Some Advice Please?

[emcam]

Hi,

I've just set up a new tank - 28 litres.

We had it set up a week before we introduced any fish into it.

We had a filter, heater and 3 plants as well as a couple of bits of furniture for the fish to hide around.

We introduced 4 fish on Tuesday - 2 x cardinal tetras and 2 x molly

Everything was fine for 48 hours, we fed them once, only a small amount, 4 flakes of the food, as we were advised by the man in the shop.

The following morning the two mollys were both swimming very close to the surface of the water, looking like they were kind of gasping for air... (i know that probably sounds ridiculous)and within a couple of hours, they were both dead.

I got the fish from a really reputable seller and I am sure they were not poorly.

The two tetras are still OK, but I'm really worried that they will suffer the same fate.



One of the plants had begun to almost rot, so i have removed it.

I have been advised not to change any of the water for a couple of weeks until the tank settles, but I think maybe I should try to do this now?

Does anyone have any advice for me? .... Please?

 

[Mort75]

Sorry for your loss. its a beginner mistake and pet stores never seem to advise people of how to do things right. all they want to do is sell you fish. First thing you need to do is buy a good liquid test kit. API is what most here use. You are now in a fish in cycle. You will need to do lots of water changes. at least one a day and possibly 2 a day to keep your ammonia and nitrite levels low as possible. Do lots of reading on the begginers recourse center here on the forum on fish cycleing. Lots of work ahead if your going to keep the two cardinals alive.

 

[Aquascaper]

The mollys probably died from ammonia poisoning as your filter has no beneficial bacteria so you need to start doing large water changes (50%+) once a day until you have some means of testing your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

Feed the remaining two fish sparingly as uneaten food will contribute to the ammonia levels.

Have a browse of the cycling articles in the beginners section to give you a better understanding of what's going on your tank. If you choose to keep the remaining two fish then read up on fish-in cycling, if however you choose to return/rehome the two fish then read up on fishless cycling.

 

[Electric Warrior]

Hi. Yeah, as the others have said, you were given some really bad advice Def first and foremost, get the liquid test kit as that will be like your holy grail to keep you tank alive in the next few months. Cardinal tetras are some of the most delicate and difficult fish to keep, even for experienced fish keepers. Your water quality needs to be bang on, and the parameters are really important, ie. soft water and a relatively low ph, 0 ammonia & nitrite. Mollies generally need harder water and many are actually brackish; not compatible with cardinals at all. If I were you, I would return the cardinals and look into doing a fishless cycle (which you can read about in the beginners resource section). I don't want to sound harsh, but if you try to cycle your tank with cardinals, they will almost certainly die very soon. They don't take to ammonia or nitrite at any level at all. Also, back to the test kit, it's a good idea to find out where your water stands before you even think about what fish to add later on, ie. what you ph level is, etc. Also cardinals also need to be kept in a shoal, at least a group of six in order to thrive and survive. If you only have a couple together, they will not behave/interact as they are supposed to, which can again, shorten their lifespan. And your size tank isn't really big enough to keep them anyways, because even though they are very small fish, they need quite a long, open area to swim, I would say 70-ish litres minimum. Sorry to give you bad news.