why are my fish dieing?please only serious answers...?

Question

hi i have about 20 assorted mollys in a 20gal. tank
they do breed and latly i've found ick in my tank i have ick medicine its some package thinggys thatturn the water green ... i followed all instrutions and it seemed to clear up and there was no sings of ick ....then about a week later they started to die of i cleaned the tank a few times they kept dieing so i only have about 5 left so i dicided to put them in a 2.5gal. temperarally .... they seem to have stoped dieing but i was woundeing if thre was any thing else i could do to help my poor little fishys...please help!

these are babies and only 1/2 inch long ... i have a lager tank with bigger mollies .. and have no problems .. .. yes i have a filter and a heater ...yes i declorinate the water ... just for ur info.. im not new to this and i can spell but my keyboard was acting funny this morning one of my little brothers spilt something on it .. ...i know it sounds like it's over crowded but these are only babies ...i have been breeding mallies for 3 yrs and never had a problem till now ...i breed many other types of fish as well so i am experianced in fish keeping...and not a beginner...i know the rule of thumb ..

for all the ppl that i should learn to spell im sorry but i just changed my keyboard .. and sorry about the spelling mistakes.. but as i said my little brother spilled something on my keep bord and it was acting funny...

Answer 1

Okay, I read your added details, so I won't say you're overcrowded.

Have you tested the water recently? If the tablets you used contained malachite green, this may have affected your biological filter to the point where there aren't enough beneficial bacteria to convert the ammonia and nitrite to nitrate and your fry are suffering from ammonia poisoning. Moving them to a new tank with new water may have solved this problem already.

Do you use any aquarium salt with your mollies? I've had my best luck with all livebearers when I keep them in water with about 1 tablespoon of salt per 5 gallons of water. This can be aquarium salt or kosher, pickling, or canning salt. Regular table salt contains iodine and sometimes chemicals to prevent caking, so these shouldn't be used. In emergencies, I've used synthetic sea salt and coarse table salt (without additives), but these I wouldn't use on a regular basis.

Try these and see if it helps.

Good luck with your fry.

Answer 2

There could be a few things going on here. To start with, your fish, even though ich no longer appears on the outside of the fish, could have stressed them to the point of no return.

What are your water quality readings like? Ammonia, Nitrates, PH? With so many fish in the tank, your ammonia levels could have been spiking.

Weekly water changes are a must, especially when your fish are having babies.


2.5 is also small for 5 mollies. keep an eye on the water conditions.

The best thing you can do right now is get your 20 cleaned with a 50% water change. Change the filters and get it running if it hasn't been.

Get them back into the big tank. Especially if you still have females which are prego.

The 1 inch of fish per gallon of water is bogus. 1 guppie sure doesn't need a gallon of water, yet an oscar needs more since it is much larger.

I'd get your mollies into the larger tank quickly.

Answer 3

there are many things that may be wrong. First off, you should only have one inch of adult size fish to 1 gallon of water. Since molly fish get to be about three inches (i think) then you should have only 6 or maybe 7 in a 20 gallon tank. When you have too many fish in the tank, the water becomes toxic with the waste. The water itself can then kill the fish. Also, when the water quality is poor and there are too many fish, then disease will run rampent. You need to look up the "nitrogen cycle" that will be where you want to start. Go to the group fishlore.com, hop on the fish forum and go to the begginers section. They will help you out a bunch. Good luck! aquariums can be a lot of fun. it just takes time to learn enough to keep your fish happy and healthy!

Answer 4

A 20 gallon tank is too small for 20 assorted molly's to thrive in.
Try 10 molly's in 20 gallon with one bottom feeder fish, like a tiny catfish or a plecostomus. Use real plants in aquarium to help with water quality. Be sure to de-chlorinate water if you are filling from tap water. Molly's breed a lot. You may want to only have 2-3 of them in your aquarium and get 6 other fish like tetra's, angelfish.

