So many questions....

[Mariah]

Im just a beginner at fish keeeping so Im just going to ask some more questions here.

1) I have a dalmation female mollie and shes white with black spots. Lately Ive noticed some yellow/orangish faint spots on her. Is this normal?

2)Also how often do you guys do water changes/clean the gravel in a 10 gal tank?

3) How often do you add more water because it always seems that the water evarporates so fast. The tank was cleaned and topped up maybe 5 days ago and already theres water missing...

4) How many fish are allowed in a 10 gal tank?

Thanks

 

[GSD]

1,yep that is noraml.Mine has orangey patches on it too.
1,I have a 20 gal and clena the gravel 1 or twice a week and do 25% water changes every week(ish)so a ten gallon might need more depending on the types of fish
3,i add water when it gets below the water level or when there seems to be alot missing!erm...whenever it needs it but with regular water changes it dosent seem to happen to me that quickly.You can get condenation trays wich collect the evaporated water and stop it form escaping.
4,Depends on waht size and type.What were you thinking about getting what do you like?

 

[WILDER]

Try some salt in the tank, if you have no scaless fish, you should do a vac and water change once a week, but i sometimes do it twice, test results should tell you if you are maintaining the tank enough,

 

[OohFeeshy]

With the molly (I don't know what else you've got), you can have about 6 inches worth of fish. So if you don't have anything else, maybe
6 tetras (any kind you like)
OR
3 cories
OR
4 female bettas
OR similar.

 

[GSD]

how about mickey mouse platys!

 

[nc_nutcase]

1) I have a dalmation female mollie and shes white with black spots. Lately Ive noticed some yellow/orangish faint spots on her. Is this normal?


2)Also how often do you guys do water changes/clean the gravel in a 10 gal tank?
Once a week. It's tough to vacuum a 10Gal as the water seems to be gone by the time ya get started. Yet water changes and vacuuming are very important. Maybe try keeping the gravel very thin and stir it up and let the filter get it (also avoid under gravel filtration). However ya do it, the gravel needs to be cleaned weekly as well. (oops, should note: I'd suggest doing 25-33% water changes. More than that risks alteration of your PH, temp and possibly other numbers; less than that… on a ten Gal, doesn‘t really count lol).

3) How often do you add more water because it always seems that the water evaporates so fast. The tank was cleaned and topped up maybe 5 days ago and already there’s water missing...
If it has a top on it, it won't evaporate as fast. Either way it's not really an issue for the tank as long as you top it off before it's extremely low.

4) How many fish are allowed in a 10 gal tank?
It's often said one inch of fish per gallon of water when dealing with small fish. I'd guess that's true with fish up to 2 inches or so. Also be aware that the heavier your stock is the more important filtration and water changes are. That's the worse part. People who don't want to do the maintenance of the tank are more likely to overstock which makes it that much more important... its like dominos…

 

[Mariah]

First off, thanks everyone who anwsered my questions

Next, This is what is in my tank at the moment:

2 black lye tail mollies (1 male, 1 female)
1 dalmation mollie (female)
1 dalmation lyetail mollie (male)
2 platys (unsure of sex.. there to young)
1 guppy (female)
1 micariffe guppy (male)
7 tiny black mollie fry

So now what else am I allowed in the tank? I was thinking neon tetras?..... Or maybe some swords? I also would like some type of "cleaning fish" What do you suggest?

I also need to know the difference between scaleless fish and fish with scales to add the salt. I just caught my guppy rubbing on the gravel and I dont want another eposide of ick..........

Thanks

 

[boozybears]

Hello!! First off.. yup it's perfectly normal for the dalmations to have a little bit of orange.. all of mine do

Secondly.. I honestly don't think that you have room for anymore fish in your tank. With all those livebearers you're going to be getting lots and lots of babies.. I think you'll soon need to be thinking of getting a bigger tank (which is ALWAYS a good thing )

 

[Mariah]

Thanks!

Can anyone else anwser:

I also need to know the difference between scaleless fish and fish with scales to add the salt. I just caught my guppy rubbing on the gravel and I dont want another eposide of ick..........

Thanks

 

[sylvia]

None of your fish are scaless. Livebearers all benefit from a little salt and yours are just that
Scaless fish include cories, plecos and loaches.

Anyway, have you heard of the inch per gallon guideline? It states one inch of adult fish per gallon of water - your tank is 10 gallons. Now here are your fish's potential sizes:

2 black lye tail mollies (1 male, 1 female) - total of 7"
1 dalmation mollie (female) - 3"
1 dalmation lyetail mollie (male) - 4"
2 platys (unsure of sex.. there to young) - 3" total
1 guppy (female) - 2"
1 micariffe guppy (male) - 1"
7 tiny black mollie fry - 25"

And that's approximate realy but the total would eventualy be 45" - all in a 10 gallon. So you basically have 35" extra of fish Mollies BTW, are not suitable for a 10 gallon. I suggest you get a bigger tank. Deffinately don't add more fish. Stick to just the platies and guppies in this tank and maybe add one more female guppy (but only after you've sorted out the over-stocking).

 

[Mariah]

None of your fish are scaless. Livebearers all benefit from a little salt and yours are just that
Scaless fish include cories, plecos and loaches.

Anyway, have you heard of the inch per gallon guideline? It states one inch of adult fish per gallon of water - your tank is 10 gallons. Now here are your fish's potential sizes:

2 black lye tail mollies (1 male, 1 female) - total of 7"
1 dalmation mollie (female) - 3"
1 dalmation lyetail mollie (male) - 4"
2 platys (unsure of sex.. there to young) - 3" total
1 guppy (female) - 2"
1 micariffe guppy (male) - 1"
7 tiny black mollie fry - 25"

And that's approximate realy but the total would eventualy be 45" - all in a 10 gallon. So you basically have 35" extra of fish Mollies BTW, are not suitable for a 10 gallon. I suggest you get a bigger tank. Deffinately don't add more fish. Stick to just the platies and guppies in this tank and maybe add one more female guppy (but only after you've sorted out the over-stocking).

So you say get one more female guppy after Ive sorted out the over stocking? When you say over stocking what am I suposted to get rid of? And when I say get rid of I mean put in another tank. I do have another 50 gal that fish can go

Also do you suggest I add some salt in the tank? Will it harm the fry?

Thanks

 

[Mariah]

Anyone?

 

[sylvia]

A little salt wont harm the fry but you don't actualy NEED to add any.

I would take out all the mollies, leaving the 2 guppies and 2 platies. Once you've done that, get another female guppy to bring the ratio to 2 females per male so your current one doesn't become overly stressed. Once the platies are possible to sex, you may want to add another one of those too.

As for moving them (the mollies) to a 50 gallon - that would be great! But remember the stocking guideline I mentioned before - if the tank already has other fish in it, you might end up over-stocking the 50 by adding the mollies.

 

[Mariah]

Thanks for the suggestion.