Restarting My 55 Gallon Fish Tank

[Nicolas]

Hi this is my first time posting here. Anyway about 9 months ago I was given a 55 gallon aquarium. Prior to that I was keeping a 10 gallon. I set up the 55 gallon after cleaning it out. Filtration was a Magnum Pro 350 with dual biowheels. I had 2 3" airstones in the tank. I feed my 3 Mollies 2 times a day. The temperature was set to 78 degrees. I was feeding the Mollies a mostly vegetarian diet. They all died within 3 weeks. They sort of froze up and got paralyzed. There heads would tip up and they would start to sink. Then they would take contol only to start sinking again. This wasn't Swim Bladder or constipation as I tried the frozen pea and other methods to save them. I had been doing what I considered a good job cycling the tank. I would do a 15-20 percent water change when the ammonia spiked. I kept the ph at 7-7.2.

I know that I want to restart the tank soon but I want more hardy occupants I have been thinking of these fish.

Zebra Danio
Cherry Barb
Platies

I was wondering if you know of any fish that from personal experience (not books) are tough as nails. This aquarium is at my business and a second failure wouldn't be very encouraging.

I'm sorry about the long post but I just wanted to make sure that you know the whole story.

Thank You!

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Well I havent got that much "Experience" but I do have 4 Zebra dainos and 4 Platy's and these guys are so greedy But they are also as you say "Hard as nails", For Example I had to move them over to a uncycled tank brand new and it didnt phase them one bit they just kept on going and are still alive (btw i dont recommend putting them in a uncycled tank I just didnt have a option)

HTH

Ace Of Spades

 

[Faythee]

Looked these up. Personallay I have had good sucess with Danios, Barbs, and Rainbows. Rainbows are very pretty....but mine cost $10 each and you should have a school of them.


White Clouds, Danios, Rasboras, and Barbs are all Asian fish related to the Carp and the Minnow. All of these fish belong to the family Cyprinidae. White Clouds, Danios, Rasboras, and Barbs are small, active, hardy, and colorful.

Rainbows are extremely colorful fishes native to Australia, New Guinea, and Madagascar. Like the Cyprinids described above, Rainbows are schooling fish and should be kept in groups of six or more. Larger, somewhat more expensive, and harder to find than many of the schooling fishes already discussed, Rainbows are easily cared for, active, and make good first fish for those who want to try something a little less common.

 

[Thomas 2507]

I've kept zebras and they can live through anything. Platies are hardy too, I haven't kept barbs though.

Work with what fish you like. Tell us what fish you like instead of what fish you think you can have and we'll tell you if they are suitable.

 

[Nicolas]

I like most non agressive community fish. My favorites are the Glofish versions of the zebra danio, neons, livebearers, von rio tetra, basically all colorful fish.

I am considering adding an Emperor 400 in addition to the Magnum 350 is this excessive. I believe in alot of filtration. I just don't want a whirlpool.

I might add that I am buying a test kit to test for copper in my water supply. I live in florida and the county that I live in doesn't have a very good report in regards to water quality. I know lots of people who keep fish without any problems. Could my problem be related to my plumbing pipes.

 

[Faythee]

I live in Florida too and our county has ammonia in the water. Test the water for everything.

Was your tank completely cycled ?

 

[Nicolas]

I was cycling the aquarium with the 3 mollies. I use Amquel + in my tap water.

 

[OldMan47]

If you live in a place that has some ammonia in the water, just use a dechlorinator and get the cycle started by filling the tank. As the ammonia in the water starts to decrease, do a water chnge to bring it back up. When its going good, you will start to get the nitrite spike and can move on to finishing the cycle. The whole time you just do enough water change to keep adding the ammonia in the water. No need to stress out fish if the water comes with ammonia. Probably a cheaper option would be traditional fishless cycling. I would expect the bottle of ammonia to be less expensive in the long run than all those water changes. Please don't go looking for a fish to harm while cycling a tank. The ammonia is even cheaper than the fish you end up killing and it is easier to control the dose with the chemical. When you get through the cycle, you can start adding hardy fish as the first ones so that if anything is not quite perfect, they will likely survive.
Sorry. Something about this thread just tripped my trigger.

 

[Nicolas]

I saw the nitrite go up and start to rapidly go down. 2 of my fish had died by then and my third was already getting sick.