Outbreak not sure

Question
QUESTION: Hi I have a new tank for about 2 weeks now and it is 29 gallons. I have 2 silver mollys 2 black mollys 1 electric blue hap 1 tiger Oscar and 1 angel fish 7 fish total. my filter is a aqua tech 20-40 filter. I change my water every other day about 25%.  Ok now my question is that my electric blue hap has been scratching the last few day on the gravel and i have noticed a pinkish bump on my female silver molly and she is a week pregnant.  My male silver molly his end of his tail fin is starting to turn black. and my tiger Oscar is developing a white spot on his side.  I have noticed all this change over the last week and i don't like it please help

ANSWER: Hi Steven;

There are two very serious issues in your tank that must be remedied immediately if any are to survive. Firstly, New Tank Syndrome (also called Cycling or Break-in) is life threatening to all of them. The spots, blackening fins, etc., are all symptoms of high levels of toxins that are burning and irritating them. Make a 25% water change right away and do them every day until the fish are doing better. Monitor the ammonia and nitrite so you know whether it is stabilizing. Feed the fish very sparingly until this all gets remedied. Your tank is quite new to have so many fish in it. You have to start a new tank very slow with only one inch of fish for every ten gallons until it fully completes the process. That means your tank should only have 3 one-inch fish in it right now. The break-in can take up to 6 weeks to finish. Until then, waste toxins build up and make the fish very sick, especially when there are so many. Here is a link to my article about new tanks to help you know more;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

There are also some serious compatibility problems. Very soon, if any survive the Break-In Period, you are only going to have one fish left alive in there and it will be the oscar. Oscars are very aggressive predators that get very large (12 inches and more), and they grow fast. It doesn't matter if fish are put together as babies and "grow up together". Some fish are just aggressive, it's their nature. Right now your oscar is sick from waste toxins due to the break-in period so he isn't as interested in being his normal self as he would be usually. Oscars can't live in a 29-gallon anyway. Just for one you need at least a 50-gallon. The Hap is aggressive too but he doesn't grow as fast so he will soon be eaten by the oscar too. Mollies and angels CANNOT live in the same tank with an oscar or a hap. They will either be eaten in pieces by the Hap or taken whole by the oscar eventually after being bullied and terrorized for a period of time.  

Good luck...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok so this is what I did for now for a temporary fix to help my tank and fish.  I went and got a 10 gal tank and put my Tiger Oscar and my 2 black mollys in that tank. All I have in my 29 gal is my electric blue hap 2 silver mollys and 1 angel fish now.  My main goal is to get a female hap and breed them. when I set up my 10 gal I put the bio filter in my 29 gal tank and moved it around my tank and i took a little bit of gravel out of my 29 gal and put it in my 10 gal to maybe help speed up the process on that tank.  My big concern is the shaking and scratching that my Hap is doing I hope this helps him.  How will I tell when the cycling is done in my tank and what can i do to help it.  The pet store referred me to a chemical called AmQuel Plus to put in my tank after every water change that im going to do every day.  Please let me know if anything I did will help over all I want to do what best for the fish so they don't suffer.

ANSWER: Hi Steven;

The mollies are not safe at all. Your oscar is going to hurt them and kill them as soon as he feels well enough to do so. Being in the small tank is going to be worse for him than staying in the 29 with the hap. He is a messy guy that is going to jack up the ammonia even faster in the little 10 gallon. To avoid the mollies' suffering and avoid further suffering of your oscar, move him back into the 29 with the hap. He really needs a 50 gallon or to go back to the store. You don't have what he needs yet. You can even put in a divider in the 20 to protect the hap from him until you get your oscar the size tank he needs.

Your Hap is being irritated by ammonia. That's why he is scratching. Not every fish responds the same way. It's even possible he has a case of "ich" which is a parasite. The stress of break-in would definitely cause them all to be susceptible to the parasite. Look for white salt-like specks on the fins and body. If you see them on him anywhere, they have all been exposed and need treatment, even the 10 gallon.

Read my article on the Break-in Period very carefully. You need test kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to monitor them as it goes through the process. The 29 gallon has barely started the process so using gravel from it will probably not have much of an effect. It's just too new.

You really have to understand that there are certain things about keeping fish that are not changeable, in spite of what we want the rules to be. Facts are just facts... Oscars get big and mean and need 50 gallons per fish, haps get mean, angels and mollies get killed by oscars and haps, tanks get toxic during the break-in when too many fish are added too soon, etc.... Just follow a few basic "rules" and your fish will do much better.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes I know that the Mollies are in danger with the Oscar.  Right now this is all temporary and my Oscar is no bigger than 2" right now.  I'm trying to do everything that is best for my Hap as he is my most expensive fish and my biggest.  The 10 gal is temporary till I do get a bigger tank for him but nothing is cheap then the 10 gal will be for my 4 Mollies then everyone will be apart form each other.  When will I know when my Tanks are done cycling

Answer
Hi Steven;

You will know your tanks are through the break-in after both ammonia and nitrite are "zero" and stay there. That's why testing for them daily is so important during this time. It could take another month or more. Keep in mind that even when the tanks are finally fully balanced, every time you add more fish the ammonia can go up again until the beneficial bacteria compensates for the new bio-load.

I hope they make it. It's just that I've seen other hobbyists struggle the way you are right now and it usually ends up disastrous in spite of desperate efforts to just make it through temporarily. Keep testing, keep changing water, and feed only a tiny bit of food so waste doesn't add to the ammonia any more than absolutely necessary. I really am pulling for you and your fish!

I almost forgot....with adding AmQuel Plus you will have to make sure you use the right ammonia tester to get an accurate reading. Make sure you don't get a tester that has something called "Nessler Reagent". It should tell you on the label. With AmQuel Plus or other ammonia binders in the tank it could read that there is harmful ammonia in the water when there is not. Get a kit that does two separate ammonia tests; "free ammonia" (NH3) and "ionized ammonia" (NH4 +). You will want to know if the "Free Ammonia" is elevated. That's the toxic one and the right type of test kit will give you an accurate reading. I know the manufacturers Sera and Seachem both make them and they should be available in fish stores.

Also, be prepared for a high nitrite level to follow the high ammonia. Get some aquarium salt to have ready for it. Aquarium salt counteracts some of the effects of nitrite poisoning on your fish. Nitrite poisoning causes a condition known as "brown blood syndrome". Their blood can't absorb and carry oxygen to the cells very well any more and the fish literally suffocate. Extra bubbles from an air pump helps too.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins