Hello everyone. I wish I'd never started up this fish tank...... one of my mollies has went inside one of the tank decorations and is lying on its side with his gills opening and closing. He's been in there all evening. The other mollie has something on his eye, like a fungus maybe? I feel bad for them. Is there anything I can do to help them?? I changed about 30% of the water a few days ago and things were looking better but now they have all taken a turn for the worse (except for the 4 glow fish they are still going strong) and the female mollie (who has since died) had babies and theres about 30 of those tiny buggers in there.
Worst fish parent ever.
- Thread starter buddylove
- Start date
Aw, don't feel so bad. You're making the same beginner mistakes most of us did.
You ought to do about a 50% water change right away to reduce toxic ammonia and/or nitrite in the water. Keeping the water safe is the best thing you can do for your sick fish right now.
I looked back through your posts. Now what exactly are those ammonia reducing tablets you bought called? And are you still using them?
If they reduce the ammonia by binding it, your tank can't grow a colony of ammonia-eating bacteria. Therefore it's still susceptible to ammonia poisoning. You need to go get an ammonia test kit first of all, and stop using those ammonia-reducing things. Test your water as soon as you get the test kit.
If your ammonia is 1.0 or more, do a 50% water change, matching temperature and using dechlorinator (any one will do, but Prime is really good). Then you need to test your water for ammonia every day, doing a partial water change whenever ammonia is 1.0 or above. Eventually, the ammonia will start to test out at lower numbers, finally subsiding to 0. But, while it is going down, the nitrite will be rising. Whenever it gets to 1.0, do a 50% water change. After a time, both ammonia and nitrite will read at 0, and you will begin seeing nitrate readings. This will mean your tank is cycled, that is, able to support your fish without poisoning them. There will be enough beneficial bacteria to eat the ammonia, changing it to nitrite, and then other bacteria to eat the nitrite, turning it to nitrate. This may take several weeks, up to a couple of months.
When nitrate is over 20 you'll do partial water changes to keep your water clean and healthy. By testing you'll discover about how often you need to change the water, and how much each time.
IMPORTANT: Do not change out your filter media. If it gets clogged, rinse it in dechlorinated water only so as not to kill your beneficial bacteria growing on it.
Don't add any more fish until your tank has been stable for a while.
You ought to do about a 50% water change right away to reduce toxic ammonia and/or nitrite in the water. Keeping the water safe is the best thing you can do for your sick fish right now.
I looked back through your posts. Now what exactly are those ammonia reducing tablets you bought called? And are you still using them?
If they reduce the ammonia by binding it, your tank can't grow a colony of ammonia-eating bacteria. Therefore it's still susceptible to ammonia poisoning. You need to go get an ammonia test kit first of all, and stop using those ammonia-reducing things. Test your water as soon as you get the test kit.
If your ammonia is 1.0 or more, do a 50% water change, matching temperature and using dechlorinator (any one will do, but Prime is really good). Then you need to test your water for ammonia every day, doing a partial water change whenever ammonia is 1.0 or above. Eventually, the ammonia will start to test out at lower numbers, finally subsiding to 0. But, while it is going down, the nitrite will be rising. Whenever it gets to 1.0, do a 50% water change. After a time, both ammonia and nitrite will read at 0, and you will begin seeing nitrate readings. This will mean your tank is cycled, that is, able to support your fish without poisoning them. There will be enough beneficial bacteria to eat the ammonia, changing it to nitrite, and then other bacteria to eat the nitrite, turning it to nitrate. This may take several weeks, up to a couple of months.
When nitrate is over 20 you'll do partial water changes to keep your water clean and healthy. By testing you'll discover about how often you need to change the water, and how much each time.
IMPORTANT: Do not change out your filter media. If it gets clogged, rinse it in dechlorinated water only so as not to kill your beneficial bacteria growing on it.
Don't add any more fish until your tank has been stable for a while.
Thanks for the kind responses. I feel so bad for the little guy. I considered putting him in a new tank (about 10 gal?), and heating the water accordingly for now. Would that be a good idea? The only type of water I have right now is tap water (high bleach and clor) and I have some of that clor out chemicals.......... Little fish is lying on the bottom of the tank breathing in and out..... but I think he's losing the battle. 
Honestly, I think you'd be better off taking extra good care of the water in your first tank; the reason being that all your fish are suffering from ammonia or nitrite poisoning, but the glofish are danios and therefore tolerate it better. You may possibly lose all but them during the cycling process. Don't despair, though.