# Help me solve a murder!!



## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

Hey yall, I'm new to this aquarium stuff. My wife got me a 3 gallon starter kit for Christmas to get me interested and going. Since it's so small I told myself I would keep it to 3 fish. Well I bought a Black Molly (Lyretail?) and a Sunset Platy. They were living in harmony for a little over a week. Today I got ansy and went and picked up a Cremecicle Molly and dumped it in there. Well tonight I noticed my Platy is missing half its tail, and is hanging around the bottom. Every now and again it would zoom to the top, then float back down, nose first. I came back 20 mins later to find it lying on its side on the bottom. I tapped it with the net and it didn't move so I flushed it.

If the Platy and the Black Molly did great with no incident for so long, how come when I added the other Molly all of a sudden a fish loses its life? Now I have a Black Molly and a Cremecicle Molly, and they are doing good but now I want a third one to go in there. And not another Molly.

HELP!!! :-(

Leo


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## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

I'm going with... your tank is too small for that many fish. Try one betta instead.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

I'll go with that....but how do you explain the attack?


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## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

well, you don't have a place for the fish to hide in. it could have been a territorial thing. you put the first two in there at the same time, they split up the area. adding a third means that their space has to be divided up again. IMO at least; someone may tell you something different.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

Cool, that makes sense, thanks!


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Yeah if you crowd them together they will solve the problem themselves. Mollies can be mean sometimes too. I have a subscription to a couple aquarium magazines and there is an article in the March 2010 Aquarium Fish International titled "Mollies, not necessarily a beginner fish" (or something to that effect; i dont have the mag in front of me).

Does that tank have a heater?


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## daniel89 (Nov 28, 2009)

First thing first. That tank isn't a 3 gallon, It's is a 1 gallon as I have the same one for my male show betta. I also live in the pet department looking at fish supplies all night during all my breaks so I have lots of knowledge of prices and what things are what just by glancing at them. The tank doesn't have a heater and the fish you have are tropical so they require warmer water. My advise is to stick it back in the box return it to wal-mart if that's where you got it and tell them a story like your child doesn't like it and you'd like a refund. Then purchase a 10 gallon starter aquarium for $36.98. Set it up and go from there.

P.S. that tank you have doesn't even have enough room for one fish. It's meant for something like a single baby goldfish.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

You are right it is a 1 gallon, I don't know why I thought 3. Thanks for the info.


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## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

You can house a betta in there though. But, a heater would be a good idea and get *silk* plants. That way, you can still have a pretty colorful fish and don't have to return that tank.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

I may end up doing that. I think I'll go searching for a heater. What should the temperature be for a Betta? And why silk plants?


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## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

Temp: 75-80F. Silk or real plants should be used with them because plastic plants can rip their fins which are really delicate. You can get tree stumps and other things with silk plants coming up from them or you can get a few individual plants to just place around in the tank. Bettas do like to hide or sleep on plants and swim through things.

more info here...
http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=18075


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

Good stuff, thanks a lot!


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## daniel89 (Nov 28, 2009)

Unfortunately with that tank you can't house real plants. I put hornwort in it and it died cause there wasn't enough light and trust me killing hornwort means you must of did something pretty stupid.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

There also isn't near enough oxygen in that tank for 3 fish when you have no filtration, thus your platy going up to the top and gasping for air. 
I won't invest in a heater for that tank, smaller heaters can be very expensive and if your doing a betta, not worth it.
Bettas are about the only thing you can put in a small tank like that, most other fish are going to require a filter and a heater to put oxygen into the water, clean it, and keep it at a level temperature.
You could add some snails to that tank if you choose to turn it into a betta tank, they will at least help with cleaning.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

ok..i am going to agree and disagree here..
there are a few fish that would do nicely in that tank..plants too...
microrasboras...dwarf tetras..betta...or a nice pair of killifish..the killies will not need a heater as long as the tank temp stays above 68 degrees.
for plants..java fern ; cryptocoryne ; java moss or najas grass should do well.
a small sponge filter buried under the gravel will work nicely as well.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

Tallonebball said:


> There also isn't near enough oxygen in that tank for 3 fish when you have no filtration, thus your platy going up to the top and gasping for air.


The tank has a filter in the form of an airstone. If you look at the pic closely you can see a clear tube going down the center with an airhose going through it.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

uscg4good said:


> The tank has a filter in the form of an airstone. If you look at the pic closely you can see a clear tube going down the center with an airhose going through it.


That would be either an undergravel filter or a sponge filter depending on what is at the end of that tube.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

bmlbytes said:


> That would be either an undergravel filter or a sponge filter depending on what is at the end of that tube.


It's an undergravel....


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

that will work great for you..just don't overfeed your fish..

btw..are you trying to say that you are going to go around for the rest of your life with seagull poop on your arm ?..... are you a lifer...lol

welcome aboard.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

are you sure its a filter? I don't see any grating at the bottom to collect the waste. Is it really a filter or just an airstone covered with gravel?


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## SouthernBelle23 (Mar 24, 2009)

Get rid of that tank and pick up a 10g ($8), a filter (can be a cheap one), and a good heater, 50 watts, plus some gravel or sand of your choice. Then either research cycling a tank or add a couple hard to kill fish and then add more fish a couple weeks later....stocking the tank slowly.


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## Ditzy (Jan 5, 2010)

if you do that ^^^ i recommend doing a fishless cycle and doing lot's of research on the cycle AND the types of fish you want to put in there


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

lohachata said:


> btw..are you trying to say that you are going to go around for the rest of your life with seagull poop on your arm ?..... are you a lifer...lol


This sentence makes absolutely no sense to me what-so-ever.

Are we sure we don't need to admit loha to a loony hospital?

Also, since the OP has fish already I think its time to skip the hardy fish cycle, and the no fish cycle. He should go right to using a cycling product like Stability to prevent damage to the fish.


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

bmlbytes said:


> This sentence makes absolutely no sense to me what-so-ever.
> 
> Are we sure we don't need to admit loha to a loony hospital?


I know exactly what he meant and the answer to his question is YES.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

bml...i am old ; but not looney..crazy yes;but not looney...lol

awesome uscg..i was a squid on a birdfarm back in the 60's..did the DC thing.
thank you for your service and dedication..


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## uscg4good (Jan 19, 2010)

No... thank you. 11 years this June, at least 9 more to go!


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## mousey (Jan 18, 2005)

Putting a heater in there is not a good idea unless you get one of those flat black patch type ones that is specifically designed for nano tanks. A regular heater will fry anything in there-- even a 25 watt heater would be too much.


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