New White Mollies Seem Ill

[caribou lou]

Hi, Im new here and I have an issue with one of my tanks, a 20 gallon tank that is fully cycled and filtered.

I just made an addition to my tank; 3 white mollies and 5 red barbs. I have a 20 gallon tank that I set up about 2 weeks ago and introduced 3 platys to 1 week ago. I have 1 Betta that I introduced to the tank at the same time as the platys which chased them around for about an hour today. The mollies just dug a hole in the gravel and are sitting in it. their original whitish appearance is turning to a brownish color. None of them have the brownish spot on them that signifies them being pregnant. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Caribou Lou

 

[OldMan47]

Welcome to our forum Lou.
Let me apologize for being so slow to respond. I have been pre-occupied with other things lately.
I am afraid that you have inadvertently found yourself in a fish-in cycle. It happens so often that I carry around a link to our thread on the fish-in cycle in my signature area. What you have is fish that are doing the best that they can under the circumstances, but are not truly ready to operate on their own. In a 2 weeks old tank, you are in a condition that the tank is really not ready for any fish but you likely stocked your tank on the advice of your local fish shop, LFS. Please refrain from adding any more fish at all for at least a month. If you can measure your water chemistry using a liquid type test kit and are willing to do huge water changes your fish can be saved. In a situation similar to yours, I would do a 90% or larger water change every time I measured anything more than nominal levels of nitrites or ammonia in my own tank's water. It is not that you have done anything wrong but instead that you have been given poor advice by your LFS and think that all should be well in your tank. In your current condition, your primary focus needs to be on preserving the life of the fish in your care. Please read through our thread on fish-in cycling and return with any questions you may still have.