KayleighC97
New Member
I noticed these white patches on both sides of one of my black Molly’s, does anyone know what this could be? None of the other fish have this and it’s only just appeared today?
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HELP - Is my Molly fish ok? :(
- Thread starter KayleighC97
- Start date
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- Tags
- @mollyfish
Not okay I'm afraid... that looks a lot like columnaris, but don't run with that guess just yet, we need more info and expertise from people who know a lot more than I do.
Please copy/paste the template below, and fill out as many answers as you can! The more information you can give us, the better the chances that someone can figure out what's going on with your poor molly
Tank size:
tank age:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Volume and Frequency of water changes:
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
Tank inhabitants:
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
Exposure to chemicals:
Please copy/paste the template below, and fill out as many answers as you can! The more information you can give us, the better the chances that someone can figure out what's going on with your poor molly
Tank size:
tank age:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):
Volume and Frequency of water changes:
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:
Tank inhabitants:
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):
Exposure to chemicals:
wait.
this is a repost?
or...
idk really
it is better if it is combined so it is not confusing...
this is a repost?
or...
idk really
it is better if it is combined so it is not confusing...
It might be a double post, it happens sometimes when new members put their first post online.
The black molly has an external infection most probably caused by external protozoa. Salt or a broad spectrum medication should treat it. Salt is my preferred choice and if there's no improvement after a few days then look for a broad spectrum fish medication that treats bacteria, fungus and external protozoan infections.
---------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
The black molly has an external infection most probably caused by external protozoa. Salt or a broad spectrum medication should treat it. Salt is my preferred choice and if there's no improvement after a few days then look for a broad spectrum fish medication that treats bacteria, fungus and external protozoan infections.
---------------------
Wipe the inside of the glass down with a clean fish sponge.
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate. The water change and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in. It also removes a lot of the gunk and this means any medication can work on treating the fish instead of being wasted killing the pathogens in the gunk.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Clean the filter if it hasn't been done in the last 2 weeks. However, if the filter is less than 6 weeks old, do not clean it. Wash the filter materials/ media in a bucket of tank water and re-use them. Tip the bucket of dirty water on the garden/ lawn. Cleaning the filter means less gunk and cleaner water with fewer pathogens.
Increase surface turbulence/ aeration when using salt or medications because they reduce the dissolved oxygen in the water.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
---------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium salt), sea salt or swimming pool salt to the aquarium at the dose rate of 1 heaped tablespoon per 20 litres of water. If there is no improvement after 48 hours you can double that dose rate so there is 2 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
If you only have livebearers (guppies, platies, swordtails, mollies), goldfish or rainbowfish in the tank you can double that dose rate, so you would add 2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres and if there is no improvement after 48 hours, then increase it so there is a total of 4 heaped tablespoons of salt per 20 litres.
Keep the salt level like this for at least 2 weeks but no longer than 4 weeks otherwise kidney damage can occur. Kidney damage is more likely to occur in fish from soft water (tetras, Corydoras, angelfish, Bettas & gouramis, loaches) that are exposed to high levels of salt for an extended period of time, and is not an issue with livebearers, rainbowfish or other salt tolerant species.
The salt will not affect the beneficial filter bacteria but the higher dose rate (4 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will affect some plants and some snails. The lower dose rate (1-2 heaped tablespoons per 20 litres) will not affect fish, plants, shrimp or snails.
After you use salt and the fish have recovered, you do a 10% water change each day for a week using only fresh water that has been dechlorinated. Then do a 20% water change each day for a week. Then you can do bigger water changes after that. This dilutes the salt out of the tank slowly so it doesn't harm the fish.
If you do water changes while using salt, you need to treat the new water with salt before adding it to the tank. This will keep the salt level stable in the tank and minimise stress on the fish.
coriesinhawaii
Fish Crazy
Seachem Paraguard would be a good product to try for broad spectrum coverage and I'm pretty sure it's available in the UK. It treats bacterial, fungal, parasitic, and some protozoan infections so long as it hasn't moved into the bloodstream yet. You don't have to worry about it messing up your biofilter and fish tolerate it very well so ok to dose the main tank with it (and you would want to if you suspect a parasitic or protozoan infection). Make sure to complete the whole 2-3 weeks of treatment though.
Just a note that the affected area has a "saddle" like appearance that makes me question Columnaris, so that's a possibility. If that's the case heavier duty antibiotics would likely be necessary and you would need to get a vet on board to obtain those in the UK.
Just a note that the affected area has a "saddle" like appearance that makes me question Columnaris, so that's a possibility. If that's the case heavier duty antibiotics would likely be necessary and you would need to get a vet on board to obtain those in the UK.
