Molly with a crisis!!!

[jimbooo]

Hi Everyone,

yesterday i noticed my female baloon molly swimming funny with her nose in the gravel doing a "handstand"!!

on closer inspection i realised her tail fin had been bitten right off . poor thing's in a hell of a state . She is alive and breathing and desperatly trying to swin but with only her side fins and can't get her head off the bottom. she kind of skimms the bottom with her "stump" of a fin facing the surface.

i have moved her into a hospital tank with only 1 guppy and have been feeding frozen tiny shrimp through a turkey baster. she managed to eat a few bits last night but i'm not hopefull....

Is there anything else i can do...

just happens that she's killed at least 3 mollys (one male twice her size) a Gourami and 2 glass catfish over the last 6 months may be "what goes around comes around"

 

[Tempestuousfury]

What do you have in the tank that could do such a thing?

Where has the tail been nitten off from, the start of the fin or the peduncle?

 

[Angel Lady]

Melafix is great for fast regrowing of missing fins and stuff like that, If I was you I would be putting some of that in with the fish ASAP, Are you sure something bit it off or is it fin rot?? Just a question.

 

[jimbooo]

in answer to you both.... whats a peduncle!!!???!!? and yes definatly bitten off. there one evening, gone in the morning.

the only thing large enough in the tank is a 4inch bala shark and a Columbian shark the same size... columbian is responsible in my opinion however i've never seen her attack anything (apart from swallowing guppys whole...4 so far) and yes i have moved the guppies.

 

[SnowyzMom]

I would definitely pin a guilty sign on that shark! Poor girl, her tail can grow back with Melafix or another similar med and some time. Even if she "deserved" it it's unfortunate that it happened to her. Man, that must smart! She seems to be dominant by nature. I am wondering if a little research might turn up some fish more resilient to her dominant ways that she could live peacefully with. In any case, good luck with her. Can you give her a varied diet? She probably doesn't feel like eating at all at the moment, but perhaps you can tempt her? Everything I've got loves fresh or frozen peas(thawed and deshelled)but I don't know if mollies like them too.

Sometimes, despite one's best intentions, fish that supposedly can live together, DON'T. They've got differing temperaments just like we do it seems. I haven't heard much good about red-tailed sharks and the like. They can be very aggressive all of a sudden. Hope you can find her a safer home. Hang in there!