problems with fish tank

Question
Dear Chris
I have recently reinstated a small Jebo 331 around 10L self filtering fish tank, I cleaned all the parts thoroughly and disinfected with milton antibacterial solution (used for sterilising babies' milk bottles etc), rinsed thoroughly, added water and left for over a week to equilibriate. On Sunday (4days ago) I introducd seven fish a male and female platy, guppy and mollie and an algal feeder. All seemed to be going well, until this morning (arriving at work where I keep my fish) I found that the algal feeder had died and that the female mollie was swimmining most erratically, apparently having difficulty in balance often positioned verftically in the water, and also being nibbled at by the other fish that seem ok. I have removed the affected mollie and retuned to the suppliers to ask some questions. I have checked my water ph, it was a little alkaline, but I have now slowly adjusted this back to neutral. What is of concern is that I purchased a replacement female mollie, and within a short while of being introduced to the tank, the behaviour of the new mollie is strange, the gill covers are moving quite rapidly she does not seem to have the motor control of the other fish, often positioned at an angle of around 45o with apparently little tail movement, though the pectotral fins are moving and iis alos being nipped at by the other fish species. Any advice that you might be able to give would be much appreciated. My tank is in at my work building which is airconditioned during the day, I have installed, on the advice of the aquarium shop, a thrmostatic heater which is set to 27oC, I expect that the temperature of the water might go a little higher than this at night when the airconditioning is off (I live and work in Darwin, tropical northern australia)
many thanks

Charles

Answer
Hi Charles;

You have received some very bad advice I'm afraid. Your tank is just too small for so many fish so soon as well as too small for some of those kinds of fish. It is also going through the break-in period so the waste toxins they put out are poisoning them. Change 50% of the water to reduce toxins and take all the fish back to the store except for one platy OR one guppy, not more than one fish. This one fish will get your tank through the break-in period and you can add more after that process is over. You may have to change 25% of the water several times a week until the process completes to keep the toxins low enough for the fish to tolerate. Avoid the urge to drain the tank and "start over" though. It must go through the break-in process in order to support your fish. Starting over just puts you back to 'day one' and still has to go through it again. You just know more about it and will know how to handle it properly this time so that fish don't get sick and die. Here is a link to my article about it to tell you more and how to manage it;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

The tank is okay for guppies and platies but not for algae eaters and mollies. Regular algae eaters and mollies need at least an 80 liter tank so they have enough room to grow and move around. Depending on the type of algae eater you had, some grow to be over a foot long and others are very aggressive as they get larger. If you want an algae eater in the future, there are tiny ones called "Otocinclus". However, wait until the tank is fully through the break-in and there is actually algae to feed on.

Don't mess with the pH. Your fish will get used to what it tends to be and they will be just fine. Trying to alter it causes fluctuations and stress in your fish that can lead to death and illness. What you are looking for is stability not a certain reading.

Avoid using any chemicals or cleaners on your fish tank or it's equipment. Even something that seems okay may not be. It can absorb into some of the parts and slowly leach out into the water, or if any trace of it was left somewhere it can poison the fish. What doesn't bother humans and other animals can be deadly to fish because fish are breathing it over their gills.

Here are some web pages to help you know more about keeping fish aquariums and maintaining the health of your fish;

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/a/fishcalc.htm

http://groups.msn.com/LyreTailsAquarium/thenitrogencycle.msnw

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/Aquarium_Startup.htm

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/a/newtankmistakes.htm

http://www.firsttankguide.net/waterchange.php

http://www.firsttankguide.net/size.php

http://www.firsttankguide.net/myths.php

Let me know if you need more help...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins