Quick introduction my son has been interested in fish for a long time, he's 10 and we got him a 64l tank and on the advice of the shop we stocked it with 4 mollies, 3 sailfin mollies and a koi betta (all male) within a few days a sailfin molly died then 2 weeks later another molly died.
We had a 5-in-1 test strip kit which showed water as fine but shop then said there was ammonia at around 6.
We've gone about resolving this with heavy water changes and switching to small gravel to avoid the excess food getting built up beneath and lowered the feeding (down to .25ppm) I came alone for advise and was told to move the koi separate so bought a 19l for my son to grow plants and were waiting for it to cycle before moving the koi over.
I then got the bombshell the mollies need a bigger tank and have order a fluval Roma 240l with cabinet etc which should arrive in a few days.
So now I will have a 19l planted tank for the koi, a 64l currently housing the mollies and a 240l.
We are looking for stocking options, our water is soft and ph of 7.5. We aren't adding fish for a few weeks to ensure a smooth home but the local store lacks selection so possibly ordering online (apparently this is an option, who knew?) he would like large colourful fish and a shark if it's viable.
Side note I know nothing about fish and learning as I go, posting this on a few forums to get a wide variety of answers. Want my son learning the right things hence the small fortune in investing in this hobby lol
We had a 5-in-1 test strip kit which showed water as fine but shop then said there was ammonia at around 6.
We've gone about resolving this with heavy water changes and switching to small gravel to avoid the excess food getting built up beneath and lowered the feeding (down to .25ppm) I came alone for advise and was told to move the koi separate so bought a 19l for my son to grow plants and were waiting for it to cycle before moving the koi over.
I then got the bombshell the mollies need a bigger tank and have order a fluval Roma 240l with cabinet etc which should arrive in a few days.
So now I will have a 19l planted tank for the koi, a 64l currently housing the mollies and a 240l.
We are looking for stocking options, our water is soft and ph of 7.5. We aren't adding fish for a few weeks to ensure a smooth home but the local store lacks selection so possibly ordering online (apparently this is an option, who knew?) he would like large colourful fish and a shark if it's viable.
Side note I know nothing about fish and learning as I go, posting this on a few forums to get a wide variety of answers. Want my son learning the right things hence the small fortune in investing in this hobby lol
We all had to learn and personally I have made plenty of mistakes fortunately the resources are available for people willing to learn. The key for a beginner fish keeper is patience. The cycle process of every aquarium is extremely important. First off you added to many fish in and the cycle was not complete. Also I applaud your effort for at least having the strip test, but suggest getting the API liquid test kit. Keep doing the water changes, and feed smaller amounts once a day until water parameters stabilize. Btw are you adding dechlorinator to the aquarium or make up water, never add untreated tap water to your aquarium until you add dechlorinator.
