First Tank Mates !!!!!

[Notsofab]

So today was the big day!!!

After cycling our tank without fish (using Nutrafin 'Cycle') for 2 weeks, we took some water readings this morning and got Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0.1, Nitrate=20 and pH=7.8. So it was off to our LFS to pickup our first tank mates.

I still felt quiet nervous with the Nitrite reading at 0.1 and considered getting 3 zebra danio first because of their hardiness - but decided against it as they weren't really the fish I wanted. So instead we purchased 3 Balloon Mollies.

So now our 59 litre tank is home to 2 female ( one black & one white ) and 1 male ( golden ) Balloon Mollies.

We brought them home and followed our LFS instructions to introduce our fish to the tank. They seem happy enough at the moment, if a little shy. The white one seems more out going than the other 2 and seems to swim around the whole of the tank. The male seems to be a little edgy when the white female swims near him, but apart from that all seems O.K.

The thing is, I read so much information about cycling the tank and testing water etc, that now I actually have some fish in the water I feel a little unprepared. For example, how long does it take for fish to 'adjust' to their new homes. I understand that moving fish can stress them out, but how long will these effects last.

We left the house today for about 4 hours and I was a nervous wreck by the time we got home in case I found my new Mollies floating on the surface. Is there like a safe adjustment period after which my fish will be used to their new home? ( water quality permitting ).

I think i will wait at least 2 weeks until I set up a forum signature and add 3 x Balloon Mollies to it - don't want to tempt fate !!!!

Thanks for reading.

Geoff.

 

[WILDER]

Just keep an eye on water quality with having a slight nitrite reading as it could go up with the fish in now, as long as they are being active and not gasping at the surface or laying on the bottom they should be fine, just watch out for whitespot like they have been sprinkled in salt as it can be common, when you have just added new fish to the tank, that's why when you buy any further fish it's best to guarantine them so they don't fetch anything nasty into the tank, good luck.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Congratulations on your new fish!

I felt exactly the same when I added mine, though they took to their new tank- well, like fish to water really. I kept the tank dark and didn't feed them for the first evening- they weren't half shouting at me the next morning!

I don't think there is any one set time for how long it will take fish to adjust. When I moved my fish in (30 minute bus journey etc) they didn't seem to need any adjustment at all, but started their new lives straightaway. Then a few months later I had to move one platy (a bully!) to another tank, and he seemed totally shocked for over 24 hours, I really thought he was going to keel over with the shock. After that he was perfectly happy.

So today was the big day!!!

After cycling our tank without fish (using Nutrafin 'Cycle') for 2 weeks, we took some water readings this morning and got Ammonia=0, Nitrite=0.1, Nitrate=20 and pH=7.8. So it was off to our LFS to pickup our first tank mates.

I still felt quiet nervous with the Nitrite reading at 0.1 and considered getting 3 zebra danio first because of their hardiness - but decided against it as they weren't really the fish I wanted. So instead we purchased 3 Balloon Mollies.

So now our 59 litre tank is home to 2 female ( one black & one white ) and 1 male ( golden ) Balloon Mollies.

We brought them home and followed our LFS instructions to introduce our fish to the tank. They seem happy enough at the moment, if a little shy. The white one seems more out going than the other 2 and seems to swim around the whole of the tank. The male seems to be a little edgy when the white female swims near him, but apart from that all seems O.K.

The thing is, I read so much information about cycling the tank and testing water etc, that now I actually have some fish in the water I feel a little unprepared. For example, how long does it take for fish to 'adjust' to their new homes. I understand that moving fish can stress them out, but how long will these effects last.

We left the house today for about 4 hours and I was a nervous wreck by the time we got home in case I found my new Mollies floating on the surface. Is there like a safe adjustment period after which my fish will be used to their new home? ( water quality permitting ).

I think i will wait at least 2 weeks until I set up a forum signature and add 3 x Balloon Mollies to it - don't want to tempt fate !!!!

Thanks for reading.

Geoff.

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[Durbkat]

All you need to do is keep the light off for 2 days then on the third day you can feed them with the light on. But don't feed them before the two days are up because fish seem to think whatever the tank looks like when they are fed is safe and if you feed them with the light off they won't eat when its on nor will they swim around. Trust me the same thing happened to me it was my first 10 gallon tank and it had 3 black tetras in it (same ones I have today) and I didn't know you had to wait two days for them to get used to their new surroundings so I turned the lights on the second they went in the tank. And ever since then they won't swim around with the light on nor will they eat with the light on. And believe me I tried to get them to eat with the light on for a week but instead of eating they stayed at the bottom and would not budge so I had to start feeding with the light off so they could eat.

 

[yvez9]

All you need to do is keep the light off for 2 days then on the third day you can feed them with the light on. But don't feed them before the two days are up because fish seem to think whatever the tank looks like when they are fed is safe and if you feed them with the light off they won't eat when its on nor will they swim around. Trust me the same thing happened to me it was my first 10 gallon tank and it had 3 black tetras in it (same ones I have today) and I didn't know you had to wait two days for them to get used to their new surroundings so I turned the lights on the second they went in the tank. And ever since then they won't swim around with the light on nor will they eat with the light on. And believe me I tried to get them to eat with the light on for a week but instead of eating they stayed at the bottom and would not budge so I had to start feeding with the light off so they could eat.

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I just feed my new fish whenever i feed the other fish, usually the day after i get them because i feed my fish when i wake up. and i keep the lights on the regular schedule. i guess it isn't bad to do it that way, but i don't go through that hassle.

 

[Notsofab]

O.K first up, when I got up this morning all 3 tank mates are alive and seem to be as we left them last night.

I'm just a little 'concerned' about their behaviour and would like to try and make sure that they are as happy as possible. Does anyone know how Balloon Molly's behave and how they show they are happy / unhappy?

When I've seen them in my LFS there are always so many of them in one tank, that it's always a bit frantic with them all swimming everywhere at all levels in the tank.

My white female seems to be the most settled of the 3. She seems happy to go off and explore her new environment. Our tank is quite deep (59 litre hex) and she will happily swim down to the bottom and check out the plants and ornaments in the tank. She even swam through the broken urn yesterday. We watched her for an hour solid yesterday as she checked out the whole tank.

The other 2 often remain only 5mm under the surface (not gasping for air) just floating there pretty much hidden away behind the submerged bit of our water pump. Do you think they are shy and still adjusting to their new home or is it something to be more worried about?

I have seen the white female nip at the male in the tank and he seems very timid around her, though he seems to remain quite close to the black female.

So is it usual for 2 of them to remain near the surface. They do venture down into the tank a bit on occassions just nowhere near as much as the white one. Do they normally like to stay at one level in the tank or would they roam anywhere? Would they prefer to be in a larger group, at the moment we have 3. If we added say 2 more, should we get 1 male and 1 female to make a balance of 3F to 2M? Is it maybe a territorial thing with the White F establishing herself as the boss lady?

They don't seem to like the air features that we have or the spot on the top of the tank where the filtered water comes back in. I'm guessing that this is because of the currents caused by the moving water. I must admit with the air features on the top of the water does get a little choppy. So we've adjusted the air flows so one feature is off and the smaller one works very slowly. Should we try and leave this on now to help the water circulate or just switch them off all together?

What about the light? When should I switch it on and for how long per day?

So many questions - all help is greatly appreciated!

Geoff

PS - I took some of my LFS water from the bag they travelled in yesterday before I added my tank water to it and tested it. They also had a Nitrite level of 0.1