::::::question On Balloon Mollies::::::::

[MollyFresh]

Okay so I have 4 balloon mollies, my water stats are

Nitrates 0
Nitrites 0
Hardness- Very soft
Chlorine-0
KH(alkalinity) -High
pH-alkaline
Ammonia-0


okay so I wanted to know if balloon mollies were okay with very soft water. I don't think they are so how could I harden the water to the ballon mollies liking.
I also would like to say that I tested the water with my test strips and my pH is mostly Alkaline but there is some acidity in the water, how would I fix that to make it alkaline. I read up that mollies like hard alkaline water. So how would I do that? Do you recommend getting marine salt mix to put in my tropical freshwater tank to make it brackish. I read up that it makes the water harder and more alkalinish. but am not sure, I would like someone to confirm what i am saying because I could be wrong. I also have a pregnant balloon mollie in there so I don't know if changing the water would be all that safe for her. She Seems pretty damn pregnant so I don't know if shes holding out or not because of the water conditions or something. Any help??

Ps: not sure if this is the right forum but I AM new to the hobby and would like some advice

 

[orange shark]

most community fish adapt to water conditions so they should be fine.

There should be some nitrates though...

 

[MollyFresh]

How do I get nitrates??

 

[Colin_T]

Nitrates are the end result of the filtration cycle. They build up slowly over time and you do regular partial water changes to keep them low. If you do regular water changes then you might just be lucky and have low nitrates.

Monitor the molly over time and if it starts to swim funny, in an S-shape but does not go very far, then increase the hardness. This can be done using livebearer salts or better still is a rift lake conditioner. Use at about 1/3 dose of the rift lake conditioner and it will increase the general and carbonate hardness quite a bit. It will also push up your PH and that can be an issue if you have acid water fishes in the tank. But most fish will tolerate quite variable conditions.
Marine salts will also work but again be careful using it if you have corydoras catfish or discus in the tank. Also high levels of salt will affect the plants.

 

[MollyFresh]

Okay thank you! <3 Well I just checked my Ammonia and Its at 0.50 - 1.0 I'm not sure exactly what it is but there IS some ammonia in the water. Now is this okay?? I know that ammonia is bad but shouldnt the bacteria eat it? what if there is no bacteria in the water, wouldnt that be bad?

 

[Corleone]

Okay thank you! <3 Well I just checked my Ammonia and Its at 0.50 - 1.0 I'm not sure exactly what it is but there IS some ammonia in the water. Now is this okay?? I know that ammonia is bad but shouldnt the bacteria eat it? what if there is no bacteria in the water, wouldnt that be bad?

Yes, it would be bad, your tank is not cycled. Though the bacteria live in the filter, primarily, not free in the water. .50 is panic levels, anything over .25 is of immediate concern. Anything above 0 is bad. What type of test kit do you have? if you're using strips, switch to liquid drop tests. They may be more on the initial purchase, but they're more accurate and reliable, easier to get an accurate read, and even though they cost slightly more the bottles will give you far more tests than a package of strips.

Review the stickies at the top of this forum, particularly these threads:

What's cycling? (If you cycled it like the fish store told you to, it's not cycled):
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...eady-have-fish/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...eady-have-fish/[/URL]

Fishless cycling:
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...shless-Cycling/[/URL]

Cycling in general (covers cycling with fish in the tank):
[URL="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...esource-center/"]http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...esource-center/[/URL]

The beginner resource center and tank maintenance guide are good things, but cycling is your immediate concern.

Now... You need to do an immediate water change, at least 50% of the water. I assume you have some sort of water conditioner that removes chlorine? Make sure to always use it on new water. From there you have two options.

Better option: Return the fish if possible and proceed with fishless cycling, as per the link above. This should take 3-4 weeks of daily water testing and some easy eyedropper work, after which you're ready for fish.

Second option: Continue to do water changes as frequently and as large as necessary to keep ammonia under .25. Eventually nitrite will begin to rise, you'll need that under .25 as well. Once both are reliably 0 without water changes, you're home free - this could take as much as two or three months, will be a great deal of work, and even keeping ammonia and nitrite down, you might lose fish. The ammonia levels will still be stressful for fish, and increase the chances of a disease outbreak. Even something easily managed in a cycled tank is a sure recipe for disaster in a cycling tank.

 

[Colin_T]

the good bacteria that eats the ammonia lives in the filter, gravel, plants and right throughout the tank. There isn't much in the actual water as it needs a solid surface to attach to.

Any ammonia is bad and you want it to stay on 0. If it is going up then the filters have got problems. If the filter is less than a month old then it hasn't developed properly and the tank will be cycling (developing the good bacteria).

If the filter is more than a month old then something has happened to the filter, possibly washed under tap water or an antibiotic type medication has been used in the tank. Filter material should only be washed out in a bucket of tank water. Once the sponges, etc are clean they should be put back in the tank. The filter casing and motor can be rinsed under the tap.

 

[MollyFresh]

my mom said to just leave it alone and wait. She doesent understand why I am doing all this running around and to the store everyday for fish stuff. I am a little confused with so much information on what to do. I didnt even know what ammonia was untill I came to this forum...


Ps: the links don't work

 

[fourthtimelucky]

Hi MollyFresh, welcome to the forum .

I would recommend you read the pinned topics at the top of this forum on cycling. You are going to need to do a lot of homework on the nitrate cycle, and either return those fish, or do a LOT of water changes over the next month or so if you want them to survive. There is a list of people who can donate matured filter media - if you can find someone in your area then this will help enormously.

Keeping fish is a full time job, especially in the first few months. You can't just 'leave them alone' and expect them to survive. The good news is that there is loads of information on here to help you. Don't be scared of asking questions and GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[MollyFresh]

Ya no, I really wish someone on that list lived in new jersey.. well knowone on that list lives neer me. So please explain to me what mature filter media is

 

[waterdrop]

Mature filter media simply means the "stuff" in an old filter that was used to catch the "dirt." In most cases its sponges or ceramic rings or ceramic pebbles or little plastic outer-space looking things called bioballs. (You can see pictures of each of these in living color ( ) simply by typing in those words in google images.) (The "mature" part means they will look stained brown or black because the autotrophic bacteria we want will have anchored and grown on them.

The person giving the mature media donation should not take more than 1/3 of their sponge (or pebbles or whatever) and then you should keep it wet during transport and put it inside your filter (work it in somehow) so that these living bacteria can get water, oxygen and ammonia that is flowing through your filter. They will then slowly multiply and some of them will begin to colonize and attach themselves to your new media that is also in the filter.

By the way, did you catch the post I wrote you over in the fishless cycling thread?

~~waterdrop~~

 

[MollyFresh]

Thanks waterdrop, your very helpful. Yeah I'll go check that post now thankies <3

 

[Corleone]

my mom said to just leave it alone and wait.

This line sounded eerily familiar...

Have your mom read through this thread:
<a href="http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...lon-Tank-Diary/" target="_blank">http/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...lon-Tank-Diary/</a>

What's been going on with Aleydis's tank is pretty much a gut wrenching case study in all the things that can happen when you just leave it alone and wait - she tried all she could, but had parents who ultimately forced her to leave the tank alone.

It'll help greatly if your mom is on board and knows what can go wrong, where you're getting your advice, and so forth. You're catching on pretty good and asking questions its good to know sooner than later, hopefully you can correct your mom's misconceptions as well. It'll be much easier if she's on board, even if she's not helping, it'll help insure she's not inadvertently hurting.

 

[MollyFresh]

Thank you, I am now reading her posts. You rock xDD