Help with a few questions please

[ginny]

I have a cycled 10 g tank with 2 guppies and 2 white clouds and the fish have been happy for a little while now.The water tests were normal ranges so I decided to put 2 mollies a black one and a silver one and also 2 balloon mollies in also. I do a 10% water change weekly. Now the water is milky so I took water tests, everything was ok except the nitrite was .50 and the ammonia I don't understand it should be yellow colored to be at 0 ppm right? Mine is just like water no color at all, is that ok? so I did a 25% water change and added the conditioner and a little cycle and took a nitrite test the following day it read .25 so I did another 25% change the next day the nirite was so close to blue that I figured it was probably about .005 so I haven't done a change. I forgot to mention I had a balloon mollie in distress and breathing very fast and its fins were flapping like crazy and it wouldn't eat and stayed on the bottom but since the water and vacuum changes it has perked up and is now eating and swimming all over again ok I ramble on ... I am confused ..should I vacuum every water change? should I add cycle every change along with the conditioner? I try and go very slowly when I vacuum and add water so as not to stress the fish, should I be vacuuming with the fish in the tank ? Would it be more stressful moving them out?
Mollies are very hungry all the time should I give them algae pellets along with the flake food with algae in it? I treat them with frozen blood worms a few times a week.I have algae on the plastic plants and rock so is that too much for the mollies to clean up? Should I get an algae eater to help? I hope I don't bore you all but I am very attached to my fish already,the balloon mollies nibble at my fingers and all the fish come up to the front to greet me everytime I walk near the tank. I want to know all these little naggy things because I want to do it right, why should the fish suffer because of my stupidity I am getting them a new home this week a 20 g after I cycle it of course . Thanks in advance if anyone could answer these questions for me.

 

[davidmold]

everything was ok except the nitrite was .50

The nitrite should be at zero once the tank has cycled. If you are getting nitrite that almost certainly hasn't happened yet, so you should not add any more fish. When nitrite is getting produced it's a dangerous time for the fish, so do water changes every day until it's gone is the right thing to do.

and the ammonia I don't understand it should be yellow colored to be at 0 ppm right? Mine is just like water no color at all, is that ok?

Well, that sounds to me like something's not working with the test. Read the instructions carefully, and if you're doing everything right, get a replacement for the test - you should see some color.

I forgot to mention I had a balloon mollie in distress and breathing very fast and its fins were flapping like crazy and it wouldn't eat and stayed on the bottom but since the water and vacuum changes it has perked up and is now eating and swimming all over again

Most likely it was suffering from the nitrite. This shows you're doing good things.

should I vacuum every water change?

Yes, you may as well, it can't hurt.

should I add cycle every change along with the conditioner?

I'm not sure what you mean by "cycle" but unless it's Bio Spira, there's probably no benefit from using it so don't bother about it. Just add the dechlorinator to the water you add.

I try and go very slowly when I vacuum and add water so as not to stress the fish, should I be vacuuming with the fish in the tank ?

Yes, leave the fish in the tank while you vacuum. They don't mind a bit of swirling around. Some of them like it.

Would it be more stressful moving them out??

Yes.

Mollies are very hungry all the time should I give them algae pellets along with the flake food with algae in it? I treat them with frozen blood worms a few times a week.?

Fish always act hungry. You're unlikely to underfeed them, overfeeding is the worst thing you can do, so don't worry if they look hungry - it's much better for them.

I have algae on the plastic plants and rock so is that too much for the mollies to clean up? Should I get an algae eater to help?

Probably best not to add any more fish until after you make the move to the 20g tank and everything has settled down. You can always clean the rock by hand if you like.

 

[Methylx]

Yep Davidmold covered it all, listen to him =D

 

[ginny]

Thankyou so much for all the answered questions davidmold and the confirmation of them Methylx. I will follow your advise. In answer to "cycle" davidmold it is the stuff I bought at the fish store to help the tank to cycle. that is what it is called. My tank was cycled and the nitrite was oppm until I added the 4 mollies, so could the nitrite spike be from adding them and maybe I have been overfeeding and caused this from maybe too much waste? Thanks

 

[davidmold]

My tank was cycled and the nitrite was oppm until I added the 4 mollies, so could the nitrite spike be from adding them and maybe I have been overfeeding and caused this from maybe too much waste? Thanks

Yes, it's possible that was the problem, although it's more likely the ammonia would spike than the nitrite. Keep testing the water and see what happens.

I cannot say for sure that the product called "Cycle" won't do anything as I have not tried it, but I know that many people are very skeptical about all of these products except Bio Spira. It certainly will not harm your fish.

 

[FroggyFox]

Cycle is a waste of money...use up what you have and dont buy anymore. Its never helped with anything I've ever tried it on. If you feel the need to buy a product, look for one called Stabilize. I've heard good things about it and its designed to use when you already have fish in the tank, whereas biospira is not. Biospira is great when used as directed...but its not magical.

The nitrite spike was most likely from adding new fish. Your ammonia would spike first, but as the bacteria multiply faster to convert ammonia to nitrite than the ones do to convert nitrite to nitrate you usually dont see the ammonia spike unless its pretty substantial.

The milky water was from a bacteria bloom...the best thing to do is let your tank settle for a few days and it will clear up on its own. In general during your once a week cleaning you want to try and gravel vac also, but cleaning heavily and doing more water changes wont help get rid of a bacteria bloom.