Molly Advice

[EJHLaura]

I have posted before about my betta dying. We were going to get another Betta, but my daughter wanted a pink fish instead, which led to guppies and a Molly, don't ask how it ended with those since none of them are pink, but it was my daughter's choice.

Anyway, So the tank sat for a few days, levels were perfect before adding these fish. I did a gradual introduction: sat the bag in the water, then slowly diluted the water in the bag with the aquarium water, then added them to the aquarium. It is a 3 gallon (not a 2.5 gal like i thought it was) tank. It has some plants, rocks, gravel. I added a small in-tank filter (a tetra one that uses air, its pretty cool).

The guppies have acclimated well and are not showing signs of stress. The molly however, is darting around to the top then to the bottom, then hiding behind the filter, then darting all around. She is pregnant, but i do not see the black circle that is supposed to show before she pops. She ate a little bit last night, and havent fed them yet today.

My questions are: Is this a sign that she is going to birth, or a sign of disease, or stress? Please do not lecture me on the 1gal/1inch fish rule, I have every intention of moving the molly when shes about to pop so everyone has room.
Was I told wrong- do molly's not do well with guppies?

Water tests right before post:
Temp: 75
pH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Hardness: 120
KH: 80
Nitrite: 1
Nitrate: 20

Also, These numbers are normal according to the instruction booklet that came with the tests, is that wrong?

Please help, I dont want to have another funeral for a fish (lol kids).

 

[Tetra1990]

How many of each fish? A 3 gallon is way too small for a Molly.

 

[torres]

If you put the water from the LFS in your tank you should never do that, just take the fish out with your hand or a net and put the fish in the tank.
Molly can be stressed cuz tank is Too small and they do well with guppies but..
Nitrite should be 0, this can be another cause for the stress.

 

[Ponch]

If you put the water from the LFS in your tank you should never do that, just take the fish out with your hand or a net and put the fish in the tank.
Molly can be stressed cuz tank is Too small and they do well with guppies but..
Nitrite should be 0, this can be another cause for the stress.

Agree with above re: nitrite. Should be zero or if your tank not cycled yet, as close to zero as possible. Noted that you have a good amount of nitrates (20ppm) but still have a 1ppm reading for nitrite. Thats a bit odd Because u need bacteria that turns nitrite into nitrate to do that, but you still have a nitrite reading. Could be either that you're partially cycled with trite to trate bacteria somehow lagging behind (were all fish added at same time?) or not at all cycled with water out of the tap containing nitrates or the test was wrong (worth a second test to confirm). If its correct you should read this article about fish-in cycling http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now-116287.html and be prepared to do daily water tests and changes to keep ammonia and nitrite below 0.25ppm at all times. So if that nitrite reading is correct, You should do a large water change to get that reading down as close to zero ASAP.

keeping stable water parameters in a small tank with a heavy Bioload Can be challenging because with less water toxins can reach lethal levels a lot faster.... so you'll need to stay on top of the testing and water changes to see your fish through.

 

[Ponch]

I have posted before about my betta dying. We were going to get another Betta, but my daughter wanted a pink fish instead, which led to guppies and a Molly, don't ask how it ended with those since none of them are pink, but it was my daughter's choice.

Anyway, So the tank sat for a few days, levels were perfect before adding these fish. I did a gradual introduction: sat the bag in the water, then slowly diluted the water in the bag with the aquarium water, then added them to the aquarium. It is a 3 gallon (not a 2.5 gal like i thought it was) tank. It has some plants, rocks, gravel. I added a small in-tank filter (a tetra one that uses air, its pretty cool).

The guppies have acclimated well and are not showing signs of stress. The molly however, is darting around to the top then to the bottom, then hiding behind the filter, then darting all around. She is pregnant, but i do not see the black circle that is supposed to show before she pops. She ate a little bit last night, and havent fed them yet today.

My questions are: Is this a sign that she is going to birth, or a sign of disease, or stress? Please do not lecture me on the 1gal/1inch fish rule, I have every intention of moving the molly when shes about to pop so everyone has room.
Was I told wrong- do molly's not do well with guppies?

Water tests right before post:
Temp: 75
pH: 7
Ammonia: 0
Hardness: 120
KH: 80
Nitrite: 1
Nitrate: 20

Also, These numbers are normal according to the instruction booklet that came with the tests, is that wrong?

Please help, I dont want to have another funeral for a fish (lol kids).

Ps - I have seen pregnant fish dart up and down the glass repeatedly when they are close to birth... But I have also seen fish do this when the toxin levels are high in the water. Let's rule out the toxins first and if she is still doing it with clear ammo and nitrtie readings then she is probably very close to birthing.