Fussy Sailfin

[Gourami Girl]

I sent in a message last week about my anorexic Sailfin Molly, I haven't been staying at home recently, but i checked him yesterday and he's still about, in fact he seemed quite chirpy.

I thought i'd treat him to some sinking granules as he was pecking at the gravel but SURPRISE SURPRISE, he simply spat it all stright back out again. I haven't had a chance to treat the tank for internal parasites as i'm not there, but i noticed his poo was rather pale, a sort of beige colour.

I'm after anyone's personal experiences of what best to feed sailfins, i know it sounds stupid, as they are normally not fussy at all.

But any advice would be greatly received.

 

[WILDER]

What do you feed the fish as they need frozen foods and veg in there diet.

 

[WILDER]

Just check the gills to make sure.

Not the writer of this information.

Spitting- This is almost always from an advanced infestation of flukes. But you should do the following 2 things:

(1) Capture the fish, and do an oral exam looking for an ulcer, check the gills for swelling, paleness, white streaks around the edges of the gill or through the gill tissue, or any kind of foreign body (rock, pebble, etc.).

(2) Scrape the gill and examine under a microscope for flukes. ( best done by someone who knows what they are looking for)

More information is available on flukes at http/www.koivet.com

 

[cyprinut]

He could just be sptting it out because he doesn't like it. Clear or beige excrement could indicate a parasite or infection, but it could also be from lack of roughage in his diet. Try fresh spinach or romaine lettuce leaves. Sink them to the bottom with a chip-clip. He'll love you for it!

 

[Kopix Nation]

Feed him some flake food. My sailfin yucatan mollies love flack foods.

claire

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Mollys don't have teeth like many other fish so when they bite off more than they can chew they spit it out to help break it up- many fish do this and is not uncommon.
Many sailfin mollys sold by big breeders are raised in brackish setups and then quickly acclimatised to freshwater for sale and thus not true freshwater fish in this case. Mollys can live in both feeshwater and brackish(a cross between freshwater and marine) water but ones raised in brackish setups don't fair well in freshwater ones.
Many tropical fish are intolerant of salt though but if the ones sharing his tank are ok with it(and i can verify this for you if you tell me what you have), adding some aquarium salt to the tank will be beneficial to his health.
The light colored poop is a bit worrying, what exactly have you been feeding the molly since you have had it and how much?

 

[Kopix Nation]

I feed mine krill and plakton too.

claire

 

[Gourami Girl]

I haven't ben home for a bit so i'll check on him tonight when i get in.

i've been trying to feed him with vegetable flakes, freeze dried bloodworm and fresh bloodworm, wheatgerm floating balls, seaweed sheets, Tetramin-Pro etc etc, with the same response.

I guess he must be eating something as he is still with us!

I'll try the suggestion of romaine lettuce and spinach, i do put cucumber in for my ancistrus and apple snail, so perhaps he has a peck at this???

I'll see if he still has the pale poo too, as i will have to treat the tank if he does, seems like a shame though as it's only him who's acting weird.

Thnks for all the help.