Question of my mollies health

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nvan2

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Mar 1, 2005
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My mollies at least seem to be haning out in the back of the aquarium behind some decorations more. Ive also noticed that most of the time their top fins are kinda folded down, and their tail fins are kept narrower instead of fanned out. Is this normal, and am i just being paranoid, or is something wronge?

i just tested the water, and was suprised to find that they are:

nitrates: about 12.5 mg/l
nitrites: inbetween .8 and 1.6 mg/l
amonia: 0
ph: 8
I didnt test gh or kh. what exactly are these? are they important if you dont have plants?

about 4 days ago i started reading minimal levels of nitrates and nitrites, so i thaught that my tank was finally cycled, since i added bio-spira around that time, and figured it finally rounded my trank off. the first day they read that, i got one albino cory , and for a few days after that it continued to test that way, even yesterday. earlier today, before i tested my water, i added 4 ghost shrimp.

I have a bag of a handfull of mature gravel hanging in my tank, and i added biospira about 4 days ago. Would it be smart to do a small water change, and add more bio-spira?
 
That is a very toxic nitrite level. Even 0.1 can cause fish stress.

Do a series of water changes ASAP and add aquarium salt (1 teaspoon per 5 gallons) if you have not already.
 
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I just got the water. And yeah, theres 2ppm salt in there (2 tsp per gallon)
 
Nitrites are high and will cause clmped fins and lethargy like you are describing. If you are cycling, which it certainly looks like you are, I'd be doing 50% daily water changes at least and then checking my levels. If I was still seeing nitrites after the first test, I would do another 50% water change. Also, you may want to check your source water for nitrites and nitrates. I am curious about those numbers.
 
ive been using bottled spring and sometimes distilled (when ph is high). Im testing my water now after ding a 30-40 % water change. I thaught my tank was cycled, because i added bio spira and a bag of mature gravel a day later to my aquarium, and a day after that my nitrates and nitrites were very minimal, and it tested that way for a couple days, so i considered my tank cycled.

Also, exactly how traumatic is a temperature change of about 5-6 degrees within a couple minutes?
 
It's pretty traumatic for a fish. Alo, a tank isn't cycled until an ammonia does of around 5 ppm can be at zero in 24 hours with 0 nitrites and nitrates in the 5-10 range. pH seems high to me for using the kinds of water you are. What else is in the tank, any rocks? Any other additives at all? Why don't you use your tap water?
 
okay, just finished testing my water. Looks like nitrates are down to being inbetween 12.5 - 25 mg/l, but much closer to 12.5.

nitrites are now closer to .3 mg/l.
ph: little bellow 8.

ive also noticed my male mollie being more active and flaring his fins out. He almost seems over-active, but they are pretty energetic fish.

Ill plan on doing another 40% water change tommarow and just keep going untill my tank is actually cycled. I do have a 3 ounce pouch of bio-spira left, so im thinking about adding some in after every water cahnge. But im guessing this is pretty much the only thing i can do. Ill just work on keeping what i have alive untill i get through this.
 
My tap water is horrible. Its very high in metals and smells of rotten eggs most of the time, and almost instantly rusts the sinks if left on. We dont drink it and rarley cook with it. besides a handfull of rocks ina mesh bag (from a hang in breeder tank) from a betta bowl thats been going for months now. other than that.... i have activated carbon and thoes little white rock things, i think called zeolite sometimes in my filter.... thats really all. I havent added anything to my aquarium in days.

How hardy are ghost shrimp? are the levels i just posted (after my water change) safe for them? Are they okay with 2ppm salt? what about a ph of 8? Do you recomend i bring the ph down as soon as possible? From what i hear ph up and down products are kinda worthless, and ive ben told distilled water has a ph of 6, so water cahnging with that helps bring it down.

female mollie seems to be "shimying" i think its called.. kinda sitting near the bottom, with clamped top fin, but looks like its swimming fast, but staying in place.
 
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Ghost shrimp are pretty hardy in my experience, but I am afraid my experience seems vastly different from most peoples'. They do often fall prey to fish when they molt and they have soft bodies. Mine seem to fall prey to the gravel vacuum more foten however, since it is hard to see the little things when the light is off. I now rig my lights to the side of the tank when I do water changes. Dangerous, yes, but at least I can see. If ever I vanish from the boards, let it be known I probably electrocuted myself. Zeolite absorbs ammonia if I am not mistaken... I wonder if your bio-filter is having trouble establishing because of that and the carbon? As for the molly, she shouldn't have clamped fins at all. Does she have any other symptoms? Stringy white feces? Flashing? Anything?
 
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