One Molly Fertile From The Store

[BRANDX]

Hey! I have a molly question. The pet store said one black molly, one neon tetra (add some later),

one swordtail, and one hatchet ought to be fine in my 5g tank.
I lost the swordtail last night. Water test today checked all levels good. Slight nitrite, but nothing

abnormal for a new tank. They also told me, it's not unusual to just lose a fish a couple of days

after purchase.
Another forum said 15g minimum for the molly. really? that's a pretty tame fish for a 15g. My

brother gave me this tank, he had 7 Koi (I'm talking 4-5" each) living in this 5g for a whole year!

And one molly is to cramped? I am willing to accept it, if I hear a larger concensus.

 

[Annastasia]

It seems you've fallen victim to bad fish store advice, which is unfortunatly not uncommon. None of the fish you bought will be fine in a 5 gallon. Mollies do need more room, as they can get to 6", depending on the type. They also should be kept in slightly brackish water. Swordtails can get to 4", or even up to 7" on the male, counting the tail. Since Swordtails and Mollies are Livebearers, they should be kept in a ratio of 2-3 females per male. You need to allow room for this, and plan for fry. Neons and Hatchets are both schooling fish, and need to be in groups. You'll need to figure out something to do with your current fish, and then you can look into an appropriate selection for your tank size. A Betta is a common choice for that size tank.

You mentioned your brother kept Koi in there for over a year. That doesn't make it right. Koi should not be staying at 4-5" for a year, they should be growing and should be way over that in length. It means they were stunted, and therefore, not living a healthy life. That is definitely not a good enviroment for those fish.

Have you cycled this tank at all? What are your current water stats? And have you checked out any of the pinned topics or FAQs on this forum?

I'm not trying to belittle you, quite the contrary. I'm just giving you some advice, so you don't end up disappointed with unhealthy fish in a few weeks. It's a common mistake to recieve bad advice from your LFS, so don't feel bad. You are definitely not alone in that boat!

 

[dwarfgourami]

It seems presumptuous to add my voice to Annastasia's (this woman knows about livebearers!!!), but if you wanted a larger consensus, then I will add my pennyworth.

It is sad, but most lfs have little idea of what happens to fish after the few weeks they spend in the store as juveniles (which is how they are usually sold).

Mollies grow into big fish, and they are also very active; they need to be able to swim around and explore. Swordtails are also quite big and EXTREMELY active- they need oodles of room. Both these species are also sociable, so will feel lost on their own. However, as males are very sexually active, you have to decide whether to keep females only or a group of the kind suggested by Anna (1 male, several females). Two swordtail males may well end up killing each other because of those hormones, a swordtail or molly male will wear out a single female.

I would not consider keeping either mollies or swordtails in less than a 3-foot tank (30 gallons or more). They are magnificent fish if kept under the right conditions. IMO keeping a molly in a 5 gallons is like keeping a St Bernard in the cupboard under the stairs and never letting it out for walks; it may survive, but it is not going to be a happy dog.

One neon tetra and a single hatchet is also a bad idea: they are schooling fish and will feel permanently stressed if on their own. Permanent stress=susceptibility to disease, in fish as well as in humans.

A 5 gallon tank is, as Annastasia suggests, a good tank for a betta (Siamese fighting fish) on its own. Or a small school of really small fish, like endlers or heterandria formosa or some small tetras (like neons or glowlights).

But first it has to be rendered safe for fishy habitation. It is all very well for the shop to say it is acceptable to lose fish in the first few weeks- after all, they get to sell you replacements!- but surely you would be happier if you didn't? Not to mention that the fish would be happier. There are two options as I see it:

*either rehome all the fish now, read up on cycling (pinned topics in beginners forum), do a fishless cycle and then get in a betta. Later on (after a few months) you may be able to add a small group of pygmy corys or some other tiny fish

*rehome the molly and hatchet and keep doing frequent water changes (once a day) until the water remains stable with no ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours after water change; then SLOWLY up number of neons until you reach 5 or 6, which should be the maximum for the tank. Note that this is not an ideal solution as neons can be very sensitive to a new tank.

It is very annoying that you have been misled by the shop, but there is still time to sort things out and get this to a really beautifully working tank.