New tank

[Tomhughes1]

hello I'm just after some advice as I'm new into been a fish parent, I have a new tank 15 gallons, had it set up 10 days before I put fish in and the temp is at 26.5 degrees, I put 6 mollies and 5 little tetras in, I've done an ammonia test and that was with api test kit but it was hard to tell weather it was 0.0 or 0.5, I tested the api multi test kit and results where 20nitrate, 0.0 nitrite, ph between 7.0 and 7.5, KH 80 and GH 180, I had to go get a oxygen stone as they was going to the top a lot and now there fine but I have one male molly sat on the bottom not getting around like the rest, is this tank set up correctly and any advice is welcome, thank you tom

 

[snork6]

10 days is not enough time for your tank to cycle properly. Having fish in an uncycled tank can/will cause them to die.

 

[Tomhughes1]

I was advised 3 days from a shop, I left it longer due to what I read online, I am no expert in this so if you have any advice and can answer the questions I would appreciate

 

[snork6]

A rule of thumb in the fish keeping hobby is do not trust pet stores. (Mainly Chain pet stores, some privately owned ones can be helpful) this page can help you learn how to cycle your tank. http://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycling-your-new-fresh-water-tank-read-this-first.421488/

What type of water do you have? (Hard or soft) (a google search can help you determine what you have if you don't know off hand) depending on what type of water you have can be why your molly is laying on the ground/sick. It also could be because your tank isn't cycled

 

[Tomhughes1]

Going off the test kit it is hard water , what is the best method to do water changes?

 

[snork6]

You can get lots of different answers to that question as everyone works off different schedules. For me what I've found best is ta do a 25-50% water change every two weeks. But it will probably be different for you since your tank is still cycling. So maybe 15% each week? (Someone correct me if i'm wrong)

 

[snork6]

also mollies do best in hard water so you are good, but they are brackish fish meaning they need some salt in their water. you can still attempt to keep them but they probably won't live a full life.

 

[cowgirluntamed]

I would suggest 50% once a week at least for water changes. Also right now you should probably test it at least twice a week and honestly do water changes when ammonia and or nitrite is up at all. Nitrate you want to keep under 20ppm. Do read that article about cycling. It does have a part on fish in cycling....which is a lot of hard work but it can be doable. Also, if there was a spike of either ammonia or nitrite, it can kill. Unfortunately that one Molly may not make it but lots of water changes may help. Possibly not though. Not all mollies need salt. You would just have to look up the type of Molly you have to see what it prefers.

However...the tetras may not do well in hard water, depending on what type they are. Do you know this? Might save some heartache if you can find out before it harms them. SOME tetras can do ok in hard water. Some won't though at all.

 

[Baker]

It's better to water change as often as possible with a fish-in cycle. As in, pretty much every day ~20% in my opinion. Basically if you detect any ammonia or nitrites, do a water change until these levels become non existent. This is when you will know that your BB colony is established and able to take the bioload themselves.
Be prepared to do ALOT of maintenance on your tank for about the next 2 months because fish-in cycling is going to be hard on your fish until the tank is equilibriated. You can also buy bacteria starter bottles to speed the cycle along, and usually these concoctions have temporary ammonia/ammonium neutralizing properties but it wears off after about 48 hours so if you go this route to keep the ammonia inert it could get a little bit expensive.
Most mollies that you buy at big box stores are not dependent on salted water as they are bred in captivity and wholesalers/retailers don't generally keep their tanks salted anyway.

 

[Tomhughes1]

Just one on the water change, obviously the tap water isn't the same temperature, am I to put water in a container add conditioner and leave it over night? Then just remove however much and fill it up? They are neon tetras, they are the larger type of their breed, roughly around 2cm.

 

[Tomhughes1]

The one molly is just in its corner about 2 cm off bottom occasionally moving and whenever another molly comes close it is scaring them off as if it's guarding it's territory

 

[Baker]

You can just try to match it closely by sticking a finger in each water and get them as close as possible or you can just let it sit for a while to match room temp. You don't need to let it sit over night unless you aren't using a dechlorinator but it doesn't hurt

 

[Baker]

It's doing this because it's stressed and possibly suffering from pain/illness. Impossible to diagnose without pics and full description of your setup/chemistry

 

[Tomhughes1]

I'm using api stress coat as a dechlorinator, read up and it says it's more than okay to use, correct me if I'm wrong

 

[Tomhughes1]

Do you recommend doing a water change now ?