3 Gallon Tank Disaster

[thefishycouple]

Hello everyone, i am new to this site, and would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer, becuase my local pet store is just not cutting it. My boyfriend and i have been wanting a tank for quite some time, but with only a little bit of room and a little bit of money, the tank we want is just out of the question for now. So, when a friend offered us there unused 3 gallon starter tank for free, it seemed like a nice idea. We set up the tank with auqa safe water conditioner, and bought a water test strip kit. We cleaned everything with just tap water, and added the gravel, a rock, and a live java fern...in hopes that it would help speed up the cycling. It ran this way for two days when we did a water test with the strips we had and everything was perfect. We even had them test the water at the pet store, and all we needed was a ph adjuster. They told us even though it had only been up for such a short time it would be fine to add some hardy fish the following day. (monday)We decided on getting some mollies and tetras, as well as a croy fish and a small sucker fish. We purchased 2 lyretail mollies, 5 rummy nose tetras, 1 croy fish, and 1 algea eater. I now know that this is far to many fish for a 3 gallon tank, especially one that has not gone through the cycle, but they all seemed fine at the begining. With everybbody seeming to get along and eating well(excpet a few of the tetras) we were suprised to wake up wednesday morning, only two days after having added the fish, to find two of our tetras dead. We went to the pet store to ask why this was happening if our water and feeding habits werent changing. They said our cycle had probobly begun, and gave us a product called CYCLE to help reduce fish loss, further nuetralize our water, and help speed up the cycling process. Again on thursday morning another was dead, and again on saturday! We now only have one lonely tetra with the other fish. Why are the fish dying if they are one of the hardiest fish? Is there a reason it is happening at night? Are the others going to die too? should we now add another molly? or more tetras? what do we do? I feel really bad about what has happened, and I dont want any other fish we have, or future fish to be lost, so if you have any ideas please share them.Thanks so much...

 

[polypterus]

Hate to tell you this but you did everything wrong. If the guy really told you to add all those fish he's just ripping you off and killing your pets. Someone who runs a fish store should know better. The last thing you want to do at this point is get any more fish. You NEED to cycle your tank and the product he sold you wont help. Actually in my experience CYCLE doesn't work at all for anything and I have tried it. You need to read the basic fish keeping information on this forum. I'm sorry to tell you that your other fish may die also. You might want to sell them back to the store if you can and cycle your tank properly. Also 1" per gallon is considered a good rule of thumb for fish keeping and a lot of people will tell you 1/2" is better.

 

[thefishycouple]

Thanks for the reply. I'll try and sell the fishes back to the store and hopefully have more luck in the future.

 

[sparky_555]

With a tank that small, theres no point in cycling it, the best option is just to do 100% water changes once a week. I would suggest selling the fish or taking them back to the pet shop and buying a Betta (siamese fighting fish). It would go great in a 3 gallon. As they dont get along with most other fish, thats the only one u could have in, but if u decide to do that, read the FAQ's in the Betta section first.

 

[Rediahs]

A betta would be fabulous in that tank, and you can add him immediately and do not have to cycle. A betta is really the only thing suited to a 3 gallon.

Good luck

 

[thefishycouple]

thanks for the ideas. so you guys know, the last rummynose also died. but the mollies seem to be doing well. they are active and eating well... dont appear to be stressed at all. i would like to keep them if its possible. would adding another one in a week be a terrible idea? _thanks

 

[black angel]

Please dont add any more mollies to the tank, you either have to take back what is left and swap for a betta or get a larger tank

 

[millym]

sorry to hear about your probs but you obviously have done everything in good faith...........read the pinned sections in this forum about cycling a tank to understand what you should have done.
i would definately NOT add any more fish even in a week. if your mollies still seem fine then great hopefully you'll get away with it & they will survive, but you really need to look at getting a bigger tank as 3g is WAY too small for what you have already, mollies can get to 2 1/2 -3 inches in size & im sure you wouldnt like to live in a teeny cupboard would you??
mollies also do best in brackish water (slightly salty) in freshwater they tend to be prone to fungal infections to name one (we have mollies in freshwater bought by my husb in ignorance they have been fine but i would have rather not kept fish that are suited more to conditions we dont have!!!)
rummy nose tetras are NOT hardy fish & are best introduced to a well established mature tank.
is it poss for you to get another tank.....pets@home & places (ebay is always worth checking out) do have them without stands though quite cheap, worth thinking about anyway.
good luck

 

[thefishycouple]

i sort of have my heart set on keeping the mollies, to prove to myself the tank wasnt a total failure.i dont want to put them in jeporady by keeping them, but i feel they are doing well right now and i am planning on getting a bigger tank very soon. I know that 10 gallons are pretty cheap, and would be a huge improvemnt, But i want something a bit larger and was thinking of holding off for a couple more weeks untill i can afford it. with the cory fish and the alge eater in there, would i be able to turn my tank into brakish water to better suit the mollies, or would it effect them negitivly? _sarah

 

