Uh Oh, I don't know what I'm doing

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dresnoone

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 5, 2011
Messages
12
Location
Maryland
I read a website that specializes in aquarium maintenance & beeding, I tried using their advice and didn't follow to a T. I've had 3 pregnant fish in two weeks, the first was my Dalmation Molly she delivered about 16 fry and every last one of them died after moving them to a bigger aquarium. My Black Molly delivered last week and I separated the fry from the mother and put them in a nursery within the tank, I came back the next AM, they were all dead except one, that died eventually. Yesterday, another Black Molly delivered and I did a 50% water change, adding small increment of salt, water conditioner, disease curer, and algae protector. About 15 minutes later my daughter noticed the babies were dead all at the bottom of the tank with their stomachs split open. There's a greay baby and orange baby still holding strong. How can I stop the fry from dying once they're born? The nursery tank didn't work and I don't know if I have the "right" materials to upkeep can anyone help me?
 
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Have you checked the water parameters? If Yes what did you get? Is this a established cycled tank? Maybe do a quick partial water change to start.
 
I haven't checked the water levels and don't know how or of a product to purchase. I never checked the water levels year ago and my fish did well. Can you recommend some products?
 
Sorry for your loss. Is the tank cycled, not tryin to be rude but gotta ask.
 
I read FAQs on fishless cycling and never heard of it. PetSmart advised once I purchased the 10g tank to let it run for 15 minutes, sit the fish in the water in their bags for another 15 minutes and release. I haven't done any cycling. Just buying fish and placing them in the tank.
 
buy the API freshwater master test kit, thats what most people on here use to test the water. with that u can tell if your tank is cycled. and if you take the fry from one tank and put them into another tank with different parameters without acclimationg them they are probably dieing of shock
 
Thank you BHead707, which master kit is it as Amazon has two?
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals 34 Fresh Water Aquarium Master Test Kit for Testing High Range pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate Levels
Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Aquarian Freshwater Master Test Kit
 
Yeah, we will know more after you test the water parameters. Fry can be a bit sensitive. The parents live there and can adapt to the conditions, but fry sort of get shocked by poor parameters sometimes. Sorry to say, but PetSmart gave you terrible advice. You need to look into fish-in cycling. There is a sticky post there in the Getting Started section.
If I were you, I would try to move the parents to a bigger tank and then put the fry in the smaller tank once they are dropped. One problem might be that your molly moms are dropping their fry prematurely due to stress. If you still have the moms in the 10g, they may be stressed because it is new, cramped, and perhaps from ammonia levels that could be present.
Another note, never add any disease cure unless you have an identifiable disease you are curing. Just like in people, meds can have side effects for the fish. Also, there is not need to add algae reducer. Again, it can have side effects.
Oh, and get the "master kit." Those 2 you listed sound like the same thing, just under different titles, but I am not sure. If it says master kit, it should be good. :)
 
This is the third fish to deliver in my tank. I always go into panicked mother mode and start immediately changing 20%-40% of the water and treating it with Tetra 77341 Tetra AquaSafe Fungus Guard Tablets that dissolve like Alka-Seltzer and changes the water green due to the color of the tablet, NutraFin Water Conditioner, and Tetra AlgaeControl. Mind you, I’m trying to build on this hobby while using it to teach my daughter about caring for Mollies, it’s a team project.
 
This is the third fish to deliver in my tank. I always go into panicked mother mode and start immediately changing 20%-40% of the water and treating it with Tetra 77341 Tetra AquaSafe Fungus Guard Tablets that dissolve like Alka-Seltzer and changes the water green due to the color of the tablet, NutraFin Water Conditioner, and Tetra AlgaeControl. Mind you, I’m trying to build on this hobby while using it to teach my daughter about caring for Mollies, it’s a team project.
I know, but you need to quit hitting the fry with every chemical under the sun.
 
dresnoone said:
I read FAQs on fishless cycling and never heard of it. PetSmart advised once I purchased the 10g tank to let it run for 15 minutes, sit the fish in the water in their bags for another 15 minutes and release. I haven't done any cycling. Just buying fish and placing them in the tank.

It just gets better and better... Your advisor at PetsMart has no business selling fish or giving advice. 15 minutes? Seriously?

Most common livebearers are quite hardy. I've seen babies survive is some pretty bad conditions. My guess would be that your water has extremely high levels of ammonia.

The best advice might be to rehome your fish and start over doing a fishless cycle. Until your aquarium is cycled, keeping fry alive will be seriously challenging. Even a separate rearing tank will need to be stable and ammonia-free.

Important factors:
Temperature
Ammonia levels (measured in parts per million - ppm)
Nitrite
Nitrate

With those livebearers, you probably know they do better with salt already in their water. Adding after the fact is stressful, especially to the sensitive fry.

If you decide to keep your fish and do a fish-in cycle, the I would encourage you to change a lot if water, very frequently. But without a good test kit to measure the above levels, you are just guessing. And stay FAR away from the test strips- they are notorious for being unreliable. Most here suggest an API master test kit.
 
Avoid shot gunning chemicals like that. The antimicrobial + salt + algaecide was a deadly cocktail even for adult fish. When it comes to breeding fish au naturel works the best.
 
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