Newb, in over her head.. HELP!

[AllieKeneston]

Hi there,
I bought a 10 gallon tank, with 3 black mollies and a big goldfish. i got it about two days ago, and unaware of cycling, i didnt cycle the tank before i put them in there. now, i have 2 black mollies and a goldfish. my tanks cloudy, and i don't know if i should do a pcw? i did one yesterday, with about 50% of the tank. also, what should the temp be? i got a heater, and the black mollies seem to stay close to it.

my tank-

 

[revchristinejday]

Dear Alliekeneston,
It doesn't seem like your tank is cycled. There is a link on AA on "now that I have fish how do I cycle," which will help you cycle the tank. It will involve daily water changes and testing. A liquid master test such as API is necessary to get one's ammonia, nitrate and nitrate levels.

I don't know about mollies needs, but goldfish need a larger aquarium size-20 gallons for first goldfish and 10 additional gallons for each additional fish. So your godfish needs more space and probably more filtration. Goldfish are. considered messy and filter(s) should be about 10 times the number of gallons per hour.

When I looked up mollies, it said they need 78-82 degrees. Most heaters have imperfect calibration so you'll need to use a tank thermometer to achieve the right temperature. Goldfish can do 80 degrees but are happier a bit lower.

There is a website, aquadvisor, which can give you an idea of how much space and filtration mollies need. Some pe

 

[librarygirl]

Wow you have a lot going on. Your tank isn't cycled, which you already know. The Mollys are tropical and the goldfish would be happier in colder water, so they probably shouldn't be in the same tank. Plus goldfish require 20 gals for the first fish and 10 gals for each additional, so just for the goldfish alone you'll need a 20 gal tank. Also, depending on what type of Molllys you have, your tank is probably too small for them too. Since you have a lot going on and you just bought the tank and fish, I would highly stress returning the fish and cycling your tank fishless and in the meantime research the correct fish to keep in your tank once it cycles. In the meantime you need to do VERY large water changes every day. Goldfish are messy, and I believe Mollys have high bioloads as well (e.g. they expel a lot of waste), so you're going to need to do a lot of water changes to keep the toxins down.