Do I try and treat it, or do I euthanize?

[CaptainMako]

Also, I will test my tap water as is for its ammonia. I use API Stress Coat dechlorinator right now, would it be better to switch to Prime for the cycling process or would that effect the ammonia levels too much?

[dskidmore]

You could move them to the 1 gallon. You will be dealing with the cycle in the 1 gallon as well there, but at least the 50% water changes will be much easier on you. Switch your frequent testing efforts to the tank with the fish in it. You may need more changes in the smaller tank although they will be easier to do. The smaller tank also will require less medication, so your supply will stretch further.

With every PWC where the fish are, use the dechlorinator and medicate the new water according to the new water volume. Redose the existing water according to the package instructions. If it says to redose every three days, then on the third day you dose according to the tank volume instead of the PWC volume.

Keep adding fish food to the empty larger tank and let it fishless cycle. Add more food when you can't see any waste fuzzy food in the tank. Just test it for nitrate once a week, and when nitrates go up to 20-40 or more, test that ammonia and nitrite are 0, and you can move the fish back.

[dskidmore]

Sick with the Stress Coat. It does similar things to Prime. I have a personal preference for Prime, but it's not that much superior to be worth scrapping decent stuff you already have.

[CaptainMako]

All right, here is what I will do.

Going to Petco today, I will pick up a master testing kit, perhaps pop eye medication if it seems relevant with them in the one gallon and general supplies I need to stock back up on. Anything else I will need for the cycling, fish-in or fishless?

I will clean out the one gallon and move the mollies there, but I do have a concern. They are making a big change back to this old one gallon tank and might be stuck there for a while, should I really do that to them, or just euthanize? They are bigger than they were before, and I don't know if they can handle the stress.

Regardless of my choice, I will keep up fishless cycling in the larger tank. I still need to find a method for adding ammonia, if I should just add it routinely or put in a lot at one time. Do things like the filter, hood light or heater need to be running for the bacteria?

I will test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate on both tanks and do water changes accordingly. How high can the ammonia go on the fishless tank before I need to change it?

I will medicate the smaller tank they are in according to your formulas as well.

If the mollies are alive by the time cycling finishes in the larger tank, I will place them back inside.

[CaptainMako]

After this I can stop throwing this thread up to the top and track my progress on the big fishless thread.

[dskidmore]

If you were going to buy anything other than test kits and medicine, it would be a cheap 5 gallon or 10 gallon tank to use as your sick tank, with a heater. Whichever you have space for and is reasonable to do 50% water changes for. If these are still under an inch, 5 gallons should be plenty. In a pinch I've used clean new 5 gallon buckets for this, but a glass tank is better as you can see what's going on. Fill it with water from the existing tank. If you're doing daily water changes, filtration and areation are not a huge concern. Put the 1 gallon in your next garage sale/charity dropoff or raise sea monkeys in it.

The fishless cycling tank can go to 4 ppm. If it goes over 4ppm stop adding fish food, but don't worry about the water changes. Keep all the regular equitment running during the cycle. Check the article.

Throwing the thread up to the top is no big deal. People subscribe to threads they want to subscribe to, very few people can read everything going on in this board. If you switch to another thread, provide a link over so people helping you can follow.

[Maya]

If you move the fish to a smaller tank... Remember that you will have to do even more frequent testing and more frequent water changes. This small tank (it has been broken down and cleaned, therefore the bacteria is dead) will cycle like any other tank. Fish excrete waste, that creates ammonia, bacteria eats ammonia, so on and so forth. Ammonia burns fish and high levels will cause a myriad of health problems if it doesn't kill them. Until you have a sufficient bacteria colony in ANY tank to rid the tank of ammonia you will have a cycle. More water (ie larger tank) means more dilution. More dilution means more time before toxicity. There is no way around it... No 100% effective way to speed it up.

[dskidmore]

Originally Posted by CaptainMako

I will clean out the one gallon and move the mollies there, but I do have a concern. They are making a big change back to this old one gallon tank and might be stuck there for a while, should I really do that to them, or just euthanize?

Euthanization is something you have to decide. How much trouble are you willing to go to to try to save these fish?

• The easiest and most straightforward thing to do is euthenize and start a fishless cycle in the main tank, but that might not be a good personal choice for you.
• The best thing for the fish is to leave them in the big tank, and put up with as much testing, water changing, and medicating as you have to do in the big tank for as long as the cycle takes.
• Putting them in a smaller sick tank is a compromise situation that will save you a lot of work, money on medications, and time on cycling your biger tank, but will be more stressful and require more careful testing/PWC than the larger tank.