# My Molly Questions



## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

I recently purchased two mollies. Both males and one is a Dalmatian and the other is a lyretail. Do I need to add salt water? I have looked into it I think I might need too. I also heard they need a high ph right now the ph is 7.3 roughly. I used a pool ph checker thought it would work too. Lol. So do I need algae flakes instead of normal fish flakes? Any feedback would be excepted!


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

Did you get them from a store, or from a breeder? Either way, ask them what their mollies are used to, and go by that. Ask what kind of food they use, as well.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

I got them from a store.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You don't NEED salt.The pH is also probly fine and you're better off not doing anything to try to change it.Buffers usaully lead to trouble, besides creating wild pH swings,which are worse than just letting the fish get used to the pH you have.Consistency is more important than perfection.Mixing algae and regular flake will be good for your fish feed them only what they eat totally in 2 minutes.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Well one is dead I blame the pet store lol thankful he died early before I got attached to him... Still sad R.I.P lyretail Molly!


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Never mind! According to my mom he is still alive! He seems sluggish and just floats at the bottom not doing much...


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## DarkestCloud (Mar 21, 2013)

Adding some salt will help him get better, if he ever does. It at least won't hurt. What are your water parameters?


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Be careful with the salt! Adding a small amount of aquarium salt at this point would be ok. What you read about salt and mollys is that they can be in slight salinity a.k.a. brackish water, this requires sea salt. BIG difference! I have a few sailfin mollys in my brackish tank and they are thriving! But I also have mollys in my FW community tank. 

How long have you had these fish in this tank? He could just be stressed from the move. Or could be a little shy, any other fish in the tank?


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

There is one other fish in the tank and I bought them yesterday... My brother said that it sinks and floats motionlessly until you touch it then it moves.. So add salt? Anything else?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Did you get a heater? And do you know the temp of tank?


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

I do not have a heater and temperature is about 78 degrees Fahrenheit. This is now a emergency! One fish on bottom barely gasping and the other fish is just floating on the top swimming around I think I need to change water! I also did not properly cycle! The water is cloudy and I can not check the levels for I have no kit today.... Planning to get one later today.


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

There's your issue. Do not add salt at this point. Change water, do like 50% WC. If they are doing all that without a cycle and now your getting cloudy water...there is dangerous levels of something that is no good for the fish. Do the big WC and then keep up with smaller daily changes until the haze goes away and fish perk up a bit. Then go to weekly WC. Do you have dechlorinator?


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Yes I am doing that now


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Ok, good! This should help make the fish better too.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

78 degrees is well within acceptable.Change at least 50% using dechlorinator and trying to match temp as closely as possible to the tanks temp.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Okay performed 50% water change I used a little cup and scooped out about half and put in the treated water. The fish on top perked up a bit, it looks a little bit better! Thank you Hotwingz!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Glad to hear! But a cup!? lol. Go to the store buy yourself a jug of juice that has a handle on it. I have a 1 gallon jug of ocean spray juice that has a solid handle on it. Its awesome!!!


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Okay I brought back home a testing strips sadly they had no drops  . And some quick start thing that promises to add bacteria to your water. lol I do not know if it will work :/ and veggie rounds i heard they prefer veggies compared to generic fish food.


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

It will help. And the test strips usually aren't very accurate so. Veggie rounds are good, they like those. But don't limit your fish to one or two foods. I have a three draw rubbermade stack thing that is full of foods and just stuff ha. Foods, chems, meds, whatever I need. But lots of foods.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

According to the test strips the only thing that needs fixing is the total hardness which according to it is like 10 very soft.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Don't mess with your hardness(gh or kh) or pH in freshwater.They will not kill your fish.The buffers you would need will cause more trouble.Use the water you get from your tap all the time and your fish will acclimate.BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT IS NOT AN ISSUE FOR YOU.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Okay I am done with them for now. All this fish stuff is making me stressed! Lol oh well so I should do a 20% water change tomorrow? Or should I let the fish rest for a while?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

change tomorrow!


