Hello, today I saw a white spot on my molly and after I searched the internet I found that the possible diseases could be Ich, Columnaris or Fungus. It keeps standing still near the surface and I know it's not a good sign. Please help me detect the disease. By the way it's dorsal fins started to turn brown a little about a month ago.
Ich, Columnaris or Fungus? what am I dealing with?
- Thread starter Havindier
- Start date
What is your pH? Mollies like it high or they are vulnerable to fungus etc
Hi and welcome to the forum 
It doesn't look like white spot.
It is not Columnaris.
It could be a small patch of fungus but it's a bit hard to tell from the picture. Digital cameras hate black and white subjects.
The fish looks a bit like a balloon molly, it might not be but looks like one. Balloon fishes have a shorter body compared to their normal counterparts. This makes them more susceptible to internal problems. Try to avoid buying balloon fishes for this reason.
--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the spot for?
What other fish are in the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the tank water?
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Mollies like a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 250ppm.
--------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
Monitor the fish and if it gets worse, post more pictures.
--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium 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.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
It doesn't look like white spot.
It is not Columnaris.
It could be a small patch of fungus but it's a bit hard to tell from the picture. Digital cameras hate black and white subjects.
The fish looks a bit like a balloon molly, it might not be but looks like one. Balloon fishes have a shorter body compared to their normal counterparts. This makes them more susceptible to internal problems. Try to avoid buying balloon fishes for this reason.
--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the spot for?
What other fish are in the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the tank water?
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Mollies like a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 250ppm.
--------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
Monitor the fish and if it gets worse, post more pictures.
--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium 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.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
Fir
I only have ammonia and nitrite test kits and it's a bit hard to match the colors, but as far as I can tell those are fine, the nitrite level is below 0.15 mg/l and the ammonia level is below 0.05.
I have already added salt (1 teaspoon per gallon) and soaked the food I gave him in the garlic solution I made last night. He looks better overall he isn't staying only on the surface and is more active.
Thank you very much for the time you spent helping me out.
He is not a balloon molly, his spine was deformed since birth, he is 1 year old and 1.5 inches. The tank has been set up for more than a year now, I think he has had the spot only recently, there is no other fish in the tank yet but there will be cherry barbs when their time in the quarantine tank is over.Hi and welcome to the forum
It doesn't look like white spot.
It is not Columnaris.
It could be a small patch of fungus but it's a bit hard to tell from the picture. Digital cameras hate black and white subjects.
The fish looks a bit like a balloon molly, it might not be but looks like one. Balloon fishes have a shorter body compared to their normal counterparts. This makes them more susceptible to internal problems. Try to avoid buying balloon fishes for this reason.
--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the spot for?
What other fish are in the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the tank water?
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Mollies like a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 250ppm.
--------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
Monitor the fish and if it gets worse, post more pictures.
--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium 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.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
I only have ammonia and nitrite test kits and it's a bit hard to match the colors, but as far as I can tell those are fine, the nitrite level is below 0.15 mg/l and the ammonia level is below 0.05.
I have already added salt (1 teaspoon per gallon) and soaked the food I gave him in the garlic solution I made last night. He looks better overall he isn't staying only on the surface and is more active.
Thank you very much for the time you spent helping me out.
Unfortunately, I don't have a PH test kit, but I will get one soon. Thank you.
hello again, today I recognized one of his eyes was swollen and cloudy. Any further suggestions? Also had a question about the water changes; Is it better to add new water from my other aquarium or tap water?Hi and welcome to the forum
It doesn't look like white spot.
It is not Columnaris.
It could be a small patch of fungus but it's a bit hard to tell from the picture. Digital cameras hate black and white subjects.
The fish looks a bit like a balloon molly, it might not be but looks like one. Balloon fishes have a shorter body compared to their normal counterparts. This makes them more susceptible to internal problems. Try to avoid buying balloon fishes for this reason.
--------------------
How long has the tank been set up for?
How long have you had the fish for?
How long has the fish had the spot for?
What other fish are in the tank?
What is the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate of the tank water?
What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).
Mollies like a pH above 7.0 and a GH above 250ppm.
--------------------
WHAT TO DO NOW
Do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week or until the problem is identified. The water changes and gravel cleaning will reduce the number of disease organisms in the water and provide a cleaner environment for the fish to recover in.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it is added to the tank.
Add some salt, (see directions below).
Monitor the fish and if it gets worse, post more pictures.
--------------------
SALT
You can add rock salt (often sold as aquarium 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.
When you first add salt, add the salt to a small bucket of tank water and dissolve the salt. Then slowly pour the salt water into the tank near the filter outlet. Add the salt over a couple of minutes.
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Tap water with chlorine remover
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