(Reposting because I think I put this in the wrong category the first time)
So, I'm fairly new to keeping fish as pets and I just want to point out that I have limited space and funds. I purchased a 10 gallon tank and filter in the summer because my younger sister won a goldfish at the county fair and I didn't want it to live in a crappy little bowl. I didn't know anything about the Nitrogen Cycle or how to keep the tank aerated and the fish quickly died. However, since I already had a fish tank I did some research and cycled the tank myself for several weeks, bought a simple bubble wand, heater, thermometer, light, and some moss balls, and once I was convinced the tank was all set up and had PH tested the water (I dropped like, all my money in the process of doing this too), I went to the pet store and a worker there helped me pick out three small tropical fish (they told me to get three because they said they need to stay in groups). I got one dalmatian molly, a red molly with a black tail, and a yellow molly with a black tail.
When I put them in the tank, I did notice that the yellow one had two white spots on it. I didn't think much of it, I thought maybe it was a reflection from the light. I had them for a few weeks and they seemed really happy and active. I got attached :/ Then I noticed that the yellow and red ones seemed to be sitting in the corner of the tank near the bottom for long periods of time, and responding slower than the dalmatian when I fed them. One day I get home from school and the yellow fish is dead and sunk to the bottom of the tank. I took him out, tested the PH of the water and everything was fine. I did a water change any way and then checked the PH again, still fine. I'm paranoid that the white spots meant something and that the fish had ich, even though I didn't see any on the dead body of the yellow fish, so I went online and lots of places said to put in a few teaspoons of non-iodized salt and feed them small pieces of garlic to kill parasites, so I did that. The next day the red fish is covered in white spots and is aggressively scratching against the sides of the tank and the rock, when he's not sitting in the corner. I panic and do the salt and garlic thing, go to school, but when I come back the spots seem worse and hes still scratching. Also, the tank was super cloudy :/ So I cleaned it again and didn't put anything extra this time.
Everything I'm reading online is talking about hospital tanks and stuff. I don't have any funds to do something like that. I also read that apparently the ich medicine (which I plan to go buy tomorrow) doesn't kill the ich on the fish, just the ich in tank. So my parents convinced me to take the sick fish out and put him in a container (near the space heater so he doesn't get cold, which is the best I can do) while I treat the other tank for ich, hoping that they don't attach to the dalmatian while I'm treating it.
I'm just super worried now about the red fish. He's probably super stressed out and now he's in a crappy environment. If the ich go through their life cycle and drop off of him into the container, will he be safe to return to his aquarium? Should I put ich medicine in the container, too? Or is this whole thing basically dooming him to die??
What about the other fish? Is he going to be more stressed now that he's alone and more likely to get sick? Is there a possibility he's already infected and I just don't know it yet, and treating the water won't do anything?
I'm freaking out and I don't trust people at the pet store now to tell me what to do. I'm supposed to be responsible for them and now I think they're gonna die. Please help!
TL;DR: New tropical fish owner w/ 10 gallon heated/filtered tank. 3 tropical mollies. One with white spots upon purchase, died suddenly a few weeks later. 2 days later second fish covered in spots and showing signs of distress. Used salt and garlic briefly, didn't help so I isolated the sick fish in a non-filtered container near a heater. Plan to get ich medicine tomorrow but not sure best route to take. Need advice, I HAVE LIMITED FUNDS AND SPACE.
So, I'm fairly new to keeping fish as pets and I just want to point out that I have limited space and funds. I purchased a 10 gallon tank and filter in the summer because my younger sister won a goldfish at the county fair and I didn't want it to live in a crappy little bowl. I didn't know anything about the Nitrogen Cycle or how to keep the tank aerated and the fish quickly died. However, since I already had a fish tank I did some research and cycled the tank myself for several weeks, bought a simple bubble wand, heater, thermometer, light, and some moss balls, and once I was convinced the tank was all set up and had PH tested the water (I dropped like, all my money in the process of doing this too), I went to the pet store and a worker there helped me pick out three small tropical fish (they told me to get three because they said they need to stay in groups). I got one dalmatian molly, a red molly with a black tail, and a yellow molly with a black tail.
When I put them in the tank, I did notice that the yellow one had two white spots on it. I didn't think much of it, I thought maybe it was a reflection from the light. I had them for a few weeks and they seemed really happy and active. I got attached :/ Then I noticed that the yellow and red ones seemed to be sitting in the corner of the tank near the bottom for long periods of time, and responding slower than the dalmatian when I fed them. One day I get home from school and the yellow fish is dead and sunk to the bottom of the tank. I took him out, tested the PH of the water and everything was fine. I did a water change any way and then checked the PH again, still fine. I'm paranoid that the white spots meant something and that the fish had ich, even though I didn't see any on the dead body of the yellow fish, so I went online and lots of places said to put in a few teaspoons of non-iodized salt and feed them small pieces of garlic to kill parasites, so I did that. The next day the red fish is covered in white spots and is aggressively scratching against the sides of the tank and the rock, when he's not sitting in the corner. I panic and do the salt and garlic thing, go to school, but when I come back the spots seem worse and hes still scratching. Also, the tank was super cloudy :/ So I cleaned it again and didn't put anything extra this time.
Everything I'm reading online is talking about hospital tanks and stuff. I don't have any funds to do something like that. I also read that apparently the ich medicine (which I plan to go buy tomorrow) doesn't kill the ich on the fish, just the ich in tank. So my parents convinced me to take the sick fish out and put him in a container (near the space heater so he doesn't get cold, which is the best I can do) while I treat the other tank for ich, hoping that they don't attach to the dalmatian while I'm treating it.
I'm just super worried now about the red fish. He's probably super stressed out and now he's in a crappy environment. If the ich go through their life cycle and drop off of him into the container, will he be safe to return to his aquarium? Should I put ich medicine in the container, too? Or is this whole thing basically dooming him to die??
What about the other fish? Is he going to be more stressed now that he's alone and more likely to get sick? Is there a possibility he's already infected and I just don't know it yet, and treating the water won't do anything?
I'm freaking out and I don't trust people at the pet store now to tell me what to do. I'm supposed to be responsible for them and now I think they're gonna die. Please help!
TL;DR: New tropical fish owner w/ 10 gallon heated/filtered tank. 3 tropical mollies. One with white spots upon purchase, died suddenly a few weeks later. 2 days later second fish covered in spots and showing signs of distress. Used salt and garlic briefly, didn't help so I isolated the sick fish in a non-filtered container near a heater. Plan to get ich medicine tomorrow but not sure best route to take. Need advice, I HAVE LIMITED FUNDS AND SPACE.
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