Yes it was a double post. I have merged the two threads into one single thread.
OP
OP
KayleighC97
New Member
Hi all, sorry for the late response and thank you for the replies! My answers are below to the tank conditions. I’ve done a 40% water change to see if this helps at all?
Tank size: 110 litres
tank age: bought on 22/06/2021
pH: 8.00
ammonia: no reading for this
nitrite: 1
nitrate: between 15-20
kH: 20
gH: >21
tank temp: 26
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): No sudden change in behaviour, we just noticed the white patches appear yesterday.
Volume and Frequency of water changes: We done the first water change today of 40% (this is probably completely wrong so apologies!!)
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Aqua start used to treat tap water
Tank inhabitants: 9 Molly’s, 2 Angel Fish, 5 Guppy’s and 1 Pleco.
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Recently added 2 bits of drift wood (these came directly from the shop from a tank already filled with guppies). I apologise as I’m not 100% sure what the plants are but know they were already in a tropical fish tank.
Exposure to chemicals: Just the Aqua start stated above.
Tank size: 110 litres
tank age: bought on 22/06/2021
pH: 8.00
ammonia: no reading for this
nitrite: 1
nitrate: between 15-20
kH: 20
gH: >21
tank temp: 26
Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): No sudden change in behaviour, we just noticed the white patches appear yesterday.
Volume and Frequency of water changes: We done the first water change today of 40% (this is probably completely wrong so apologies!!)
Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: Aqua start used to treat tap water
Tank inhabitants: 9 Molly’s, 2 Angel Fish, 5 Guppy’s and 1 Pleco.
Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): Recently added 2 bits of drift wood (these came directly from the shop from a tank already filled with guppies). I apologise as I’m not 100% sure what the plants are but know they were already in a tropical fish tank.
Exposure to chemicals: Just the Aqua start stated above.
That's probably where it came from
F
FF_Member146894
Guest
i know this isn't exactly the main question of this thread, but, your tank isn't fully cycled...? am i the first one to mention this? what do you mean no reading for ammonia? do you have a test kit for ammonia?
OP
OP
KayleighC97
New Member
I wish I did more research on plants! And no it’s not even been 2 weeks yet, should I have given the tank 6 weeks or so to cycle? I have a test kit but it does not measure the ammonia levels, I’ll have to invest in a test kit that does.
Sorry I am such a newbie at this!
Sorry I am such a newbie at this!
redtailshark34
Fish Fanatic
I wish I did more research on plants! And no it’s not even been 2 weeks yet, should I have given the tank 6 weeks or so to cycle? I have a test kit but it does not measure the ammonia levels, I’ll have to invest in a test kit that does.
It’s okay to be confused everyone makes mistakes however when you say you cycled your tank did you add any form of pure ammonia? Did you let the nitrogen cycle take course?
F
FF_Member146894
Guest
i'm honestly surprised that your fish have survived this long with such high levels of ammonia and nitrite. there are 2 things you can do now:
1. return the fish and complete the cycle
2. try to do a fish-in cycle, which will probably end up in a lot of dead fish. there are things you can do to hasten the cycle, such as adding live bacteria, but i still don't recommend it. even if your fish do somehow survive a fish-in cycle, they'll probably live significantly shorter lives.
1. return the fish and complete the cycle
2. try to do a fish-in cycle, which will probably end up in a lot of dead fish. there are things you can do to hasten the cycle, such as adding live bacteria, but i still don't recommend it. even if your fish do somehow survive a fish-in cycle, they'll probably live significantly shorter lives.
OP
OP
KayleighC97
New Member
If I’m being completely honest my dad helped me set up my tank. We used 50% tap water and 50% of his filtered water that he uses for his pond (I’m thinking this was probably a huge mistake but I assumed my dad knew what he was doing!).
He added some Aqua start to the water and then we got it up to temperature and obviously attached the filter.
My dad advised I could add fish almost straight away due to the water being treated but in the future should I wait a few days?
In regards to adding ammonia I think this may have been in the Aqua start we used?
Sorry for the questions but what do you mean by nitrogen cycle?
He added some Aqua start to the water and then we got it up to temperature and obviously attached the filter.
My dad advised I could add fish almost straight away due to the water being treated but in the future should I wait a few days?
In regards to adding ammonia I think this may have been in the Aqua start we used?
Sorry for the questions but what do you mean by nitrogen cycle?
F
FF_Member146894
Guest
the nitrogen cycle is basically the process in which beneficial bacteria are established. there are bacteria that convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate, where ammonia and nitrite are extremely harmful and nitrate is near harmless in small quantities. this process typically takes several weeks to a month.
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