Molly Trouble

[jskaarup]

I am a newbie to mollies. Just bought one today and when I put him in the tank, he appears to have "bubbles" stuck to him. Is this normal for mollies? Hasn't happened with my swordtails. Tested my water and everything is fine. Any help would be appreciated!!
Thanks
Jackie

 

[canarsie11]

What size tank? What else is in the tank? Temp you are running at?

How is the mollie acting?

 

[jskaarup]

It is a 10 gallon, running at 74-75 degrees. I have a male and female swordtail, 2 dwarf algae eaters, and a large algae eater. Right now, he is hanging out at the top, fins clamped, sometimes charging the side of the tank. When I added him today, I did what they told me I was supposed to do: let him soak for 20 minutes, added stress coat when put him in from the bag. I certainly don't want the poor little guy to die. I also have an air wand in the tank, along with the biowheel. Could it be the pH??

Thanks
Jackie

 

[tstenback]

What type of molly and how is it doing today? I have seen the bubbles on fish before and it has disappeared after a while. The new fish could be reacting to a difference in PH or Temp or a number of other things. Do any of the other fish have these bubbles? Keep us posted.

 

[jskaarup]

When I went to feed them this morning, I found him hiding between a rock and the glass. He wasn't moving, so I thought he was dead. I finally got him to start moving around, but his fins are still clamped. He is swimming erratically and occasionally charges the side of the tank. The molly that I had to exchange him for had the white stringy stuff (columnaris?) before he died. But, he started off with the bubbles clinging to him. I am wondering if maybe it is something in the tank at the store? This molly is from the same tnak as the other one. They just seemed so feisty in teh store, could the stress bring out a disease? I am going to check my pH again today.

The other kids in the tank are just fine.

Jackie

 

[jskaarup]

I just checked my pH and it is reading 7.4
Today is my scheduled day for a water change. I was treating the tank with fungal cure because of the last molly. I also just noticed that my male sword is being pretty aggressive with the molly. Is this typical? Should I quarantine the molly?

Jackie