[millym]

hi
corys do not tolerate salt. when i said that mollies ideally should be in brackish water i did not mean that they cant live long & happy lives in freshwater. ive had 3 mollies for nearly 3 years & one of our females has had 2 episodes of a minor fungal infection which i treated by using melafix & a little aquarium salt in our hosp tank, but otherwise they have been fine.

having a brackish tank will restrict what else you put in there ( as said you cant use salt with corys in the tank , or loaches either). personally id probably keep the mollies & leave it freshwater, just bear in mind that they can be prone to problems occasionally in freshwater.

what algae eater are you thinking of??? please choose carefully there is an algae eater that is commonly called just an 'algae eater' or 'sucking loach' or 'golden loach'. these fish are usually chinese algae eaters and do not live happily with a community tank. they are fine till they get about 2 inches in size ( a few months growth) & then become very aggressive & will usually attack your other fish so please avoid this fish at all costs. lfs often label them as peaceful community fish & they are not! if you do a search on this forum (use keywords chinese algae eater or cae you'll find loads of threads with folks having probelms with these fish - including myself, we had to rehome ours!!!)

if you can find a siamese flying fox (true one as they are often labelled wrongly too) or ottos are what id recommend as algae eaters. do a search again on this forum & you'll find loads of info on them.

good luck & keep us updated on how things are going.

 

[thefishycouple]

Thanks again for the advice. I am going to keep the tank freshwater, try and keep the mollies happy and healthy. I already have an "alge eater" in there, but am a litlle unsure of its proper name. Im doing some research right now to try and find out, and if not i will go to the LFS where i got him and look. Thanks alot. _sarah

 

[nikki182]

hi I was reading what you wrote about pets@home & just want people to be wary. I bought 6 tropical fish for my new tank & the assistant didn't even ask if I had a tank let alone what condition it was in. I told her I had only had the tank for a day & a half but she sold me the fish & now my poor fish are dying because I should have cycled my tank. Also in the Hollybush Garden Centre they have a complete tropical set up for £60, excludes stand though!

 

[millym]

hi I was reading what you wrote about pets@home & just want people to be wary. I bought 6 tropical fish for my new tank & the assistant didn't even ask if I had a tank let alone what condition it was in. I told her I had only had the tank for a day & a half but she sold me the fish & now my poor fish are dying because I should have cycled my tank. Also in the Hollybush Garden Centre they have a complete tropical set up for £60, excludes stand though!

i dont buy fish from idiots @ home (pets @ home) & wouldnt recommend it for fish or any advice to do with fishkeeping. i only mentioned it because they do have cheap 'dry' supplies such as food,tanks & other equipment so for someone who needs to get a piece of equipment in a hurry & they dont have loads of dosh to spend its a good place to look.

 

[jolaf]

Agreed that the lfs employee was incorrect when he told you to add fish. I have a 30 G tank and it took over a month to completely cycle. Like you I added fish way to fast and the result was death to most of them. I have now had my tank over a year and it is doing great. I suggest letting the tank cycle and watching the test numbers to make sure the water is healthy enough to add any fish. Do a little research on stocking fish since you have a small tank there isn't much room for anything. Maybe a betta and some neons or very small fish that don't get much bigger as they get older. Good luck.

Hello everyone, i am new to this site, and would greatly appreciate any advice you have to offer, becuase my local pet store is just not cutting it. My boyfriend and i have been wanting a tank for quite some time, but with only a little bit of room and a little bit of money, the tank we want is just out of the question for now. So, when a friend offered us there unused 3 gallon starter tank for free, it seemed like a nice idea. We set up the tank with auqa safe water conditioner, and bought a water test strip kit. We cleaned everything with just tap water, and added the gravel, a rock, and a live java fern...in hopes that it would help speed up the cycling. It ran this way for two days when we did a water test with the strips we had and everything was perfect. We even had them test the water at the pet store, and all we needed was a ph adjuster. They told us even though it had only been up for such a short time it would be fine to add some hardy fish the following day. (monday)We decided on getting some mollies and tetras, as well as a croy fish and a small sucker fish. We purchased 2 lyretail mollies, 5 rummy nose tetras, 1 croy fish, and 1 algea eater. I now know that this is far to many fish for a 3 gallon tank, especially one that has not gone through the cycle, but they all seemed fine at the begining. With everybbody seeming to get along and eating well(excpet a few of the tetras) we were suprised to wake up wednesday morning, only two days after having added the fish, to find two of our tetras dead. We went to the pet store to ask why this was happening if our water and feeding habits werent changing. They said our cycle had probobly begun, and gave us a product called CYCLE to help reduce fish loss, further nuetralize our water, and help speed up the cycling process. Again on thursday morning another was dead, and again on saturday! We now only have one lonely tetra with the other fish. Why are the fish dying if they are one of the hardiest fish? Is there a reason it is happening at night? Are the others going to die too? should we now add another molly? or more tetras? what do we do? I feel really bad about what has happened, and I dont want any other fish we have, or future fish to be lost, so if you have any ideas please share them.Thanks so much...