Hello,
I am a newbie to this forum and a newbie to a freshwater tank. I have a few concerns and questions and am hoping it is okay to post all of it in this post.
Questions:
1. Today I had 2 of my Starburst Platy's die suddenly, and a Neon Tetra lose all of it's red color yesterday and then passed away a few hours later. I did a 10% water change today after this occurred (while doing a gravel clean at the same time) and am hoping this will help. Perhaps it is the nitrogen or ammonia levels? I don't have a test kit and can't get to a store to get one for a few days, so I am hoping this helped. (the two platy's suddenly were lying on the ground, not moving, I thought they may have been pregnant as they looked like it, and then suddenly they were just dead). Now my other two platy's are both lying on the ground, in little caves/ hiding areas...I am concerned now that the other two passed this morning, but these ones look pregnant as well..?
2. Are my fish I have in this tank really compatible? The employee at the fish store assured me they were, as well as some reading I did on the internet, but I am now wondering if perhaps I should have a different combo in this tank as I see Mollies need a bit of salt (which I do not have added currently).
3. I would like to add another type of colorful freshwater fish to this tank - suggestions? I am also going to get a couple of bottom cleaners...am thinking of Cory Cats?
4. Is a 10% water change once per week (with the gravel being cleaned at the same time) sufficient?
5. My filter flow seems to be pretty strong, even in this big of a tank, should I slow it down as this may be stressing the fish?
6. Should I be using any chemicals aside from the water conditioner and bacterial conditioner during water changes?
7. Should I add a couple live plants to help with the water quality?
Notes:
-50 gallon tank set up 3 weeks ago (I let it cycle with bacterial and water conditioners for 1 week before bringing a water sample to the store and verifying it was good and adding about 6 fish and 2 frogs, and then 1 week later I added the remainder of my fish)
-Occupants of tank are 11 Neon Tetras, 6 Yellow Mollies (5 Molly Fry in a small mesh separator hanging tank), 2 Starburst Platy's, 2 Dwarf Frogs.
-Penguin Bioflow 350 filter
-Light on 10-12 hours per day
-Temperature 25 Degrees Celsius
-Sufficient hiding places, fake plants
-I feed tropical flakes twice per day (4 times per day to the fry- ground into dust though) and usually bloodworms once per day as well as a pinch of frog pellets.
Thank you kindly for all of your suggestions!
I am a newbie to this forum and a newbie to a freshwater tank. I have a few concerns and questions and am hoping it is okay to post all of it in this post.
Questions:
1. Today I had 2 of my Starburst Platy's die suddenly, and a Neon Tetra lose all of it's red color yesterday and then passed away a few hours later. I did a 10% water change today after this occurred (while doing a gravel clean at the same time) and am hoping this will help. Perhaps it is the nitrogen or ammonia levels? I don't have a test kit and can't get to a store to get one for a few days, so I am hoping this helped. (the two platy's suddenly were lying on the ground, not moving, I thought they may have been pregnant as they looked like it, and then suddenly they were just dead). Now my other two platy's are both lying on the ground, in little caves/ hiding areas...I am concerned now that the other two passed this morning, but these ones look pregnant as well..?
2. Are my fish I have in this tank really compatible? The employee at the fish store assured me they were, as well as some reading I did on the internet, but I am now wondering if perhaps I should have a different combo in this tank as I see Mollies need a bit of salt (which I do not have added currently).
3. I would like to add another type of colorful freshwater fish to this tank - suggestions? I am also going to get a couple of bottom cleaners...am thinking of Cory Cats?
4. Is a 10% water change once per week (with the gravel being cleaned at the same time) sufficient?
5. My filter flow seems to be pretty strong, even in this big of a tank, should I slow it down as this may be stressing the fish?
6. Should I be using any chemicals aside from the water conditioner and bacterial conditioner during water changes?
7. Should I add a couple live plants to help with the water quality?
Notes:
-50 gallon tank set up 3 weeks ago (I let it cycle with bacterial and water conditioners for 1 week before bringing a water sample to the store and verifying it was good and adding about 6 fish and 2 frogs, and then 1 week later I added the remainder of my fish)
-Occupants of tank are 11 Neon Tetras, 6 Yellow Mollies (5 Molly Fry in a small mesh separator hanging tank), 2 Starburst Platy's, 2 Dwarf Frogs.
-Penguin Bioflow 350 filter
-Light on 10-12 hours per day
-Temperature 25 Degrees Celsius
-Sufficient hiding places, fake plants
-I feed tropical flakes twice per day (4 times per day to the fry- ground into dust though) and usually bloodworms once per day as well as a pinch of frog pellets.
Thank you kindly for all of your suggestions!
