Pleco With My Molly

[quindey615]

My son got some fish for his birthday, the first fish tank we have ever had and we're loving it! However, when we purchased our fish (a molly, a pleco, 2 guppies, a swordtail and a snail that snuck in one of the bags in a 10 gallon tank) we weren't told that mollies need some salt in the water. So now we have the two together and the molly has been ill since a week or so after we purchased them. Ich, then a fungus, then fin rot, now it seems she has the shimmies and from reading a bit I'm guessing it's because of the water. (None of the other fish have been sick at all) I know the other fish will be ok but what about the Pleco? Are we soon to be a two tank household or can they stay together?

 

[rdd1952]

Although mollies prefer some salt, they can definitely live without it. How long have you had the tank running and have you tested your water for ammonia and nitrite? I suspect that is one of the causes of your problems. Usually ich is brought on by stress unless the fish already had it when you got it. High levels of ammonia and nitrite definitely cause stress. You will need to treat the tank for ich or the other fish will end up with it too.

 

[Yazan]

Same sagestions as above.

Water status?
How long has your tank been running?
How big is your tank?

 

[quindey615]

Same sagestions as above.

Water status?
How long has your tank been running?
How big is your tank?

haven't checked the water status but will do that.. the tank has been up for approx 6 weeks and it's a 10 gallon.. as for the ich and such, we have treated it. The molly has no more signs of ich, fungus, nor fin rot and was seemingly better until this evening when she started exhibiting signs of shimmies. She even gave birth to some fry yesterday. (We managed to save 6) So far none of the other fish have shown any signs of sickness or stress. But, thanks for the advice, I'll test the water and see what I come up with!

 

[rdd1952]

I'm not really very familiar with diseases. I've been fortunate enough to not be afflicted so I haven't had to learn much on them. If the tank has been set up for 6 weeks, it's probably cycled by now. If no other fish are sick it could be that you just got a molly that was already diseased.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Although mollies prefer some salt, they can definitely live without it. How long have you had the tank running and have you tested your water for ammonia and nitrite? I suspect that is one of the causes of your problems. Usually ich is brought on by stress unless the fish already had it when you got it. High levels of ammonia and nitrite definitely cause stress. You will need to treat the tank for ich or the other fish will end up with it too.

I agree with testing for ammonia and nitrites first, but if these are not present and the water is soft and acid, then you may well need salt. It is not the case that mollies can live happily in any water as long as it is cycled and clean. Living in soft water is precisely the sort of stress that will make mollies prone to ich. I have bitter experience of this myself.

 

[quindey615]

I agree with testing for ammonia and nitrites first, but if these are not present and the water is soft and acid, then you may well need salt. It is not the case that mollies can live happily in any water as long as it is cycled and clean. Living in soft water is precisely the sort of stress that will make mollies prone to ich. I have bitter experience of this myself.

I read that somewhere else as well.. hence my concern about the pleco. If it is in fact the soft water will the pleco need to be removed?

 

[rdd1952]

If you end up having to add salt then, yes, you will have to move the pleco.

 

[quindey615]

ok here's what the water tests came up with..

nitrate - 20
nitrite - .5
GH - between 75-150
KH - 120-180
pH - 7.8

 

[Aisling]

Hmmm, nitrite ideally should be 0 ... did you test for ammonia? Looks like your tank isn't cycled fully yet that would explain the sick Molly!

 

[quindey615]

Hmmm, nitrite ideally should be 0 ... did you test for ammonia? Looks like your tank isn't cycled fully yet that would explain the sick Molly!

I did a stupid and grabbed a bottle of test strips that said something about checking everything and didn't read it (was in a bit of a hurry with my 3 and 5 yr olds in toe) and it didn't test for ammonia but I did have some "Amonia Clear Tank Buddies" so I dropped one in. The molly was just lying on the bottom in a corner looking very unhappy before and she is more active now so I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I also got something called "Cycle" ? that is supposed to help with the nitritie I guess. Lesson learned: research fish/aquarium setup before purchasing. I feel so guilty!

 

[Aisling]

Don't feel bad, I did exactly the same thing ... bought a tank, put a fish in there without fully understanding or researching what I was doing. I had some lovely fish die because of my lack of knowledge but luckily I've turned it around now! I'm still pretty new and still learning!!! You did the right thing by putting in that ammo-lock stuff, that cycle stuff should help with the nitrites (but that's debatable!) Hopefully your fish haven't been exposed to the levels of ammonia and nitrite for too long so they'll stand some chance ... just keep an eye on it!! Good luck!

 

[rdd1952]

For some reason, the 5 in 1 strips never test ammonia and that is the most important thing to test for in a new aquarium. By the time nitrite starts showing up, you could have already lost a lot of fish to ammonia poisoning. Throw the strips away (they are terribly inaccurate) and get a good liquid master test kit. In the long run, it is a lot cheaper. A bottle of 25 strips runs about $10 to $12 and a master kit is about $22 and will do hundreds of tests.

 

[VampirePlec]

what pleco do you have? if its a common pleco he will out grow you tank very quickley they very easily get up to and sonme times over 12in. and he will not just eat algae as most petshops will say.

 

[quindey615]

not sure what kind of pleco.. common I guess? And an update.. we lost the molly but her legacy will live on.. all 6 fry are healthy and have almost doubled in size already. All the other fish in the tank are doing well.