help help help

[emonemo420]

so i got 3 black mollies from petsmart to try and help control some of my hair algea (joe mentioned it so if its a bad idea someone yell at him then lightly tell me im an idiot lol srry joe) but i acclimated one for half hour one for 45 mintues and one for an hour...well all three were fine for 5 minutes til one got sucked into my maxi-jet 1200 i found him but he was all jacked up...then i just saw another one kinda blowing around and idk where he is but it looks like he was swimming idk...and the last one i just found stuck to the side of my filter...*** ....are these fish stupid why would u go near filters...so now i have one kinda swimming around the top...not acclimated long enough? (joe said he just threw his in!! i at least tried to drip acclimate) so what do i do kill all my powerheads? its not just these fish i already lost 2 fish to powerheads...i mean they dont have the cover on em but even still *** is wrong with these fish

 

[RBTA]

I drip acclimated mine for five hours or so, probably overkill, but better safe then sorry for me. I tried just throwing mine in but they died. But hey if the mollies die, take em back to petsmart with your reciet, they have a 14 day guarentee on their fish. Just don't tell them you put them in you're saltwater tank. Haha I'm afraid I'd be the only one that understands that idea.

But yeah I always acclimate them over a long period of time to be on the safe side with the mollies.

 

[emonemo420]

but whats the deal with powerheads getting fish..is it cause i dont have the screen on the bottom? i cant see just the screen doing much...u would think the fish would still stick to it

 

[RBTA]

Well I'm unfamiliar with the maxi jet, but my thought is a healthy fish shouldn't be able to get stuck to it, I could be wrong of course. But it would explain the mollies getting stuck to it, stressed out from the acclimation. And were the other two fish who got sucked into the powerhead, were they healty from what you know of?

 

[a1amap]

Freshwater mollies have to be acclimated longer then standard fish. I have not used them myself but would not do it under 5 hours more like 10 or more. If they are in shock because of the large upswing in salinity they may be weekend and not be able to swim away from the powerhead. The screen gives the input of the pump a larger area to pull from reducing the amount of suction per sq inch. Most fish are able to swim away but if they can't then its some of Kens Seafood "bait" chowder for all the fishes to enjoy.

 

[DamnPepShrimp]

Maybe try to acclimate them over a couple days, like you do with hypo treatment. Slowly bring up the SG with a few water changes or so?

 

[emonemo420]

a little late for that

 

[kaptken]

hey Josh, I guess Joe couldnt make the meeting, so i still have that jar of phosguard and some cheato for you. when do you have some free day time.? I can meet you part way, like at Ronnies garden center in Smyrna or somewhere like that and give them to you. then start your fuge or just wedge it in the tank. should help in time.

 

[a1amap]

I think DanmPepShrimp was more commenting on the next time. Remember in reef keeping nothing good happens fast.

I always reaserch before adding something to my tank. Like take the cuc you asked for. The reasons I don't have one is my sand bed is not deep enough for one and if it dies you need to get it out of the tank or it could kill the rest of their tankmates. The more brightly colored the more toxic they are. I think Joe mentioned this to you. If you want to distroy the hair algae you may want to look into a sea hare, a caribbean cowrie, or a couple queen conchs. The conchs are the cheapest at about $6 each. The sea hare is probably the most expensive but he will eat a lot. I always see people trading them after they eat all the algae. Not a bad idea if 2 people go in on one, then trade it off as it runs out of food.

 

[Jocephus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11626454#post11626454 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RBTA
But hey if the mollies die, take em back to petsmart with your reciet, they have a 14 day guarentee on their fish. Just don't tell them you put them in you're saltwater tank.

Ha!

Seriously though.

I think bringing the specific gravity up over a few days is overkill. These are fish that live in waters that constantly change in salinity. I wouldn't have acclimated them for as long as you did. Typically, you lose a couple to stress. That's why I said to get, "a few". There's always a little die off. The powerhead issue may have something to do with the lack of screens, but I think you got those from me. I used them without screens with no incidents. Let me know how you make out with the other two mollies. It will be okay.

 

[cdangel0]

I have used the Mollies, generally only acclimated for an hour or two with no issues. They aren't the strongest fish given their little size, so if they get too close to an un-screened PH they may very well not be able to swim away.

Keep in mind that they are great for the short term, but I have never heard of anyone keeping them long term in a SW environment.

RBTA is right about PetSmart taking them back (prob caused he works/worked there) I don't think I have ever been questioned about how something died, they just toss it in the trash and give you new ones.

 

[Gordonious]

Have none of you kept fresh water tanks? lol You do NOT use power heads with fresh water tanks and 99.9% of the time fresh water fish can't handle high currents.

Out here on the reef it is practically impossible for a human to stand perfectly still. You are constantly being moved around. People often forget that the power heads in our salt water aquaria are there for the fish as well. Yes they keep waste in the water column and bring it to the filters and yes many corals need high flow to bring food and take waste, but the fish also need it. The fish in the reef are typically used to high flow and there muscles have developed this way. A fish that evolved in a reef biotype put in stagnant water can lose muscle mass and won't grow healthy. (Notice I said reef, there are some fish offered in the hobby from time to time that come from other tropical bio-types such as sea grass or mangroves. For instance some sea horses and pipefish.)

Mollies aren't dumb, they just can't handle the flow. They are used to gentle streams and puddle ponds, not a constantly flowing reef. I have kept mollies before in a lower flow FOWLR system fine.

With any post about algae control problems, someone has to state the obvious first. Go after the source first. Are you using RODI water? What TDS is in the water? Are there high phosphates in your food or are you feeding too much?

Jon