New and need help

[Daryl101]

Hi guys, bought a new aquarium yesterday. Set it up and let it run for 24HRS. Went and got 3 Balloon Mollies and 6 Neon Tetras to start with. It’s a 40 litre tank. Came back about 2 hours later and all the Neons had died!

 

[FishFinatic77]

First, welcome to TFF! Now, letting the tank run for 24 hours does absolutely nothing. Pet stores often tell people to do this, but this only leads to a bunch of dead fish.
When you set up a knew aquarium, you have to let the tank cycle. When fish poop, breathe, or if uneaten food is left in the aquarium, that creates ammonia. Bacteria then grow in your filter, substrate, and on your decoration which eat the ammonia and turn it into nitrites. The nitrites are then eaten by other bacteria that then turn it into nitrates. Both ammonia and nitrites are extremely toxic to fish. Nitrates can also be bad if there is a lot in the water, but not as harmful as the other two. The nitrates must then be removed through water changes.
You now have two choices. Your tank is going to cycle, but you could return the mollies and do a fishless cycle (which is safer for the fish), or you could do a fish-in cycle where you keep the mollies, but you are going to have to do a lot of water changes and you're going to have to test the water really often. You can research the two different methods and choose which one would be best for you.
Right now, I would do a 75% water change to make sure you get all the ammonia out. You're also going to have to get a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, as well as ph.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

 

[Retired Viking]

Hello and welcome to the forum, can you give us your water type (hard or soft) and your water readings GH (general hardness) KH and PH. As @FishFinatic77 pointed out your tank needs to fully cycle which can take up to 6 weeks depending on how you do it. Cycling deals with the nitrogen cycle and developing the right bacteria in your tank to absorb the ammonia, Since you already lost fish and have some still living I would suggest you do the water changes to bring down the ammonia levels and pick up a bottle of Tetra SafeStart Plus to jump start your tank, It has the right bacteria that will deal with the ammonia. I would also suggest picking up some fast growing floating plants like hornwort, moneywort, frog bite, anacharis and water sprite. These plants absorb ammonia at a higher rate then most plants and will also give your remaining fish a better chance of survival. Or you could return the surviving fish to where you bought them and cycle your tank and then buy new fish and start over again.

 

[Colin_T]

Did you dechlorinate the tap water when you set the tank up?

At this stage, if you want to keep the fish, only feed them 2 times a week and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after you fed them.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Do not add any more fish for at least 6 weeks.

If you have a light unit for the aquarium, you can add some live plants like Water Sprite, and this will help keep the ammonia levels down while the tank cycles (develops the beneficial filter bacteria needed to keep the water clean).

 

[Daryl101]

Guys thanks for all the feedback, the pet shop tested the water n they said it was all ok. Still have the balloon mollies and they will replace the tertras.

 

[Daryl101]

Did you dechlorinate the tap water when you set the tank up?

At this stage, if you want to keep the fish, only feed them 2 times a week and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after you fed them.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Do not add any more fish for at least 6 weeks.

If you have a light unit for the aquarium, you can add some live plants like Water Sprite, and this will help keep the ammonia levels down while the tank cycles (develops the beneficial filter bacteria needed to keep the water clean).

Yes I used a solution called water safe I think It was calledWhen setting the tank up. The shop are going to replace them. The only thing is the fish won’t swim down into the tank. They’re just staying at the top???

 

[Daryl101]

First, welcome to TFF! Now, letting the tank run for 24 hours does absolutely nothing. Pet stores often tell people to do this, but this only leads to a bunch of dead fish.
When you set up a knew aquarium, you have to let the tank cycle. When fish poop, breathe, or if uneaten food is left in the aquarium, that creates ammonia. Bacteria then grow in your filter, substrate, and on your decoration which eat the ammonia and turn it into nitrites. The nitrites are then eaten by other bacteria that then turn it into nitrates. Both ammonia and nitrites are extremely toxic to fish. Nitrates can also be bad if there is a lot in the water, but not as harmful as the other two. The nitrates must then be removed through water changes.
You now have two choices. Your tank is going to cycle, but you could return the mollies and do a fishless cycle (which is safer for the fish), or you could do a fish-in cycle where you keep the mollies, but you are going to have to do a lot of water changes and you're going to have to test the water really often. You can research the two different methods and choose which one would be best for you.
Right now, I would do a 75% water change to make sure you get all the ammonia out. You're also going to have to get a test kit that tests for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, as well as ph.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for the really good info, the per shop tested the water and they said it was all ok. They are going to replace the tetras. They maybe think I introduced them to the tank wrong/ to quick. None of the fish I have seen to swim arround the tank. They just want to stay @ the top. Any thoughts on that?

 

[Daryl101]

Hello and welcome to the forum, can you give us your water type (hard or soft) and your water readings GH (general hardness) KH and PH. As @FishFinatic77 pointed out your tank needs to fully cycle which can take up to 6 weeks depending on how you do it. Cycling deals with the nitrogen cycle and developing the right bacteria in your tank to absorb the ammonia, Since you already lost fish and have some still living I would suggest you do the water changes to bring down the ammonia levels and pick up a bottle of Tetra SafeStart Plus to jump start your tank, It has the right bacteria that will deal with the ammonia. I would also suggest picking up some fast growing floating plants like hornwort, moneywort, frog bite, anacharis and water sprite. These plants absorb ammonia at a higher rate then most plants and will also give your remaining fish a better chance of survival. Or you could return the surviving fish to where you bought them and cycle your tank and then buy new fish and start over again.

Thanks for the advice on the plants. Will defiantly look into getting these to help out. The pet shop said when they tested it that it was fine. Only the PH was 8. They said it was ok for them and not overly out of range??

 

[Byron]

This tank is not large enough for mollies, so please return them. A 40 liter (10 gallon) is way too small for a fish that grows as these should if healthy.

Balloon fish should not be acquired anyway; the damage this practice does to the poor fish is not something the hobby condones. Just so you know.

When we have the source water GH and pH we can consider suitable fish, but this is a small tank.

 

[Colin_T]

The balloon mollies don't get as big as normal mollies so if the GH and pH are suitable for them, and you want to keep them, you can probably get away with it in a 2 foot long tank. However, as Byron mentioned, balloon fish should be avoided if possible.

 

[Daryl101]

This tank is not large enough for mollies, so please return them. A 40 liter (10 gallon) is way too small for a fish that grows as these should if healthy.

Balloon fish should not be acquired anyway; the damage this practice does to the poor fish is not something the hobby condones. Just so you know.

When we have the source water GH and pH we can consider suitable fish, but this is a small tank.

Melter