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Hi everyone!

I've gotten myself into a bit of a complicated fish situation ....

I have a long 30 gallon tank with guppies and tetras (neons, serpae, and glowlights) with a divider and mollies on the other side.I also have a 10 gallon tank with 2 small convicts.

The 30 g tank got ich about a month ago, and I treated it with malachite green, as per my lfs's instructions. It took a while, and lost a lot of fish, but it worked. But a few days after, we got what I think are copepods (at least that's what we've been told they are called). We've had these little bugs in the past, and treated them by cleaning out the entire tank with salt and using methylene blue, which didn't work. It wasn't until we switched tanks and started back with all new rocks and plants, that we finally got rid of them.

But now they are back and we are thinking of switching the tanks so the convicts have more room as I know they need, since I have to empty the big tank anyways. I would want to switch all the rocks and plants as well.

So after all my blabbing, I guess what I'm looking for is any advice on doing this switch. Also, can I divide the 30 g tank again and have the convicts and mollies in the same water? And does anyone have any experience with these copepod bugs? Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks, Krys

Well...A Couple of thoughts:
First: Why are you dividing the tank?? Those fish should be just fine all together, and would appreciate the swimming room.
Second: Convicts get too big for either a 10g or a 30g tank. You need at least a 55g tank for those guys.
Third: Convicts, have special needs. Namely, No plants, lots of rockwork, lots of room, and no little fish around to eat.
They are extremely aggressive, and will kill any of those fish you have once they get big enough.
My suggestion is this, Get a 55g tank or larger if you want to keep the convicts. House them with similar fish in size and temperment, like Jack Dempsey or Midas Cichlid, Jewels and other aggressive fish come to mind.
Take the tank divider out in your 30g tank, let those fish swim free. If you have concerns about the serpaes harrasing your mollies, get rid of them. The mollies, guppies, neons and glowlights would all be just fine together. In my opinion, if you have 6 serpaes or more, they shouldnt harrass any of your fish.
Use the 10g for guppy and mollie fry. You could put a special trio of guppies in there to breed true if you wanted. The mollies are too large for a 10g tank.


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What are the exact numbers of your mollies, guppies and tetras?

The ten gallon will be fine with the convicts while they are quite little, but yes, they will need the 30 when they are bigger.

You might have to get another tank, or take some fish back. You could keep a school of tetras in the 10, or the guppies.

Most marine keepers encourage the growth and population of copepods. They are valuable as a food source for small animals and can help consume small particles of food. Have your fish ever died as a result of copepods? Though I believe there are some parasitic species (eg. Cyclops spp.), most copepods and aquatic bugs are harmless.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Thanks everyone!

I only got the divider because the mollies weren't getting along. I didn't know what else to do! I'll try taking it out and see what happens.

right now, the convicts seem to be getting along fine. At first, one was constantly picking on the other, bite a part of its tale off, and wouldn't let him eat. We got more rocks and logs, and floated a plant to act like a barrier, and since then they seem much happier. The one that was picked on loves swimming in between the leaves and sits in them sometimes.

The numbers of my fish are ridiculous, I know.... When we initially moved the guppies into the 30 g tank, we counted 70, (one by one!), most of them babies. And now there are less than half the guppies, 6 tetras, after losing some to ich, and 3 mollies. I know I have too many, but I can't bare the thought of giving any of them away! Thankfully,we got the 30 g tank free from a friend, and I don't know if I can afford to get another big tank right now, for both the $ and the space in our appartment. I guess I'll look into finding a used one.

And no, none of our fish have ever died because of the copepods. I was under the impression that they were bad for the tank! They are quite gross though...

Thanks again

a 30 is good for cons. i have cons as will in a 29 tank with lots of plants and they get a long great with the plants. The copepods will start to go away if you do water changes also once you put the cons. it the 30 if it is a breeding pair the fry will snack on the copepods.

Wow that's quite the mix of fish in your tank !
Def get a larger tank for the cons if you can..

The Amazon Nut...

if your going to be moving some new fish into a tank that has some disease, make sure the water is good before moving the new fish and exposing them to it as well. Make sure the fish currently in the tank are showing NO signs of Ich or anything else. If thats the case you shouldn't have any problems moving the fish