Mollie Problem

[mot76]

I have a tank of mollies(10 gal), around 6 of them. Lately, they all seem to stay at the bottom, not move around too much with their fins moving briskly. The water has been changed recently and the temp is around 80. The ph seems ok. It seems when I turn on the light, they seem to seek shelter. Their fins don't seem to be clamped. They're usually much more active than this. One of them is expecting babies any day now. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[Sasha]

First off, let me say to the forum mot76. You might want to introduce yourself in the Newbie section.

How long have the mollies been in the tank? If they're new, they're just settling into thier home.

 

[tstenback]

Perhaps you could add a floating plant or some larger rooted plants to offer them some shelter from the light. It may make them feel more comfortable and like Sasha said if they are new additions they will be even more timid. WHat are the othe tank parameters...ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. keep us posted.

 

[mot76]

These fish have been born in this tank, most are around 8 mos old, one is 2 months old, and 1 is maybe 2 weeks old. The little ones swim all over the place, but it's the bigger ones that seem to go to the bottom and not do much lately. All the parameters are ok, but I will check again. I have another larger tank with mollies in the mix and they all seem fine. It almost seems they're afraid of something all of a sudden.

 

[tstenback]

fish being edgy is a sign of stress. Something has to be causing these adult fish stress. Have you added anything to the tank lately? fish, meds, decor, etc. or have you taken anything out lately? Cleaned? just trying to narrow down what could be causing normally happy fish to act this way. get us those parameters they may give us a clue

 

[mot76]

The only thing I can think that I did recently when they started acting this way, is I added some algae killer liquid to the tank. I changed a portion of the water recently but they were acting this way before I changed the water, too. I can see them swimming around when it's dark, but when I turn the light on, they seem to go to the bottom, not move around too much and it seems they're looking up at the top. It's weird. I'll try some floating plants.

 

[Paul Gale]

My Mollies do this as well .. ANd I know they are stressed .. although feeding time they seem to get of their backsides pretty sharpish