An Hour After Buying A Tank, I Have Babies...

[Pyzik]

Hello, I am new here and have been reading quite a bit, nice site.

So I picked up a tank and all the necessities. Bought a few fish, a Pleco, a couple Fancy Gold Fish and a few Mollies. Went home, let ‘em sit in the water a while then dropped them in.

Decided the tank looked to plain so we went back to the store for more plants. When we came back, there were 6 baby Mollies swimming around! I know they were not in the bags when we opened them and let the fish in.

So it's like we got 6 free fish! I know at least a few will die as I am just going to let them stay in the general population.

Was just surprised and wanted to share my excitement.

 

[helterskelter]

Sorry but your should lurn a little about fish. when u first set up a tank you ideally need to cycle it.

This allows every thing to settle down and make it little safer to start off, this takes around 2-4 weeks to cycle.

What happens in new tanks with fish is all the fish produce ammonia which is highly toxic to fish. Cycling allows some good bacteris to grow to help remove these toxins.
The sad news is fry are very sensitive to this, so if the fry survive past a week you be lucky.

Also fancy goldfish is not a good with mollies as they eat all the food and bully them!

Sorry to sound harsh but the shop should of told u all this and at least made u wait a little while!!!
I would be expecting problem if i was you.

You may have to get some active carbon as this helps removine toxins from the water, but this will also starve the good bacteria you need to cycle the tank.
Also you may need to do daily water changes if u get problems.

 

[Pyzik]

Sorry but your should lurn a little about fish. when u first set up a tank you ideally need to cycle it.

This allows every thing to settle down and make it little safer to start off, this takes around 2-4 weeks to cycle.

What happens in new tanks with fish is all the fish produce ammonia which is highly toxic to fish. Cycling allows some good bacteris to grow to help remove these toxins.
The sad news is fry are very sensitive to this, so if the fry survive past a week you be lucky.

Also fancy goldfish is not a good with mollies as they eat all the food and bully them!

Sorry to sound harsh but the shop should of told u all this and at least made u wait a little while!!!
I would be expecting problem if i was you.

You may have to get some active carbon as this helps removine toxins from the water, but this will also starve the good bacteria you need to cycle the tank.
Also you may need to do daily water changes if u get problems.

I did a cycle of the water for a week before putting fish in. Left this tidbit out to keep the story short. Is a week not long enough? The pet store told me a week.

I did not know about the Mollies and Goldfish. They seem to be okay... I will do more reading before picking up more fish.

 

[HCpetraitis]

Welcome! First, I want to say goldfish are really not good for Mollies. They aren't just bullies, they are pigs! They eat all the food, and they are very "sick" for mollies. They let out chemicals that aren't good for mollies. Also, congratz on the babies! It's so exciting to see them for the first time!

 

[neilmcq]

just keep up around a 25% water change every couple of days to let the filter build up to the load uve put in and you should be ok.... well done on th new arrivals

 

[kribensis12]

^ Not good advice. If you wan't the fish to survive, you need to BUY an API LIQUID FRESHWATER MASTER TEST KIT. Then, do daily 25-50 percent water changes for a week or more, and then them every 2 days and so on and so forth. Goldfish are bullies. They are also agressive, and love to eat the food of other fish. They are also coldwater. They also probably need a bigger tank than you have( what size is it?). I would return the Goldfish and then buy a test kit and test once to twice daily.

 

[Pyzik]

It is a 30 gallon tank. 30" x 12" x 18".
Thanks for all the advice.

 

[wackystarfish]

Well, at least congrats on choosing a big tank! This will serve you much better in the long run. If possible i would take the gold fish back, they generally are meant for ponds, and arent as good at tolerating the higher temperature needed for tropical fish. Basically, cycling is all about letting the filter grow bacteria, so that they break down the fish poo and uneaten foods. It is considered better to do this without fish, by adding some flakes over a period of weeks, so that the bacteria who feed off it grow, until there is a significant amount to support the fish inside, however, it is still possible to do a 'fish-in cycle. Just make sure that the filter isnt overwhelmed, and so keep up regular water changes. This is another reason to get rid of the goldfish as they are extremley messy fish! Good luck with the fry, and welcome to the forum! here you will find much better information to ensure you have a smooth as start to the hobby as possible as we offer much more experience and proper advice than the LFS's like to give
Finlay

 

[wackystarfish]

And BTW, if you ever need any help, just send me a PM and ill get back to you
(Just click my name, then send message)

 

[kribensis12]

And BTW, if you ever need any help, just send me a PM and ill get back to you
(Just click my name, then send message)

Same. I have a iTouch, plus a comp, so I practically LIVE on here!( shows how much of a life I have!)

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to the forum Pyzik. It seems that it is time to pile on so I will just say that you have a poor match of fish. the goldfish do best at lower temperatures and the mollies definitely like their water warm. Your best compromise is probably around 75F where both fish will be uncomfortable but it won't kill either one. The cycle that people have been talking about can be quite a lot of work in a position such as you have. There is a link in my signature area to fish-in cycling, which is what you are starting to do. A fish-in cycle can be done with minimal damage to the fish if you can stay on top of the water changes and testing that are needed.

 

[Pyzik]

Well, the goldfish are gone. Took them back to the pet store.

Two mollies died .

Petco said they will test the water for free, I am going to get that done tomorrow.

 

[OldMan47]

Chances are good that they will tell you your ammonia levels are too high. It is inevitable with stocking an uncycled tank. The way to avoid the problem is to do a fishless cycle first or to do lots of big water changes to control the contaminants until your tank can cycle with the fish in it. If you don't have your own test kit, the only hope you have of a successful healthy cycle is a daily 50% water change. If you get the test gear, you can adjust the frequency and amount of water change based on test results. It would certainly mean less water hauling.

 

[nosoup4you]

Just to add to what Oldman said, you need to do a 50% water change right away...before you get the test results.

 

[JohnRossDele]

Hi you should really put the fry in the breeding trap for security, trust me your just wasting alot of time just as much as money if you dfont take care of them, ive bred mollies myself and I know, that Pleco will eat them just around any time your not lookin and they'll be all gone before you know it.

you could use liquifry no.2 for livebearing fish i use this and mostly 100% of the fry will survive and crushed flakes wouldn't go a miss!!

dont put your cute little guys under danger!!