Answer 5

you acutally may have an over crowding issue. the rule of thumb is one inch of fish per gallon. so techinally one molly should have 1.5-2 gallons per fish. you need to make sure you are taking 25% of the water out each week and then adding dechlorinated water to replace this. i recomend using a python gravel suction to clean the bottom really good, and to replenish the water. then add the dechlorinator for the amount you added in. also to increase immunity and lower the chances of illnees add 1 tablespoon of salt to every 5 gallons of water. so add 4 tablespoons of aquarium salt to your 20 gallon tank. i assume you have a heater and filter, if you dont get one. when fish get sick they need to be warm, so increasing the temperature 3-5 degrees will help fight the sickness, then lower the temp back to what you had it. as always, check the water quality for ammonia, nitrite and nitrates, and treat accordingly if any of them are over 1 part per million.

Answer 6

do you change the water,and 20 in a 20 gal?? what were you thinking!! each one needs 2 gal per inch, you need at least a 45 gal 4 20, proboably larger, you overloaded your filter with fish sh*t. if you go back to the 20 gal only get 8 or 9 fish

Answer 7

Mollies are very susceptable to ick. sorry for your loss.

mollies like some salt in their water, warm temperatures---72-75 degrees. they LOVE natural plants.

ick medecine works---but must be re-applied periodically, and water must be warm and slightly ALKALINE---made a boo-boo in my first draft said acid). ick is often caused by a sudden drop in water temp. medecine works when filtration is turned off.

10-20 percent of your water should be changed every week or two---since you have a 20, you can get 2-4 gallon of distilled water for under $3 at a cheap place---tap water is usually ok, but sometimes not.

the key to a happy fishtank is natural plants. The key to happy Mollies is plants, warmish water, no temperature drops, and a teeny bit of salt from time to time.

don't want to pick a fight, but twitlek gave you some poor advice. with fish---keep it simple. 20 mollies for 20 gallons is not bad---yeah, one inch per gallon, we all know that, but...

with good filtration, natural plants, stable temp, you can do a little more. an undergravel filter and a couple of power heads, something that filters with charcoal and aeration, you can double the inch per gallon rule, safely. water changes---done slowly, are huge. A quick water change can cause temperature drops/fluctuations that cause ick.

This is my third edit---people keep telling you that you had too many fish---true in conventional wisdom. But the buildups in nitrites and ammonia are addressed by LIVING PLANTS. Living plants metabolize a lot---nitrites, ammonia, etc

Mollies LOVE living plants. They are VEGETARIANS. Living plants are THE key to a beautiful, healthy tank. No one else is telling you this.

I advise people not to put fish in a tank until the plants have rooted. no one listens...(sigh)

Mollies are plant eaters. WILL SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE ME SOME LOVE HERE? You know I'm right.

me, I'm just fighting for your mollies...and my dignity

fourth edit---instead of de-chlorine chemicals---pour hot tap water in an open bucket and let it cool to room temperature. Chlorine escapes quickly from hot water, which is why hot tubs and heated swimming pools are so heavily chlorinated---the idea of adding chlorine drops only makes money for the people who want to sell you chemicals. Rule #1 in fishtanks---keep it simple. (This does not mean that your tapwater is suitable for water changes, it probably is, but may not be.)

e-me with any requests for more info---Brian

Answer 8

If the fish are better in the temporary tank then you need to clean out the main tank and set it up again , keeping anything that you cant clean out of it .

You then recheck the ph and chemical levels , and when its all good , reintroduce your fish .

Answer 9

Simply put: Too any fish for the tank. The tank is uncycled, meaning bacteria that break down waste have not developed yet.

Best solution is to become an educated fish keeper, as it isn't as simple as "just add water". Get books. Most libraries have plenty.
http://www.hagen.com/pdf/aquatic/bag.pdf
http://www2.tetra.de/tet_internet_import/import_data/The%20fascination%20of%20aquariums_GB_2006_T062048.pdf
Here two good free books.

Answer 10

there are tons of reasons why they could be dying...YOU HAVE WAY TOO MANY FISH!!! and also mollies like salt in the water and won't live as long without it... you should put 1 tablespoon per 5 gallons... AND 5 OF THEM IN A 2.5 GALLON?????? YOU ARE CRAZY!!!