Mollies acting odd

[redsword]

1. Water parameters:
NH 0-.25ppm
NO3 20ppm
NO2 3ppm
PH 7.8
GH 200
KH 180
Temp 78F

2. A full description of the fishes symptoms.
My 3 Mollies are all hanging out at the bottom of the tank. We had 4 and we lost one of them (pump pickup ). The remaining 3 have been exibiting very odd behavior over the last 4 days. Their behavior started changing about 7-8 days ago. Swimming vertically through the tank, then laying at the bottom...swimming up, laying down, etc. They were always very active in the tank...and today, they didn't come up for breakfast! Not eating has me really worried about them!

3. How often you do water changes and how much.
We are one of the unfortunates...we bought the tank, set it up, and added fish a week later...oopss! I have since then began daily water cycles of 20% water with adding back "Doc Wellfish's" salt for replaced water. Our NH is now under control, NO2 is on its way down, and it looks like we are on the back side of our first cycle (no thanks to the local fish store!

4. Any chemicals and treatments you add to the water.
We noticed white spots on one of our tetras and began a treatment for ICH (this is day 3)...the mollies were acting odd before the ICH treatments.

5. What tank mates are in the tank.
1 AngelFish
2 Guppies (not sure what kind....the misses picked em up)
2 Mystery Snails
1 Red SwordTail
1 Betta
1 Neon Tetra
3 Live plants..just starting to grow.

6. Tank size.
55 Gallon with the right sized filter, pump, hoods and heater (starter kit).

7. Finally Have you recently added any new fish?
No fish been added for weeks now...

8. What were you told it was?
We spoke to the party we bought them from. When I described the behavior of the Mollies, the woman on the phone suggested that they may be pregnant? I'm not good at sexing fish, but from what I can tell, two of them appear to be female...of course so could the 3rd?

Any thoughts on this? The mollies always appeared to be 'hearty'...enjoying our hard water and really a fun pet to have...

Thanks in advance!

 

[dixaisy930]

I've never had or heard of a pregnant molly acting this way. The bellies would be huge, and they would be eating like crazy up until a few hours before giving birth.

I'm thinking maybe it might be from being in a cycling tank (effects of ammonia and nitrate/rite (I can never keep the two straight)). That's really the only thing I can think of.

 

[redsword]

So there can be permanent damage to them from being in during a cycle? We were very good about keeping all of the levels below a dangerous count...daily changes and salt treatments.

It just seems odd that now when the water quality is better than ever, they start behaving abnormal.

Are they lost?

 

[dixaisy930]

IF it is damage from the "cycle", then it probably is permanent, and you'll probably loose them.

But if the levels were low, I wouldn't think it would have effected them. Did you get the fish from a pet store, or a private party? Maybe the water conditions they were in before you got them were bad, and they are just now showing signs. It's possible they were poorly taken care of previously. The signs of "new tank syndrome" sometimes doesn't show up right away.

Are any of the tank mates acting odd? I would think if it was something while you had them, it wouldn't just be the molly's, but some of the other fish as well.

 

[redsword]

Really...I figured that if they were to have trouble it would have been right away Newbie at heart

We got the mollies from a nearby petSmart...as a few of the other tankmates.

The rest of the tankmates (see above) have all seemed well...it's only been the mollies......OK I JUST looked in the tank an we've lost a Tetra who 'appeared' ok this morning and now he's gone?

Ok, now I'm really confused?

Is it possible the ich treatment is responsible for the tetra dying (as the indications on the medication express a lower dose may be needed for tetras). Without having a full hospital tank to put them in, I had to leave them in for the treatment.

Is there something else I should be checking for in the water?

I thought we were through the worst of it

 

[dixaisy930]

I think tetras are pretty sensitive to ammonia and such, so this maybe the cause.

Maybe you should check and see if there's any metal or foil in the tank. A week ago I lost half of my fish (in a tank that's been up for years) for no apparent reason. A few days ago I found a tiny piece of tin foil in the gravel from the packaging of frozen food I give them. I would have never thought...

