Filter/Baby Fish Questions

[Lindsay]

Last week I got my first fish tank - It's a ten gallon with a male Betta, a Blue Mystery Snail, two Longfin Zebra Danios, a Cremecicle Lyretail Molly, a Dalmation Molly, and an Otocinclus.

I just learned today that the Cremecicle is a male, while the Dalmation molly is a female. I already have a baby fishy swimming around and eating fish flakes (I think the mom was already pregnant when i got her). I have a 2 gallon fishbowl (The betta and snail were in it until i got my tank) and I was wondering which would be better for the baby fish: Living in the aquarium or in the fishbowl. There's no heater or filter in the fishbowl.

Also, the male molly keeps chasing the female around. Is this bad for her, and could this kill her?

Another question I have is how long does it take for a female to get pregnant and have young, and how long does it take before the baby fish become adults?

One last thing is that the tank I have has an unusual lid, in which the only opening is a one inch hole near the back of the tank. Because of this, the only filter I could find that could fit all the way inside my tank is meant for only 1-3 gallons, and can apparently clean 20 gallons per hour.

I was thinking about getting a second filter (of the same kind) for my aquarium. Would this help to keep my tank cleaner, and would it lower the amount of ammonia in my tank, or would it just be better to buy a chemical meant to reduce ammonia? Would it be bad for my fish to do a water change once every 4 or 5 days?

I'm sorry that I have so many questions - I've already killed three of my fish, and I really don't want to kill any more of them =(
Thank you for your help, I appreciate it greatly. ^^

 

[homebunnyj]

1. Unheated, unfiltered is bad for fry. You can add some fake plants for hiding places and if you keep your water in very good shape the fry might survive and not get eaten.

2. You need to have at least 3 females for every male so the females don't get stressed to death from all the chasing. You can't do that in a 10g with mollies, so your best bet is to return the female and keep only male livebearers. Actually I think your tank would probably do better without the mollies, it is a bit overstocked, which can cause high ammonia levels.

3. Shop online for a suitable filter. You're right, the little one is not enough. There is a whole section of our forum devoted to reputable online sellers.

4. Are you testing your water for ammonia? You should be testing it daily now, while your tank is new. Whenever it's over 1.0, do a 50% water change, even if that is daily. It won't hurt the fish, only help them. Be sure to match the temperature and to use dechlorinator on the new water.

5. Ammonia will rise and then later fall to 0, then nitrite will rise to toxic levels and then fall to zero. You need to keep nitrite well below 1.0 too. Then you will have measurable nitrates and your tank will be cycled. DO NOT use anti-ammonia products as you'll end up preventing your tank from developing the beneficial bacterial colonies that feed on ammonia and convert it to less harmful substances.

6. You'll likely lose the oto at the very least. The danios may end up being the only fish to survive the cycling.

Hang in there.

 

[MissFishy]

Welcome to the tank! Take a peek at the freshwater stickies or the link in my signature to read up on cycling a tank. There's also a page on how to raise fry.

 

[bmoraski]

1. Unheated, unfiltered is bad for fry. You can add some fake plants for hiding places and if you keep your water in very good shape the fry might survive and not get eaten.

2. You need to have at least 3 females for every male so the females don't get stressed to death from all the chasing. You can't do that in a 10g with mollies, so your best bet is to return the female and keep only male livebearers. Actually I think your tank would probably do better without the mollies, it is a bit overstocked, which can cause high ammonia levels.

3. Shop online for a suitable filter. You're right, the little one is not enough. There is a whole section of our forum devoted to reputable online sellers.

4. Are you testing your water for ammonia? You should be testing it daily now, while your tank is new. Whenever it's over 1.0, do a 50% water change, even if that is daily. It won't hurt the fish, only help them. Be sure to match the temperature and to use dechlorinator on the new water.

5. Ammonia will rise and then later fall to 0, then nitrite will rise to toxic levels and then fall to zero. You need to keep nitrite well below 1.0 too. Then you will have measurable nitrates and your tank will be cycled. DO NOT use anti-ammonia products as you'll end up preventing your tank from developing the beneficial bacterial colonies that feed on ammonia and convert it to less harmful substances.

6. You'll likely lose the oto at the very least. The danios may end up being the only fish to survive the cycling.

Hang in there.

once again Judy
Very well said !