Need Help With My Mollies Please!

[Tommythecat]

I just started a 10 gallon. I used microbe-lift stress relief and bacteria additives and let it cycle for 5 days. Today I bought 2 black mollies and one lyretail Molly and all three of them are shaking and swimming funny. I checked the water with api test strips and everything looks good. The water is at 80 degrees. What can I do? Thanks.

 

[evan47]

mollies are prone to shaking, or shimmies as they are called commonly.
shimmies in mollies are caused by environmental conditions such as stress after transport, water being too soft or lack of aquarium salt and/or electrolytes in your water.
10 gallons is a bit small for mollies.
mollies are fond of brackish conditions so aquarium salt may help.
do a google search on fish shaking, and another on caring for mollies.

 

[Tommythecat]

Ok thanks I read about the salt but it said they can do ok without it, so I didn't know if that's what it was. I guess I'll pick up some marine salt tomorrow. Hopefully they survive until then. I'll have to upgrade my tank soon too.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Letting the tank sit for 5 days won't cycle it. When you get the new tank you'll want to cycle it by following THIS. You'll want a liquid test kit (strips are notoriously inaccurate) and some ammonia which you can find at Ace Hardware.
 
I would pick up a 30g tank, by the way. Mollies (especially the sailfins) get quite chunky!

 

[Byron]

As has been mentioned, the mineral content of your tap water is critical for mollies.  Do you know the GH (general hardness)?  You can find this out from the water supply people, who probably have a website.  Before you get salt, which may not help on its own if other essentail minerals are lacking, I would check the GH.  Calcareous substrate material might be of more help, depending.
 
And mollies will outgrow a 10g fairly quickly.  Males attain 3 inches, females 5 and even 6 inches.
 
Byron.