new tank, less than a week old, too many fish

[couplescaddy]

howdy people, i just got my 6 gallon tank, and let the water circulate for about 3 days before i got my first fishes, i got 4 little dudes, because thats what petco told me to do, so i bought 3 mollies and a platty. well one of them had 23 little babies and so now i have 27 fish swimming around in my little 5 day old 6 gallon tank. im scared that the bacteria will not grow fast enough and the ammonia will build up before the bacteria can eat it. what should i do? are there any chemicals i can add to the water to get rid of the ammonia in addition to the bacteria or should i flush all the little babies down the toilet? please help

[Keeper]

Welcome to AA!!

First of all...do not flush a live fish down the toilet, we do not condone that on this site! Now that is out of the way....If you can afford it, buy a much larger tank to house the new babies....or, you can donate them to the local fish store in about 2 weeks once they are a little larger. Alot of people reccomend a fishless cycle(if you don't know what a cycle is, please read under the articles section)...seen as how you have the fish already in the tank you will have to monitor the tank parameters closely while making several small water changes a week(fish cycle). Try not to add chemicals other than dechlorinator to the tank(ie.ph up/down) as it creates too much of a change in the water for the fish.

HTH

[couplescaddy]

thanks, but do you think the small fish will be ok in this tank for the time being? my sister is going to start a tank and wants some of the babies. will the babies pollute the tank enough to create problems or are they good to go? thanks for responding

[couplescaddy]

also, my water is getting cloudy white, is this the bacteria, and is it good?

[krap101]

i think that usually means therea alot of nitrites, nitrates, ammonia, or just a algae/bacteria cloud. im not positive though

[couplescaddy]

it better not be all that bad stuff, ive only had fish in there one **** day

[krap101]

lol. as long as you fed them yet it cant be the 1st 3.

my main bet is a bacterial bloom or an algeal bloom.

[couplescaddy]

thank you

[couplescaddy]

i just did a 25% water change in my tank, the fish were just chillin at the bottom and i didn't think they were looking very good, now theyre up and swimmin again.

[couplescaddy]

what temp do mollies and platties like? cold or like 78ish?

[Menagerie]

It looks like you are in the midst of a cycle with fish. Do you have ammonia, nitrite and nitrate liquid test kits? Have you read the article about the nitrogen cycle located in the articles section? Cloudiness is a sign of a new tank. Please post your water parameters.
Ammonia will start building up immediately once fish are added to a tank. 3 Mollies and a Platy is a large bioload for an uncycled tank, let alone 27 fish, regardless of size. They are all breathing and expelling waste. You need to be watching the water parameters and doing water changes as needed. My guess is you will need to do a 2 gal change everyday, or every other day depending on the amount of ammonia in the water. The baby fish will be most susceptible to the ammonia. Most on this site will not allow ammonia to become detectable and simply change 15-25% of the water every week, but that is after the cycle is complete and the tank has had a chance to get established.

[Menagerie]

what temp do mollies and platties like? cold or like 78ish?

Research the needs of your fish at www.liveaquaria.com ~ the more you know, the better off your fish will be!

[couplescaddy]

thanks a lot, i found this really useful, i appreciate your help

[Menagerie]

I forgot!
[center:f835a88dc5] Welcome to AA, couplescaddy!! [/center:f835a88dc5]

[couplescaddy]

thank you! this is really cool, how i can get help from sooooo many veterans sooooo easily, i hate talking to people at like petco who dont even work in that department but who think they know what the hell theyre talking about. i really appreciate everything you guys are helping me with. THANKS!!!!!!

[couplescaddy]

oh, and by the way, devils *editted to conform to the UA* its all about the avalanche, even though they had a rough playoff year!

[youronlysin]

8O Before you finish telling us all how you REALLY feel about the devils, I want to say welcome and lets step over in the corner and try to keep our language to ourselves. Good to see a Colorado fan! I have to watch that around here too! I forget that there are a lot of people here that dont hang out in the same places I do

I've made some comments on your amQuel post. Sounds like you need some information about what to expect from your tank over the next few weeks. As mentioned previously, if you don't already have one, you should think about getting some type of aquarium test kit; in order the test the water parameters and keep an eye on whats really going on in the tank. The bacteria, the ammonia, the Nitrites, etc. etc. Those are all things that you just cant see, so dont get too excited if the water gets a little cloudy. If you've been in the tank placing decorations and such or anything at all, the water may cloud a bit. If your filter is up to snuff, it should clear in a couple of days. Maybe you added a little too much food at once or something...those things can be hard to gauge at first. The bad things that your tank is going to experience over the next few weeks are going to be things that you cant see. Tell us a bit more about your tank and lets see if we can at least tell you what to expect.

[Menagerie]

I love hockey as much or more than the next guy, but there are rules on this site and please keep in mind this is a family oriented site.

You should expect a spike in ammonia, then it will drop as the nitrites spike, then the nitrites drop and the nitrates rise. Most fish can handle nitrates to 40ppm. After the tank is cycled, the ammonia and nitrites should be kept at an undetectable level on you water test kit. You should also invest in a gravel vacuum, if you haven't done so already.

[revhtree]

Go Devils!! Sorry had to get one in for the Aquarium Advice Alumni!!!! Lets show some respect.

[Menagerie]

That's okay rev--all's fair in love and hockey BTW, you keep some late hours for a Saturday!

I knew what would happen if I used my boys' logo. Mostly I expected comments from Wings, Rangers and Philly fans, not Avs. The Avs are the Devils of the west!!

Okay, enough with the hijacked thread