Transported baby mollies in a new tank... staying at the bottom HELP!

[CMN]

On xmas day my molly gave birth to 41 babies i decided yesterday to bring some of the babies to college with me. I did everything i was suppost to do with introducing them to the new water. Temp is around 78-80. Ph is 7.6 which from what i am told is good for mollies!. I have changed 25% of the water this morning there still acting not normal. i have another 10 gallon tank with there siblings in there and there swimming around and acting normal. i have put salt in there last night 2 tablespoons and sprinckled some in there today. There eating a little and pooping far less than they have. Does anyone have suggestions as what i can do to help them? Is this normal for fry when you move them from a tank to a different one?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Is the new tank cycled? Do you have a test kit?

 

[CMN]

the tank has been up and cycling for almost a 1 1/2 weeks.
and i have tested my ph: 7.6 which i herd is normal for mollies and my ammonia level is .25 i dont know whats normal for that. though

 

[CMN]

the water feels slimmy too is that normal?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

So the tank is in the middle of a cycle. Fry are very sensitive to water conditions. If you see any ammonia or nitrite you need to do a PWC and get it as close to 0 as possible.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/artic...g-but-I-already-have-fish-What-now/Page2.html
Please read this.
A cycled tank has 0 ammonia and nitrite and increasing nitrate. Once cycled keep the nitrate under 20ppm. The lower the better with fry.

 

[CMN]

i did 25% percent this morning and added 5 ml of conditioner. im going to do 50 % and it wont hurt them if i put 5ml of conditioner more in?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

No it shouldnt. Water changes are a good thing. What conditioner are you using?

 

[CMN]

aqueon

 

[CMN]

well the 50% water is complete and they look like there fine now there all swimming together and everything. like night and day change. can that happen that fast? like they all just were at the top of the tank. im shocked!

 

[CMN]

how often should i change my water like that or 50% ? like once a day or will that shock the fish?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Yep just like that. That's the effects of ammonia on fish. I would suggest changing 50% of the water everytime you see ammonia or nitrite present. Do you have a nitrite and nitrate test? They will be needed during the cycle as well. As long as the water is temperature matched (roughly the same temp as tank) they will be fine with large daily water changes.

 

[CMN]

No I don't have nitrate test kit only ammonia. Okay well thank you for your help. You really saved my fishies lol!

 

[CMN]

One last question, how old will the babies be when they can reproduce ? Bc I will have to separate right? I herd that inter breeding with the siblings can cause defect in the fish? Is that true?

 

[Mumma.of.two]

One last question, how old will the babies be when they can reproduce ? Bc I will have to separate right? I herd that inter breeding with the siblings can cause defect in the fish? Is that true?

Glad to help.
Idk how old they will be. I've never raised mollies before. You don't have to to separate them but if you don't they will breed. I'm not sure if it will cause defects or not. It really depends if the fish have been interbred before and many other factors.

 

[CMN]

So now my mollies are acting the same as they were does that mean the ammonia nitrate level went up again what should I do. I want to cry.

 

[Alyxx]

So now my mollies are acting the same as they were does that mean the ammonia nitrate level went up again what should I do. I want to cry.

Same thing. 50% water change. You will need to do this daily until the tank is cycled. I highly recommend a master test kit including nitrite and nitrate tests. Check out the sticky in the freshwater getting started forum titled "I just learned about cycling but I already have fish" for more information about fish in cycling. Good luck!

 

[CMN]

Even though I did a 50 percent water change about 5 hours ago? Will it hurt them if I keep changing there water. It's weird they perk up when I change the water. Now there acting lethargic again.

 

[Alyxx]

Even though I did a 50 percent water change about 5 hours ago? Will it hurt them if I keep changing there water. It's weird they perk up when I change the water. Now there acting lethargic again.

As long as the temperature of the water is matched to their tank water, and there isn't a huge ph difference, water changes will never hurt your fish. When cycling with fish, it is up to you to keep the quickly rising ammonia levels down low enough for the fish to be ok (below 0.25) because you don't have the beneficial bacteria built up to take care of that. You may need to do multiple changes a day for your fish's safety. I would invest in prime for your dechlorinator/conditioner because it will detoxify ammonia and nitrite temporarily and it is more concentrated, so it will last longer.

 

[CMN]

I have a water conditioner now are they different from what you are talking about.

 

[Alyxx]

Prime is just a different brand. It removes chlorine and chloramine and it also detoxifies ammonia and nitrite, which is helpful during a fish in cycle. But mainly I'm recommending it because it is very concentrated, you use two drops per gallon of water instead of a larger amount like most conditioners, so a bottle will last longer with all the water changes you will be doing. It will save you some money in the long run!