Losing Mollies

[frankf48]

I started a 10 gallon tank 6 weeks ago. At the moment I have 4 Tetra Barbs and four Cory cats bottom feeders. In the last couple of weeks I have lost 3 fancy guppies, a male and female swordtail. Yesterday I bought 4 mollies, two were black and two were spotted Dalmatian. This morning found the four mollies dead. I checked the ph and could not get a reading on my chart. Must be below 7 or lower. How could my ph drop down so low.

 

[plantnoob]

Don't think it's a pH issue. What are your ammonia and nitrite readings? Do you know if your tank is fully cycled?


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[frankf48]

Thanks for the response. My ammonia level was low and nitrate level low also. I added a ph up solution as directed and will check again tomorrow morning. The tetra Barbs are doing fine along with the Cory cats. Very disappointed in losing all four mollies at one time though.

 

[chelsi.reber]

It may be too many fish. I did this exact same thing. With dwarf frogs and Mollie's. A good rule is 1gal per inch of fish. So if u have a 3" fish and 10gal tank you should only have 3 total. Both Mollie's and tetra's are 2-3". Also adding no more than 1-2 new fish at a time. Too many fish and shock the water. It may also be they were sick to start with. If your water is good Id say either too many fish in one tank or the Mollie's were already having an issue. When u added them did u acclimate them to the water first or just add them in? I hope this helps. Dieing fish are not fun. Breaks my heart for you. I hope you get it figured out.

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[frankf48]

Yes I did put the plastic bag in the water and waited about 20 minutes then I let them in the tank. They seemed ok with the other fish. None of the mollies were attacked. Checked them when I removed them this morning. Going to a 20 gallon tank in the near future. When I was a teenager 50 years ago I had a 30 gallon tank and hardly lost any fish for a few years I ran the tank.

 

[chelsi.reber]

After 15 min i always add a few tablespoons of water from my tank to the bag so they adjust to the water and the temp. I'm stumped. All my Mollie's died really fast too. I ended up having to start over in my tank. The 15gal tank i had so many issue in I was a teenager and didn't know anything. In my new tank when my Mollie's all died I took them back to the store and several of the Mollie's in the tank I bought them from were floating dead. Sounds like it may have been a bad batch of fish. Someone told me to buy fish the same day they arrive at the store so thry don't really have time to sit in tanks with lots of other fish and get sick. I don't know if that helps but I will try this next time.

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[frankf48]

I bought the mollies at Pet Smart. Their fish dept. is real nice and all the tanks were clean and the fish were moving around. Very lively. I am just going to keep what I have for now. I just did a water change of 25% Friday. All the levels were ok. Used Prime and a clarifier for the tap water for the chlorine.

 

[Ashenwelt]

Return them and take a water sample. Petsmart has one of the best live fish garuntee anywhere. Though usually not the fish I am looking for.

 

[Fresh2o]

There is an online calculator called AqAdvisor you can use to determine the stocking numbers, filtration rate, amount of weekly water changes needed, pH, temperature, and compatibility notes. Worth taking a look at. Your tank appears to be very overstocked.
When you get your water tested, ask for numbers (not just "Fine" or "Bad" or "OK") and post the results. Aside from overcrowding, your tank might not be cycled.


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[chelsi.reber]

Yoy can return dead fish at Pet Smart for a full refunf or a replacement within 15 days of purchase. That's what I did.

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[Ashenwelt]

I would get a credit... that could be nitrogen cycle, problem water or what not... But there us a definite over stocking concern.