Quality

[kdcorliss]

Current Tank Info:
55 Gallon Tank
0 ppm Ammonia (for over a month)
0 ppm Nitrites (for over a month)
10 ppm Nitrates
7.2 pH
78-80 degree F

Current Stock:
5 Head and Tail Light Tetras
8 Platys (Various Types)
1 Royal Flame Gourami
2 Clown Pleco

All the current fish are healthy and active, last added 4 mickey mouse platys 14 days ago.

I have had tried mollies with no luck on two occasions. Each time I introduced 3 mollies and in the first batch they died with in 3-4 days of bringing them into the tank. The second batch died with in a couple of days of bringing them into the tank. They never showed any symptoms they ate with the other fish and were fairly active in the tank.

My water comes from an artesian well and having let it sit over night and tested it on a few occasions with no positive readings for ammonia, nitrites , or nitrates. I do not put any chemicals in the tank when I do my bi-weekly 25-30% water change or when I initially filled the tank.

My questions are as follows:

Am I missing something with my water that is limiting the types of fish I can stock ??

Should I be using an additive at every water change as I have read others do regardless of my water testing clean ??

With my remaining stocking room, any suggestions on fish that would fit into the tank that normally thrive in same conditions as my current stock ??

This forum has been a great help, thanks in advance.

 

[sir_dudeguy]

hmmm....so every time you try to add the platties they die? have you noticed any of the fish attacking them? thats really all i can think of, other than i've heard mollies and platies should have a little bit of salt in there, but i wouldnt do it...i've had many of them before, and never had any problems and i never added salt (or anything for that matter)

and for extra fish, i'm not sure how big those gourami get, but i think you could fit a bit more in there...what type of fish do you like/want?

 

[kdcorliss]

Platys dont die, but the mollies do. I have never seen them hassled by the other fish.

 

[goalorientation]

My questions are as follows:

Am I missing something with my water that is limiting the types of fish I can stock ??

Should I be using an additive at every water change as I have read others do regardless of my water testing clean ??

With my remaining stocking room, any suggestions on fish that would fit into the tank that normally thrive in same conditions as my current stock ??

This forum has been a great help, thanks in advance.

Community tanks tend to be less maintainence than a cichlid, agressive, salt etc. Careful not to overdue it. My dad has a 29g with mollies guppies swords and these fish breed in the tank this time of the season... There are approximately 30 babies in with the parents at this time! Not once has my father done a water change and this is pretty obvious for the following reasons; the lid of the tank had so much algae (till I cleaned it) that the light button is not an option---- it just stays on and there's a common plec that's about 8" long.

Stress coat works magic when adding new fish or water. As a rule of thumb add a maximum of 3 fish per week giving them room to acclimate and not putting too much stress on the new inhabitants.

I would add a peal gourami to the mix. African frogs are very interesting as well for there's one in my dad's community tank. Also, consider adding another plec so the one you have does not grow to look like its on steroids (like my dads).

Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[Kilgore]

Hi kdcorliss,

Sorry about your molly problems. Mollies can be pretty sensitive to water conditions (more so than the other livebearers such as guppies as platies).
Your pH is slightly on the low end for them, but that is not likely to kill them outright, unless it is significantly different from the store's water. If that were the case, though, they would probably have shown signs of pH shock from the outset, and you described normal behavior.

So... do you know what your water hardness is? If you have very soft water that could be a problem. Usually well water is on the hard side, though, and it can also have heavy metals and other contaminants. I would recommend using a dechlorinator/heavy metal eliminator. Stresscoat is good when introducing new fish but can gunk up your tank with the aloe vera when used for every water change, and it does not remove heay metals. You want to use a product that specifically states that it "removes heavy metals." It may say removes, detoxifies, or neutralizes - you get the point. Jungle Clear Insto Chlor is a good choice, but do not use more than the recommended number of drops as the buffers in it can increase your pH significantly.

You should keep in mind that livebearers have totally different water preferences than tetras and gouramies.... a middle ground can be reached, but the more sensitive species willl not survive long.

Once we know your water's GH and KH, or hardness and alkalinity, we can help you decide what stock is best suited to your water. Your LFS should be able to test it for you if you don't already own those test kits.

 

[goalorientation]

On Kilgore's pH lowering comment- be very careful to use in moderation in lowering hardness cuz if you spike the entire tank will be a graveyard.

 

[TomK2]

Acclimate them slower and more carefully next time? Try a different LFS for your Mollie stock? QT them for a while next time? Unless your LFS has a municipal water supply or well water that is rather different than your tank?

 

[kdcorliss]

They are in a small city so they are likely using city water and treating it. I will scoot over this weekend and see if I can get them to check the hardness and alkalinity otherwise I will bu the tests for them.

Thanks for all the feedback.

 

[Kilgore]

On Kilgore's pH lowering comment- be very careful to use in moderation in lowering hardness cuz if you spike the entire tank will be a graveyard.

Huh? Did I recommend that kdcorliss lower her pH? I was just commenting on the fact the her pH was low for mollies. That would imply she should raise it, not lower it. But I didn't actually say she should do either. I said that once we know what her water hardness is, we can recommend fish that will do well in her water without her having to adjust it. I hope I made it more clear this time.

 

[kaz]

I'd recomend prime and stress coat plus introduce them very slowly from 30min to 1hour