I dont know what is wrong! *more mollies have died

Im a little concerned about my 95 litre tank i bought about 3 months ago; its looking a little bit dull and not as bright as it was when i first put water in it, iv done water changes and even bought a new fluval U2 filter but so far its done nothing. Is it anything to do with the sand at the bottom of my tank??
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You cant really tell but its mostly dull near the heater at the back.

i have a 20 gallon that gets algae on thetop under the light that makes it dark like that. have you wiped the walls of the aquarium on the inside? try that and wipe the lid off on the side that is againt the water and see if that helps.

Il try that thanks, i did notice that the bubbles coming up from the volcano where flying up and hitting the inside of the lid and the light too.

Could be a bacteria bloom?? Might be worth checking the water stats...ammonia, nitrItes etc etc...

You could put some aquarium filter wool in the top of the filter. This will clear out most small particles, but dont leave in any longer than 3 or 4 days as it clogs quickly. Leave your other filter media in the filter too though.

Thanks for that Van, i check my water weekly with the strip tests and everything has been ok so far. Il try the filter wool and see how it goes.

the strips arnt that accurate the liquids are alot better. what exactly did you get?

Its only since iv taken the algae eaters out (the murders! ) that this has gone a bit dull, iv looked closely at the glass and i think there's a thin layer of algae on the front of the tank...what i can see and theres some on the light in the lid of the tank.
The algae eaters where good window cleaners but i guess now il have to do it.
Iv also stopped the bubbles coming out the volcano and it looks like its getting clearer, dont know why, looking a lot brighter now.
Which liquids can i get, Kizno?? Iv only ever seen the strips...maybe i didnt look properly...

Look for API Freshwater test kits, the kits are kind of pricey but worth it, they also sell seperate bottles of each test PH, PH High, Ammonia, NitrIte, and NitrAte. Get the kit at first, it's cheaper then trying to buy them one at a time, it comes with 4 glass tubes for testing and a book of instructions on how to do each test. They have saltwater test kits too, so make sure you get the right one. Ask the lfs when they come in as the kits are usually sold out one to two days after stocking. They go quick, I had my lfs put one on hold for me. Hope this helps!

Thanks for that Sheena, i can only get to my lfs when my hubby isnt working thats in 12 days time so hopefully he'l take me then...im sure he will as he's always asking about the little fishes! I think he's getting hooked like me, lol!

The nutrafin liquid test kits are also quite good. They're what I use and on ebay you get get the whole kit for about £17 and it'll last about a year on weekly testing. You can often find them in Maidenhead Aquatics on special offer too

I will have to check those out Silverrabbit! Nataliey, if you decide on the API, call up your fishstore and see if they can hold on out for you, tell them when you'll be in and they will likely put it aside! Thanks for the pink! Hope it all clears up for you soon!

As i cant get to my lfs for 2 weeks i had a look on Amazon and they have the full kit for £21 is this a good price?? The orginal price was £31 before it got put down.

I am not sure about the UK, but in Alaska, USA that price is a good $15 USD less than I payed for my kit (9.31pounds less). I would say that is a good price, but what is shipping and handling? If it's more then 9 pounds then it would be about the same.

saliferts are good test kits aswell and cheaper than api in the uk.

Shipping is free it says so would only be £21.
Thanks Kizno il have a look at that one too.

£21 is good methinks

Thanks silverrabbit i think il order it then

Things are starting to look up, the 95 litre tank finally looks crystal clear, changed the filter in there. I got a fluval 3 plus, works like a dream with the help of a weekly water change...couldnt believe the results...

great news hun!

now..'BIG SIGH' !

everythings fine

AHHH...should of touched wood when i said everything was fine in the molly tank!
I think its my luck thats rubbish! Turned light on and...dead mollies everywhere all on the bottom. Is it because of the water change i did on sunday, am i feeding them too much, was the tank over crowded...???
There is about 15 dead mollies in the picture.
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No illness signs yesterday, nothing to say they where going to die!
These are all the babies that have been born from the mollies i bought from the lfs.

What a nightmare!
have you many left in tank?
when you changed the filter did you use any 'old' filter media? How big a water change did you do?
anything new added to tank at same time? new ornaments etc.?
any meds used? any sign of problems with your heater?

juveniles will find it much harder to adjust to big changes in their environment compared to adults.

After running for 3 months your tank should have had a well established filter.
Cloudiness at this stage is usually caused by overfeeding, insufficient filtration, or algae growth.

Changing the filter and a big water change can affect the water balance, expecially if the cloudiness was caused by overfeeding/too small a filter and or not enough debris removal.

Over time the fish waste, uneaten food and dead leaves from plants can slowly alter the chemistry of the water. Because the fish live in the water, and the changes happen slowly, they adjust to it.

Suddenly making a big shift in water quality can shock the fish in this type of case, their immune system is usually lower due to conditions they've got used to and all of a sudden the whole water balance is altered it can be enough to kill them.

Definately see if you can figure the cause of the problem and those test kits will be especially important with the new filter

I so hope you don't lose any more and find out the cause hun, that must have been really awful to come down to this morning

Right, *SIGH*
I have 7 adults and about 20 babies left.

When i changed my filter the old/new one had only been in there a week only changed it as it was sucking up my fish! So no old media went into the newer filter.

I only did about a quarter of the tank so 25%

Nothing put in when i changed water but the week before i added some mini water lettuce.

No meds used just put some tap safe in as usual no problems before with it.

No problems with heater either.

I think i may have been guilty of over feeding as id give flakes in a morning, then afternoons sometimes id give the fish treat tablet and then feed again before bed (about 12.30ish) I think i do it as i dont know if all the little ones are getting something to eat!

Iv just used the little water testing kit, looks like something ud use in Chemistry at school!
The results are:
*NitrAte - 5.0
*NitrIte - 1.0
*Ammonia - 0.25
*PH - 6.6

What should my results be if they arent quite right and if they are wrong what do i do to change these??

Thats where the problem has been then hun, filters have been going through the nitrogen cycle which also explains the cloudiness.... water so rich with food etc that the filter wasn't clearing causing an algae or bacterial bloom.

nitrates aren't so harmful and should be under 20ppm
nitrite should be at 0ppm
ammonia should also be at 0ppm

I would buy some safestart or similar.. it contains some of the healthy bacteria or enzymes that helps kickstart the process

Dose it as per instructions, with frequent small water changes. For the next few weeks/month or so you need to treat your tank as if it has no filter at all

Check your stats regular until it settles to the proper range of zero nitrites and ammonia, then tank should be ok on a weekly maintenance schedule.

And definately reduce the feeding.. even crumble the flakes smaller so the bigger fish take longer to eat as they have to take more mouthfuls, plus smaller bits will make it easier for the lil ones to get easy swallowed bits and can eat more before the adults finish the lot.

Thank you so very much, when you say small water changes is a 25% ok or should i do less than that.
Also do i but the safestart in the tank while the fish are still in there or do i need to take them out?
Im glad i at least know whats wrong and how to treat it now.

In a perfect world you'd want to fully cycle your tank without fish and using liquid ammonia but i'm sure thats not possible

25% would be great but a bit less than that if done regular will still all help

90ltr tank you'd be wanting to change between 10-20 ltrs approx every two days while the cycle is happening and be quick with the siphon for left over food as it will all add to the problem.

safe start is used while fish are in tank and won't harm them in any way, hopefully it will speed up the process.