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Need aquarium tank help
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
General message area: Need aquarium tank help
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Michael
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Monday,
March 11, 2002 - 03:13 pm
I have a cycled 29-gallon long tank, with 32 fish... 9 Mollies,
1 Betta, 6 Dianos, 2 Pleco, 4 Coys, 1 Painted Skirt, 7 Tetras
and 3 Rosie Barbs. The pH is 7.5, with ammonia at zero.
My question is, I got my Plecos when I had algea in the
tank, when It was all gone I started to add 1 algea tab
every 3 days but they dont seem to be eating it, the other
fish get to it before they have a chance to. My other questions
are 3 of my Mollies are about to have babbies, I moved them
to a 10 gallon cycled QT tank but when I moved them one
of them looks like she's about to die, She swims in
circles and on her side, Whats wrong? My other question,
is my tank over stocked ? I have about 6 small rocks and
5 fake and 1 real plants. I belive I'm overstocked but
I'm not sure. Thanks ahead of time.
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G
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Monday,
March 11, 2002 - 08:48 pm
Try feeding your plecos right after you turn out the lights
for the night. Plecos are nocturnal fish, so adding the
discs after the lights have been turned out a minute or
two should give the plecos more of a chance of finding their
meal.
I couldn't tell you exactly what is wrong with your
molly, but if the fish is bloated, it doesn't necessarily
mean she's pregnant. Sometimes a fat fish can mean a
sick fish. If the fish isn't actually pregnant, the
most likely causes are either parasitic or bacterial infections.
Bacterial infections are fast-acting, so if its been a while,
maybe its a parasitic infection. Look down at the molly
from the top, if her scales are standing out, and she looks
like a pinecone, then you have a sick fish.
Sounds like some sort of swimbladder trouble, so try reading
up on swim bladder problems...I believe there's a section
somewhere on the site dealing with this issue.
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Michael
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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002 - 07:01 am
I looked at the fish from above and the scales are normal
theres no parasites on her that I see. I look on the web
for swimbladder and what they describe doesn't match
what my molly has. Oh, by the way I've had these fish
for a few months and just this morning one of them died
from being trapped between one of my fake plants. Is that
normal ?
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joycedonley
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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002 - 10:44 am
Michael sometimes moving pregnant fish can cause problems.
Swimbladder per my book is a loss of balance and fish swimming
on it's side. It can be cause by the swim bladder being
damaged due to breeding or poor handling.It may not be anything
you have really done, but the fish being weaker from breeding
in conjuction with the stress of moving may have been too
much. You could try an antibiotic, but my book really states
that after 7 days of no improvement to consider euthanasia.
If the fish was too weak to free itself from a fake plant
I think there may have been some additonal problems. BTW
be sure to add salt to the mollie tank or they will be pr
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G
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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002 - 11:43 am
A lot of the time, fish that die seem to find very odd and
unique ways of hiding themselves or placing themselves in
places you wouldn'th think fish would fit (like
under a rock...I can't say how many times when pulling
dead at work that I've found dead fish under a solid
rock).
Like Joyce said, if the fish was too weak to get out of
the plants, there was something wrong before that...it was
probably on its way out, and decided to hide or rest in
the plants, which is where the fish stayed.
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Michael
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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002 - 05:04 pm
Its a tight fitting plant it was near the base where the
plasic parts are close to gether where the fish died, and
the molly that was swimming on its side, is ok now, I got
home and it was doing fine... I add 1 tablespoon of salt
for every 5 gallons and my mollies and other fish seem to
love the salt even the catfish and plecos wich I read can
be bad for them but I think it was because I slowly added
salt. Or maybe there just strong fish.
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Michael
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Wednesday,
March 13, 2002 - 07:13 am
ohh by the way is my tank overstocked ?
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joycedonley
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Wednesday,
March 13, 2002 - 07:34 am
You are really pushing the limit! Other factors need to
be taken into account. How long has the tank been set up(determines
how much good bacteria is availble to balance things)?
What type of filtration are you using(good filtration
can also help)? How often and how much water do you
change out? Are these all juvies or are there adult fish
in your tank? What type of tetra...Large or small? Be careful
when you do your water changes and only add salt equivalent
to the water you are changing out(ie change 5 gallons
of water add salt for only the 5 new gallons). Catfish
don't like salt so go a little easy on your quatities.
You may not notice anything immediately, but too much salt
can burn the catfish.
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G
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Wednesday,
March 13, 2002 - 12:50 pm
I certainly wouldn't add any more fish.
Chances are you won't have too many problems as long
as you keep up with maintenance, but always keep in mind
that the more fish you have in a smaller space, the more
"fragile" the balance in your tank is.
If you want an excuse to set-up another tank, I'd think
you have one, as it wouldn't hurt to move some of the
fish out of that 29 at some point.
If it was me, I'd seperate the mollies from the rest
of your fish, as they are really the only fish you have
that will greatly benefit from the salt...but that's
only if you want to set-up another tank. Otherwise, just
keep up with maintenance, and everything should be as ok
as ok can be.
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Michael
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Wednesday,
March 13, 2002 - 05:37 pm
The tank has been set up for 3 months, I use a 20-40 gallon
aqua-tech hang-on-back filter, I change 25%-30% of the water
weekly, only the pleco and skirt fish are juvies, I cant
remember what kind the tetras are but there around 1.5in
and the sign on there tank said they get to 2.5in, I only
add salt when I take water, and I use chlor-out per gallon
of new water if that helps out any... I think its a close
fitting tank but it should be ok?
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joycedonley
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Thursday,
March 14, 2002 - 08:26 am
Just don't go on vacation and skip out on the water
changes. Also don't add any fish. If one of the mollies
die don't replace it. Mollie and pleco can get fairly
large, although it will take your plecos a long time to
grow!
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Michael
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Thursday,
March 14, 2002 - 07:16 pm
Yeah, my LFS told me the exact same thing, one of my mollies
some how dissapeared I think the others ate her, she jumped
out of the tank yesterday and I found her and put her back
in but, she was swimming close to the top and not moving
much and she didn't eat this morning and when I got
home she was gone, if she jumped out again the dog most
likly ate her, but I look at it in a good way it make my
tank less filled. Thanks Joyce your allways a good help.
Oh, Thanks G
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joycedonley
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Friday,
March 15, 2002 - 09:43 am
Your welcome and good luck!
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