Mollies are not good :-(

[campion]

Hi guys and gals,

I have a bit of a problem with my mollies.
The tank has been going for at least 6 months, and the last few days the poor mollies have died.
Dalmation, molly found dead yesterday , the black sail fin molly dead a few days earlier, and this evening the white sailfin molly has died.

We did a water chack and the Ph was 7.6 no ammonia present.
The other fish are doing fine, no problems at all with them.

We have purchased another sailfin molly and it is stunning.
I hope this one last a bit longer than the other mollies.


Some additional info that some one is bound to ask....

92L tank
1 gold gourami
6 green barbs
4 tiger barbs
4 platties
3 black neons
3 mollies
2 guppies.
2 other small fish I cant remember.

 

[sylvia]

What about nitrIte and nitrAte? Did you cycle the tank? Did you use those mollies to do so? Were there any physical signs of disease? Strange behaviour?

Are you aware that you are over-stocked (if that's 92 litres?) ? Or at least you have certain incompatiilities. This adds stress and more chance of disease for the fish. A good guideline is one inch of ADULT fish per gallon - your tank is 20 gallons approx. I think (is it 92 LITRES?) so you can have 20 inches of adult fish - gold gouramies grow to 6 inches, tiger barbs to 2, platies to 1.5, neons to 1, mollies to 4, guppies to around 1.5 and I don't know about the other 2 fish but I suspect they are danios, shoaling fish that get to around 1.5 . Guppies should be kept at a ratio of one male to every 2 females, as should be platies and mollies. Tetras are shoaling fish and should be in groups of at least 6. Tiger barbs are not the best tank mates with guppies or, sometimes gouramies, because they nip.

 

[campion]

What about nitrIte and nitrAte? Did you cycle the tank? Did you use those mollies to do so? Were there any physical signs of disease? Strange behaviour?

Are you aware that you are over-stocked (if that's 92 litres?) ? Or at least you have certain incompatiilities. This adds stress and more chance of disease for the fish. A good guideline is one inch of ADULT fish per gallon - your tank is 20 gallons approx. I think (is it 92 LITRES?) so you can have 20 inches of adult fish - gold gouramies grow to 6 inches, tiger barbs to 2, platies to 1.5, neons to 1, mollies to 4, guppies to around 1.5 and I don't know about the other 2 fish but I suspect they are danios, shoaling fish that get to around 1.5 . Guppies should be kept at a ratio of one male to every 2 females, as should be platies and mollies. Tetras are shoaling fish and should be in groups of at least 6. Tiger barbs are not the best tank mates with guppies or, sometimes gouramies, because they nip.

Have never checked for nitite or nitrate.Up to this point things
were fine exept for a bout of ICK, which we have cleared up.
We have not added any new plants or things for ages so there goes that theory.

One thing I have notice, is when a fish is very sick,and just laying on the bottom of the tank, the others will start bumping it etc, I presume they are going to eat it.
Behaviour of the fish that have dies, is... lack of balance, meaning they swim as if they are drunk......then they just sit on the bottom of the tank, or they just float into the weeds with the currnt and thats where they normaly end up....dead.
Over stocking wasnt my main concern as we have had the same number of fish for a while, but it may be a factor.

We DID change the food we are feeding them, my partner got fish food from her brother who is in the fish breeding business, (discus etc) and he says its much more superior to the normal flake fish food.

The barbs, arent an issue at all with the other fish, they just harass each other and dont even look at the other fish.

 

[sylvia]

If there are no other symptoms that actualy sounds like swim bladder disorder. Usualy this can be resolved by simply feeding a shelled pea to the affected fish. Occasionaly the cause is internal bacteria or it can also be inherited though in that case you wont be seeing several fish getting it. It may have something to do with the new food but I don't know...

Another possibility is fish tb. This is usualy passed on by fish eating the infected fish and there is no cure. Outward symptoms vary greatly - from a grossly bent spine to just general lethargy. Unfortunately it cannot be treated and the only way to stop its spread is to euthanise immediately. Also make sure you don't put your hands in the water if you have cuts or open wounds as it will effect humans (not like our tb and not deadly but very unpleasant). If you do happen to catch it, make sure you tell your doctor you have a fish tank! Symptoms in humans are basicaly swelling on the hands or whatever was exposed to the water.

Next time you see the fish displaying such behaviour I would try to isolate it or at least feed it a shelled pea. If that has no effect (within just a few hours) you will have to treat with some broad-spectrum antibiotics and if all else fails, some stronger antibiotics would be necessary. Adding salt to the water and raisning the temperature slightly (only if you isolate though so as not to affect other fish) might also help substantialy. Keep in mind that medication usualy reduces the amount of oxygen in the water so add an airstone during treatment.

 

[cometcattle]

Do you add salt to your tank?

Does the LFS wher you bought the mollies add salt?

I've heard sailfin mollies do better with salt. Some members keep them in brackish tanks.

 

[campion]

The new sailfin molly is doing just fine he has already made friends with the lady mollies in the tank and the other fish dont seem to bother him now, since he is the biggest in the tank.

Salt is added to the water as is the clorine treatment thing at every water change.

I went to feed the fish this morning and one the guppies was dead at the bottom of the tank.
He seemes ok last night!!!
One thing that was a bit odd about him we noticed he was sort of bent.
As if his spine wasnt straight.
That didnt seems to worry him, as he was feeding and swimming normaly
Even the lfs has guppies that look the same as he did, so I wasnt too concerned over it.

 

[sylvia]

Unfortunately that is a typical sign of fish TB, for which there is no cure. The possibility that it is a deformity does exist but the sudden appearance of a bent spine is almost always the sign of TB. The fact that he died without symptoms re-enforces this idea. If you have fish like this you'll need to remove and euthanise them immediately to avoid the spread of it. Also never buy fish from an LFS if they have fish with TB in ANY of their tanks. I think catfish are the only exception as they rarely catch it but even then only if you quarantine first. Keep in mind that most LFS's filtration system connects all tanks.