If there's no other signs of disease, I think you're doing all that you can. I don't want to bad mouth any companies, but maybe you could find a local store that deals with just fish, and you might have better luck (and deal with some more knowledgable people). Don't get me wrong though...I'm not saying all national chains have diseased and sick fish, and that all local lfs have wonderful fish, you just might get better results...I usually do.

Don't get discouraged though...you're doing eveything right...Be brave.

 

[redsword]

Thanks for the reassurance...it's been a little more daunting then I had thought..but I seriously enjoy it!

Should I just continue with the ICH treatment for another day or two...I still see spots on one of the mollies?

Is it possible that it is velvet and not ich?

Should I maybe look at one of the treatments that offers to help with body fungus, fin rot, velvent, yada yada? Maybe try this once the ich treatment is completed?

How would tinfoil hurt the fish?

 

[dixaisy930]

If it's ick, there will be small white spots on the body. If it's velvet, it'll look more like yellow dust. Fungus looks more like hair (some of it anyway). There are some good websites around that will show you pictures of fish disease. Ick usually takes a good week to kill ALL of the parasites (there will be some that you can't see).

I assume the tin foil would be as bad as a metal...probably a chemical breakdown of the metal in the water, releasing some toxin to fish.

I'd say wait and see if this clears it up first (btw what are you using)? You want to be careful not to over-medicate.

 

[redsword]

10-4..it does look like little grains of salt on the fins and body...only a couple seem to have it?

I am using QuICK Cure from Aquarium Products....it says it will cure it in two days. It's been two full treatments (once a day) but I can still see the specks on the fish?

Ya know, I'm realizing how easy my cats are to take care of!! :kira:

Is there a different product I should try out?

 

[dixaisy930]

I don't know if that works on it...

I've never had that before so I'm not sure. I'm not sure of the name, but the company that makes Maracyn (a medicine for fungus) probably makes something for that. I've had luck with their meds...

I just looked at a web-site, and you might want to try Maracide. It's made be the same company. I haven't used many meds, so you might want to check a FishDoc website, or maybe someone else here would have a better suggestion.

 

[redsword]

Thanks a ton!

I appreciate all the help you've given me

I'll run into town and take a look to see what I can see for fish meds.

Hopefully they'll pull through it...I'll be sure to post back and let you know how it turned out.

I'm also open to any other suggestions if someone has some thoughts

 

[rykitten]

Quick Cure does work, you just need to medicate for about 12 days. Raise your temp to 82-84f. This makes the bacteria more active and speeds up the process.
My tank has just recovered from ich. You may want to lower the dosage by a few drops if you suspect your fish are already stressed.

 

[mistrymachine]

Hi O.K. I know that the pea treatment is for dropsy,But I have now run across three people who have had these same exact symptoms with there mollies and myself as of yesterday,treated with peas and all symptoms stopped.the symptoms Im talking about are vertical swimming and laying on the bottom.Im not even sure what causes this but peas are good for them anyways so it cant hurt.Just take some frozen peas,boil them and make sure you take off the skin.Also smush em' up so they can eat them easier.Try and drop them right over the mollies so there tempted to eat.As for the tetra and the ich I have no info.Good luck!

Oh yeah,Coppersafe is the ich treatment made by mardel(maracyn) But I know that people have mixed feelings about this product

 

[redsword]

Dropsy? That doesn't sound good at all.

We lost one of our mollies this morning I inspected him looking for any signs of disease...but all I found we a few small white specs (ICH). Although..all I have to go on is the description of the symptoms.

He had appearred to be recovering (fewer spots and more activity)...as the others had too.

The remaining mollies are still swimming vertically, then laying on the bottom, but they are more active? They don't appear to be eating either.

I'll run to town tonight and grab some frozen peas (all I have is canned ).

What if they won't eat?