Mollies not eating!

[Kayleigh750]

Hey, just wondering if anybody could give me a little help here. I've just started a 26 gallon bowfront tank, on monday I added 1 male creamcicle lyretail molly and 2 female dalmation mollies. I have added seachem prime water conditioner after having it highly recommended. I have a filter and heater, the water is at 80 degrees currently. My question, is why none of my mollies seem interested in the food I've put in their tank. I've offered it several times daily, but ended up fishing it out with a net after a while so it doesnt cloud the water. They've clearly seen the food, even once or twice picked at it and spit it out, but never swallowed a flake. I don't want them to die of starvation, so what can I do! Will they outgrow this behavior?

I would really appreciate any thoughts, thanks in advance.

 

[FlameTetra333]

Sometimes new fish are too nervous to eat. It may even take a week until they get used to their new homes. Just give them time to settle in. Also, have you cycled your tank? Please read the sticky if you haven't.

 

[Kayleigh750]

I read all about the cycle, and read the sticky. These fish are here to help the cycle. I'm going to a friend's tomorrow who is going to give me some gravel from her 20g to help it out. Thanks for your input

 

[ValRasbora]

It's great you've read about the cycle! Be sure to do lots of tests and 50% water changes.

They may be getting used to their home, or they're stressed. Try feeding them a shelled, thawed, frozen peas. They can go for a few weeks without food, so don't worry too much

 

[Kayleigh750]

I'll be sure to get on to those water changes. I was wondering exactly how much to change out, so thank you for that.
I will try peas if i can find some as well, and I will try not to worry too much either.

 

[Kayleigh750]

i did a 25% change and they seem happier already, all swimming around together and stuff . I'll try feeding them tonight again or maybe tomorrow morning before I go out for more aquarium supplies!

How often should I change out water? and how often should I test the water quality? what should I be looking for and when?

 

[Thyra]

You are looking for water parameters of ammonia 0, nitrite 0, and nitrate near 20. OC will probably chime in and she is really good at all the details. What I did because it was a fish in cycle like you are doing, was initially check for ammonia and nitrite daily and even if it showed 0, I still changed about 25% of the water every other day. If you show any ammonia you need to change enough water so it gets to 0. I can't exactly remember the timing but in about a month I started to show nitrates which mean the beneficial bacteria have arrived. At than point I could add more fish cautiously (I didn't have a quarantine tank) but I checked the water for all three things every two or three days until I felt more confident. I continued to change about 25% of the water weekly. This has worked for me.

 

[Kayleigh750]

ok sounds good, thanks

 

[Kayleigh750]

Anybody care to help me out again here?

My male creamsicle lyretail died. he, along with my other two, were looking fine and dandy around noon-ish today so it all seemed ok that I could go out today and finish getting my other stuff for my tank. i, living in canada close-ish to the american border, went over because its sooo much cheaper. when I ca,e back into my room I noticed that only two fish were swimming, and I searched around the tank until I found him belly up and not breathing in the plant in the corner... I'm assuming he died from stress? I really didnt see any signs of anything else. maybe it was ammonia, but I can confirm that tomorrow with a water test, I can't do it now because I feel like Im going to fall asleep already...

Some questions before bed though-

- My two remaining females seem to be rather nippy with each other occasionally- normal molly behavior? maybe they are hungry? they didnt bother my male... yes, I'm 200% sure that they are both females and not males. are they going to possibly seriously harm one another? or will they be ok? its not like they are constantly at each other's throats...
- Will these two mollies alone be able to cycle the 26 gallon tank? If so I wont be adding any more fish until the cycle is complete.
- when I use the gravel vacuum during the cycle, should I actually vacuum in the gravel, or would I be risking removing too much bacteria? Should I just let the hose suck in the water

any response much appreciated. I kinda thought this might happen. i just really didn't want it to happen to the more expensive one. my luck apparently ah well, hopefully I will get a new one when the tank is cycled...

 

[Thyra]

I have read in one of my resources that mollies are not a good beginner's fish. He didn't say why, but they do seem to be pretty prone to ich and fungus IME. I had better luck with platies in the beginning. It is possible, in that short of time, your creamcicle already had some problems. Right now testing the water, changing water and not adding any new fish is the way to go. The two mollies have plenty of room to avoid each other. It will take a while to cycle the tank but, as I said, when you start to see nitrates you can cautiously add another fish or two. Increase your population slowly.

 

[OrangeCones]

My two remaining females seem to be rather nippy with each other occasionally- normal molly behavior?

Not normal, may be a sign of stress due to poor water quality.

when I use the gravel vacuum during the cycle, should I actually vacuum in the gravel, or would I be risking removing too much bacteria? Should I just let the hose suck in the water

YES! Always vacuum the gravel. You may remove SOME bacteria, but will remove far more waste which is what you need to do to keep the fish healthy.

To keep your fish safe until you can test your water to know your ammonia and nitrite levels, do a 50% water change daily.

What do you use as a dechlorinator? If you use one that also can bind ammonia, you can keep your fish safe turing the fish-in cycle.

 

[Kayleigh750]

yeah I use seachem prime as a water conditioner. I will do that water change today and test the water as well, I got everything I needed yesturday, the freshwater master kit was agreed to be the best so thats what I got

... maybe they will stop fighting because they seem to be at it again today even though there are plenty of hiding places in the aquarium and lots of room to be apart atm. they seem completely fine together at other times, so it's just weird.

i might post what I find later. If my mollies cool down after a water change then they might stay, or we will see in a couple days. I'm debating taking them back to the store. I really do enjoy them, but I don't want a fish that will bother others when it comes time... maybe get some platys, because I really like the sunburst ones at the store, or red wags. Would that be suitable to add them at this point? I would probably just get 3 females and pray they aren't pregnant... my mollies weren't.