Mollysmum

Hi Caryl, thank you for this response and advice! unfortunately this poor guy isn’t getting any better. I cycled the tank correctly before I got the fish and ensured I had the water right he before introducing them. Each time I’ve gone in to the shops with the fish I’ve had water tested and all is well. Except him he can barely swim and generally just hovers wherever he lands and can only swim directly vertical to the surface to try and get food, and if anything in his way he gets caught in it. It’s so sad to see. I have done 2 rounds of adding the Wunder tonic and gently done a gravel clean and replaced half the water as instructed on the bottle after a few days. I feel it’s not environmental now, its stress induced from the female. As the female and other male are totally fine and she is continuing to abuse him especially when I feed them. So I don’t think he’s getting much food. I feel I need to isolate him, but is it best to do this in the tank? Or remove him completely? Being a tropical I would need a whole separate tank for him with his own heater etc, I’m not sure I can do that. Or is it best to take him away completely and back to where I got them to see if they can help him. At such a loss I’m so sad to see him so unwell

Hi, I recently set up a small home tropical fish tank with 4 Mollys. It’s the aqua one 47 eco style. I feel I haven’t been given too much uneducated mixed advice and it’s caused a few problems. during my first tank clean I removed the decorations and fake plants, cleaned out the gravel and replaced it, all unknown to me that I should have had a gravel cleaner and shouldn’t have scrubbed the ornaments. Woke up the next day to one Molly that had passed away, I was gutted and felt awful. I’ve been terrified to clean the tank again since, but have purchased a glass cleaner magnet got different ornaments, and got the gravel cleaner but am yet to use it. I worked out that I have 2 males and a female, I’m not sure what the first one that passed away was. I wasn’t told what the correct ratio would be and how many would actually be better to have total, just “4 would be fine do you want a mix of male and female or one or the other?” so I just got a mix. I now think the female is pregnant ( at a guess) and she has taken to abusing one of the males, to the point he is miserable and I think has fin rot. He hides and cowers away from her only appearing when I feed them. i have just done a treatment tonight with wunder tonic, and will do a water change and clean the gravel in a few days. Questions- what are my next steps? Will the male survive? is it best to remove him completely from the tank? and just have the female and other male, who are both happy as Larry in each others company and are thick as thieves together. Should I get more females and remove the imbalance? Not interested in getting abuse and snarky comments. I’ve had that already when asking at a fish specialist shop for advice and it’s put me off going back. Beginner mum here who is genuinely concerned and gotten a bit attached to these fish that I just got as a gift for my child who was desperate for a fish tank! only looking for genuine helpful advice so I don’t need to keep explaining where the fish have gone.. i feel bad enough. thank you