what is wrong with my tank?

[JulieAnn]

I set up my fish tank prob about a month and a half ago. I set it up exactly how every how to manual would tell you too.

Well I've had three fish die. Its really hard on me cause I feel like I'm doing something wrong. Please help me.

The first fish was a dalmation molly. I believe it was a female. When she died she was very bloated and her fins were erect 90 degrees. She had what appeared to be fungus. So I talked to the pet store and they gave me treatment.

Fish were fine...

Then one of my Danios all of a sudden look like it lost all of its meat to it. it look so tiny like 1/4 of its size from when we bought it. well it hung out at the bottom of the tank and would eat but then died.

Fish were fine...did pH testing and all that good stuff. it was fine.

well tonight i looked over and watched one of my Powder Blue Gourami's just fall to the bottom. he was alive and breathing. he would freak out and swim up really fast and then float down. i took him out and put him in a seperate bowl. then i noticed in the tank A DEAD FLY ON THE BOTTOM. how did it get in there? so i got that out, but im sure it had diseases and hurt my fish.

and he just officially died. his mouth is closed and he isnt breathing at all.


what should i do about the other fish in the tank?

[BirdLuver288]

ok, did you just run your tank without fish, or add a single fish to cycle it first?

What is the NitrIte, NitrAte, Ammonia, its very important you get some tests for that, it could be that your tank is still cycling, the danio is a but questioning because they are usually very hardy, the molly i'm not sure of either, it sounds as if she was preggo..the gouramis sounds like shock..

what else do you have in the tank? how big is it? and the parameters as I mentioned above, it would realy help to know these few things..an Aquarium isnt just water and fish, its an enviroment, and just like air, has specific needs to support life:)

[JulieAnn]

its a 10 gallon. it ran for 2 days before adding 4 danios. then it cycled a week and then we added 2 mollies and a plecosimis. then later we added 2Gouramis. and a week ago we got a silver molly and a baby that i have no clue what it is. it snuck in the net with the molly.

i'm new to fish so i dont know what all test and maintance needs to be done.

the pet store gave me:
salt ( i added the proper amount for a 10 gallon)
ammonia clear
water safe plus tablets
medicine for fungus, i dont have the box. they are done with the treatment.

i tested the pH and its 7.4 dark blue base. but the bottles of powder it came with are so confusing. do i add the raise pH? bc thats what you would think but the picture is the reverse...i dont know


thank you so much!

[flamcannon1]

The baby that snuck in the net with the molly is probably a baby molly.. they are livebearers and give birth to live fish... hope thats helps that =\

[JulieAnn]

ya i think you are right. its smaller than your pinky nail, its so cute though!

[BirdLuver288]

ok, first off you are WAY overstocked and you added too many fish too quickly..a tank cant cycle in a week, its impossible to be finished that quick..
Take back:
~Pleco isnt even suited to a 55 gallon *4 ft tank*

what fish do you have right now though...you can keep the danios, they are very active, but can live in a 10..gouramis will get nipped by the danios, and they will hide most of the time because they are trying to avoid the danios quick movements.. The mollys will be ok in there, but its not the best sized tank for them...but now all you have is upper/mid level fish, I would choose between the danios or the mollys, and then get a school of small bottom fish, I recomend the Johney Darter, but its not commonly sold in stores, I catch mine wild..but in about 2 months your tank should be stable enough to support a few pana or pigmy corys, but they are very sencitive to water quality, so weekly WC is a must

[JulieAnn]

get rid of the pleco? how will that affect the tank?

i have 3 danio
2 mollies
1 gourami
1 pleco

what size tank do mollies like?

[JulieAnn]

oh and a baby which i think is a molly

[BirdLuver288]

lol plecos get to be 20+ inches long *almost as long as an arm, from the tips of the fingers* and they poo..ALOT! piles a day, extremely messy fish, even at a tiny size, and return him because its cruel to stunt a fish..*I have a small cory that was stunted by my sister, the effects can be seen easily*

your other fish will be ok for a time, but they would much prefer atleast a 15 gallon, but the rule of thumb is get the largest tank you can, the larger the tank, the happier the fish, and more natural it seems to them, you may also get them to breed..Zebra danios will easily breed if given the right conditions, as will mollys, guppies, sword tails, plattys, misquito fish, and more live bearers :)

but look in the newspaper for aquariums for sale, I aquaired 7 fish tanks for 1 dollar per gallon including lights, filters, heaters!, and I also got my 55 gallon for $40...I got all my tanks at a steal price, you just have to look :)

good luck!

[Bettachris]

yea your overstocked and stocked way to fast.

i would get rid of the pleco, common plecos will reach over 24 inches. even if you get rid of the pleco, your still very overstocked so weekly water changes are a must.


as far with ph, 7.4 isnt bad so there isn't really a need to increase the ph values.

herehttp://forums.petlovers.com/vb/showthread.php?t=18483

if you need any other info, if you still need some help just let us know.