# a bit of help needed please!



## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

can anyone give me some advice as to a couple of questions i have ??
first question is about one of my 2 guppys, only had it 2 days and something is going on with its tail ? ( pic below) second question are my 2 dalmation mollies female and if so are they pregnant? (pics below) 


thanks for your time


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

It looks like the guppy has had a chunk taken out of its tail, most likely by being bitten by another fish in the tank. Guppies are often the target of such attacks in aquariums, due to their flamboyant fins. Having long fins in the fish world is like holding a red sheet in front of a bull. what other fish are in with them?

As for the mollies. its hard to tell in the pics. the top one is certainly female, but the bottom one looks male. which means the female is likely pregnant. or if she isnt, then she soon will be  just look for an expanding belly and "gravid spot" toward the anal opening, which is basically the eyes of babies peering through the skin :3


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

thank you! with the guppies i just have 2 mollies and 2 neon tetra, as they are my starter fish.
as for my mollies they are both female but was told that most if not all female mollies are likely to be pregnant when bought, is that true?? 
thanx for the reply


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

If the female mollies have been in a tank with males at the shop, then they are almost definitely pregnant. Also bear in mind that they can store sperm, so can give birth up to 6 times without even going near a male again! 

Guppies and mollies can also interbreed, so it's not generally a good idea to keep male guppies with female mollies. Also it's likely the mollies have been bullying the guppy, as they can sometimes be bullies, especially in a smaller space - how big is your tank?

I'd recommend returning either the mollies or the guppies.


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

oh i didnt know that! there in an 84ltr tank is that too small ?


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Assuming that's a 2 foot tank, the size is OK, though you're about 50% stocked already so slightly limited on what other fish you can add. I'd still recommend returning either the mollies or guppies though, due to the interbreeding issues. Personally I'd return the mollies, as they do best in brackish water anyway and can be quite prone to infections in freshwater tanks.

When you say they're your 'starter fish', was the tank cycled before you added them? If not, you need to be doing daily water changes for a few weeks (especially since you have a fish with tail damage, which needs perfect water quality in order to heal). And don't add any more fish until the tank is fully cycled. If you did cycle before adding fish, then get another 4 neons, as they need to be in groups of 6+ to be happy.


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

thank you so much for the advice,i will see about returning the mollies as im going round to the aquatics place today,as for the neons yes we are going to get some more ( not yet tho) poor little things look lost, these are my starter fish for cycling that the aquatics place recommened, were they wrong? i did think that may have been to many fish to start with ? i am having regular water tests done on the tank, but can i ask how frequently should they be done? at the minute its getting tested every couple of days, is that ok? i am doing regular water changes.
thank you so much for your help,really appreciate it


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## Fishyfins (Feb 28, 2009)

no fish really should be used as a starter fish for a cycle. most tanks these days are cycled using a method called "fishless cycling", whichmis a lot safer and kinder for the fish than using fish to cycle the aquarium for you.

Basically, when we say "cycling", we mean a period of time where you grow 2 types of beneficial bacteria in the filter that will eat the waste produced by the fish. without this bacteria, then the fishes waste isnt removed, and will grow to high levels in the aquarium in a very short ammount of time. these waste chemicals (ammonia and nitrite) are incredibly toxic, and in most cases will kill the fish in there if exposed for too long. As you need these chemicals to grow the bacteria (it is their food), there is no way of avoiding this. Even if the fish get lucky and survive the cycle, they usually end up with their immune systems destroyed by the chemicals, leading to a prolonged death over many years. any fish involved in a fish-in cycle will have their quality of life seriously reduced.

The cycling process usually lasts between 3 and 6 weeks, and can be done safely by adding ammonia (available from some small DIY and hardware shops such as Wikinsons) to the water without the fish being there. this gives the bacteria the food they need to grow without fish being present. Yes, it means leaving your tank for a fair while with no fish, but at least your not harming them, right?

As well as this, im actually quite shocked at the shops choice of "starter fish", specifically the neon tetras. neons are the worlds most popular aquarium fish, and have suffered for it. to meet the demand, they are mass bred on far east fish farms, and over the last decade or so, the quality of livestock has gone through the floor. they are now quite weak, intolerant little fish, and are considered quite delicate. they need pretty mature tanks, and we dont usually recomend putting them in tanks that have been set up less than 6 months, due to the instability of new systems. I would be very surprised if they lasted for long in a brand new uncycled tank. I would take them back and get them out of harms way!

Here is a nice little piece about fishless cycling for you to read

Frequently asked questions on fishless cycling | Features | Practical Fishkeeping

i urge you to have a look on google as well, and have a good look at what fishless cycling means. also, please be very wary of advice given by shops these days. Remember, they are trying to sell you something. It is often a case where they know the advice they give is wrong, but will tell you anyway because they know it will cause problems. you will then return to them for replacement fish or expensive medicines. to them, giving you the wrong advice can be quite lucrative. either that or they employ people with no knowledge of fish whatsoever, and teach them the wrong methods so that the person serving you believes they are right, when actually they are wrong. just be very careful with any advice you gt from shops.

Good luck, and were always here if you need us for advice


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

Ditto to what Fishyfins has said. Guppies also are quite delicate these days due to the amount of in-breeding used to develop the colours and finnage. The kindest thing to do would be to return all the fish, do a fishless cycle, and start over. If you are not able/willing to do this, then you need to get a good liquid test kit (such as the API master kit, which is about £20 on ebay or amazon), and change about 50% of the water every day until it is cycled.

And yes, please feel free to ask plenty of questions


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

i want to start by saying thank you to you both for your advice ! looks very much like i have been seriously done over (so to speak). i have just got bk from the aquatics shop and they wont take bk the fish  why i really dont know as they seem healthy at the minute ( apart from the guppies tail that is! which is still ripped but im keeping a close eye on ) so where do i go from here?? i dont want these guys to die!! i trusted that shop because i have known the staff for years!! ( how stupid am i) well i think i shall be taking my custom else were from now on 
i have a liquid testing kit but its not API its a nutrafin one ( wish i had got the API one would probs been more easier tbh ) 
any other advice now would be very very much appreciated!!!


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

The nutrafin kit will be fine, so long as you have the tests for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. 

Will the shop not even take them back for free? Or if you can find another aquatic shop, they might be able to rehome them for you, though you won't get anything for them. Maidenhead Aquatics are generally a good chain, if you have one near you.

If you are still unsuccessful in rehoming them (and in the meantime), test the water every day for ammonia and nitrite. You need to keep the levels of both of these under 0.25, so will need to do daily large water changes in order to do so. The amount to change depends on the readings - i.e. if you have 1ppm of ammonia or nitrite, then you'll need to do TWO 50% changes to get it to an 'acceptable' level, whwreas if you have 0.5ppm, then one 50% change is sufficient.

Good luck with it, and thanks for caring enough about your fish to want to do the best thing for them!


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## andrea84 (Aug 16, 2012)

thanx again for the info, i love fish and would never do anything intentionally to hurt them  them seem fine for now and im testing the water a lot and have started doing 50% water changes too. i am going to do my best to try and re home them. 

you have been so helpful :thumbsup::thumbsup:


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