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Okay I will should I feed them of not?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Offer a flake each and watch to see if they eat it.If they eat then offer another,if they don't offer no more.Uneaten food will cause trouble with water quality and you're going to have your hands full anyways.
Don't get down on yourself about how this turns out as keeping fish in uncycled systems is a challenge for all.It takes alot of work.Don't stress out,just do the best you can,and as always ask what you need to know.
Tom


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks bandit you have helped alot! I know one will eat but the other just drags across the floor I'll be shocked if he makes it.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Wanted to let everyone know I think the fish are going to make it each day they get better I feel alot better for this and want to thank everyone  btw quick question: so I should do weekly water changes? And what about when the tank gets real dirty? Do I change all the water?


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Change water at least once a week. And when your water gets dirty clean your filter. Clean* don't change the media, just clean it. When you do a water change simply rinse out the media in the old tank water.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You're still cycling so changing water may be necessary more than weekly for a while.
Don't overfeed !They only need to be fed once a day and should consume all food in 2 minutes.Try not to add enough food that any hits the gravel ever.
Either test to know if you need to change or just change anyway.You shouldn't need to change 100% but fifty is ok.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Well the thing is I don't have a filter so When the tank gets green I should just do a water change of 50%?


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## rayray74 (Mar 19, 2013)

you didnt add any water clarifer by chance did you?


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

???????????????? No filter!!!??? Your never going to get a cycle without a filter. That's what the cycle is for. And the green water is a algae bloom. Changing water is going to help but won't fix it. It isn't a bad thing though. Is your tank getting a lot of direct sunlight?


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Nope not alot of sunlight. I'm sorry about the filter, I have no money  it's also a really small tank. Is water clarifier the stuff you put in the water that kills all the chlorine etc? Couldn't I just change all the water and clean the sides by hand?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You could change 75% of your water and treat it with de chlorinator.Clarifier is not the same ,but don't waste your money on it either.Try to always have the "fresh " water as close as possible to tank temp and you'll be fine.You're new so this will be the first time for you and too many times for everyone else but,"changing water is the best thing for your fish and wallet!"Don't even bother with chemicals or additives,save money for a filter or larger tank(which will still need water changes).As I said before don't get down on yourself or the hobby if it doesn't work out,but if you change 50% every other day(2 gallons I believe) you and your fish should get through this.It will take time and hopefully you will be able to upgrade eventually.When that time comes(I'm sure it will) post so we can tell you how to safely and hopefully have an easy switch over.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Alright Bandit thanks I really appreciate it! When I am done with this tank what could I put in it? Thinking betta? or Shrimp?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Yea!Either of them would be fine in there.Shrimp are really cool and affordable.


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

Having shrimp is always a fun time! I use to have shrimp years ago, and thinking about putting a bunch into my gups tank when I get it planted. Bandit, is there anything special that needs to be in the tank for them to reproduce? Or will they just keep doing that at any given point?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

From what I've read and many with breeding succes on the site say ;as long as you have proper hardness and feed them appropritely, they will molt and breed without big issue,depending on what kind of shrimp.Many here have great sucess with RCS,but there are several with some of the other also.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Thanks bandit! Okay I am looking into new aquariums, so what do you think would be a appropriate size for a beginner like me 10g? 20g? And should I buy a kit? Or just start with a tank?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Get as big as you can.You will be able to more with it.Kit vs. pieces really depends on how you can aquire equipment.Most equipment is way cheaper online than at lfs, but the lfs will have a kit that will work ok.Eitherway you go you need a filter ,heater and light(light is really optional without live plants).
I've seen 10g kits(deep blue) for $59.(tank ,filter ,heater and light )a pretty good deal.


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## Jaybird5 (Apr 27, 2013)

Alright I will look in too it. I really can not stop thanking you. You my friend are quite amazing


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## jamnigh (Apr 24, 2013)

I agree with bandit on this one. Get as big as you can, otherwise you will do what I ended up doing, buying a 5 gallon tank...then a month later getting a 10 gallon tank, then a month later getting a 20 gallon tank haha.


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