Molly disease...

[RZS]

Hi,

Does anyone have any experience with Molly fry essentially seeming perfectly healthy, then suddenly (overnight) becoming almost grey/black in colour (silver originally), their tails bend (although they can move them somewhat), their eyes become very dark, and while they can swim for periods at a time, they eventually "crash" at the bottom of the tank. Their breathing also seems to get much heavier.

Almost seems like something is wearing them down, until they finally pass away.

For the record, water readings are....

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate ~5 mg
PH ~7.8

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sasha]

I never had any problem like that before with molly fry .

Where are the molly fry in? How often are you feeding them?

Your pH seems a little high. It should be around 7.0.

 

[RZS]

Hi Sasha,

The fry are alone in a 10 gallon tank with a sponge filter.

They are fed about three times a day (crushed flakes), and I can tell by the remains that they are eating.

I too am a little concerned about the PH, but I didn't want to use any chemicals with the fry in there. Can you suggest something (other than water changes perhaps)?

Thanks.

 

[Sasha]

Out of curiosity, what is the pH in your tap water?

 

[RZS]

Just went to the tap to double-check...

PH is ~7.4 from the tap.

I was just thinking, could the PH be affected by using luke-warm water from the tap instead of allowing cold water to reach room temperature?

Thanks again.

 

[Sasha]

I don't think the pH could be affected by the temperature of the water.

 

[RZS]

Can you believe I actually tested that to see. And you are correct.