New Mollie Owner in Need of HELP

[AnimalFriend]

All I wanted was a goldfish but I soon learned that bowls are not the best for goldfish and invested in an aquarium. But while at the store, fell in love with a betta. So I got a second tank and two catfish.

But when I went back to the store, I fell in love with some dalmation Mollies and got a third tank.

I set the tank up and picked up two dalmation Mollies and two silver Mollies. But I got a bonus, two babies! I watched one get eaten and put the Mollies with my Betta and catfish. However, my catfish were unhappy with their guests so I set up a fourth tank!

So now my four Mollies are in their own tank. I bought two books on Mollies and thought I was all set until one of the silver Mollies got aggressive and was harassing the others. Not being a fish expert, I think he is male and the others are females. Perhaps he was trying to mate but they were very annoyed so I got a tank divider. Any ideas as to why the aggresssion??

Now one of the dalmation Mollies who seems larger than see was two weeks ago, is swimming vertically with her nose to the gravel. Is this a sign of illness or normal behavior?


Any information would be most appreciated. Thanks!

 

[mrV]

Any ideas as to why the aggresssion??

You didn't mention your tank size neither water values. Mollies need basic/hard/warm water, sometimes even salt too.

is swimming vertically with her nose to the gravel. Is this a sign of illness or normal behavior?

Probably it sick, sound inflammation which is caused wrong/bad water values. You should check water values immediately.

 

[Pufferpack]

Hi AnimalFriend...nice to see someone else with MTS (Multiple tank syndrome) has joined our little family
Is your Molly just swimming nose down, or is she picking at the gravel scavenging for food and algae? Mine does that all day long

 

[AnimalFriend]

Thanks for the feedback.

My Mollie is clearly not eating, she is now clearly sick. I put Tetracycline in the tank because her gills are now swollen. I follwed the fish disease chart enclosed with the medication and it looks like a gill disease.


The ammonia level are high but the tank is only 1.5 weeks old. I was told not to change the water so it could cycle. The tank is a 10 gallon. I was also told that Ammo-Lock is not a good chemical to use to eliminate the ammonia. The tank does have salt and is at 80 degrees F. After reading my Mollie book I bought a light to increase the algae growth. I do have a cover already. The pH is about 7.6. I ordered a test kit for hardness and nitrate last night. Quickly I see I am over my head!

My betta and two catfish are in a 5.5 gallon tank which is 6 weeks old and very happy with 7.0 pH and 76 degree water. The ammonia is zero.

My four goldfish are in a 10 gallon tank which is two weeks old and happy with 7.0 pH and 60 degree water. The ammonia level is up slightly.

My baby dalmation is in a 10 gallon tank which is 5 weeks old and happy with a 7.6 pH and 80 degree water and no ammonia.


I expect I'll lose my dalmation Mollie but with finish the antibodtics regardless. What should I do with the tank from there?

Thank you again for your help!

 

[pondfreak4365]

Animal Friend,
Your tank is most likely not cycled yet. It takes, I would say at minimum 3 weeks tocycle and become safe for your fishies!

I'm sorry your mollie is sick! I have no idea how to help that, but I can tell you about my silver mollies. I have a male, a beautiful fish, but quite agressive to any other males sharing the tank. I ended up moving all the other males to different tanks. I also have a dalmation female that gets very agressive when she's about to drop babies.

I found a link with pictures that may help with sex id of your mollies
http/www.fishforever.co.uk/livebearers.html

Good luck, sorry you didn't know about cycling before getting your fish.

 

[Pufferpack]

If her gills are red as well as swollen it might be a reaction to the ammonia spike in your cycling tank, I would check with some of the more experienced members, but she might recover quicker if you put her in the mature 10 gal tank with the babies (provided it is a reaction to the ammonia), shouldn't need any meds in this case as the cleaner water should revive her I think.

 

[AnimalFriend]

Thanks for the suggestions. She is now hidden and still standing on her nose. She does not have any red spots but her scales are swollen a bit away from her body.

A pet store clerk talked me into using "cycle" solution to speed up the cycling. He also said not to do any water changes for the first few weeks because it will delay cycling. I did change 20% last night because the ammonia was in the 1.0-2.0 range.

I would appreciate any opinions on how to help get the tank cycled. My other three tanks cycled quite nicely despite my inexperience. Beginner's luck I guess.

Also, when do you decide that it is time to send your fish to heaven to end suffering? Fish are very different from horses!!

Thank you again

 

[Angel Lady]

I hate to give you the bad news but if her scales are sticking out it is drospy and they arent much you can do I have to put one down in the morning if no better mine is swimming around on her head to and I watched one die a week ago from the same thing this one here has and I am not going to put her threw what I saw the other mollie go threw it just breaks my heart when I can do nothing I feel so helpless I hate that feeling. I have been on the computer all evening trying to find some answers for what is the matter with no luck, If I can run across something I will pm you and welcome to the forum to my name is Diane

 

[AnimalFriend]

As my day of research and watching has gone on, I have realized the problem is serious. Sadly, my work now turns to wht is best for the rest of the tank, 3 Mollies.

 

[William]

Whats the ammonia reading like now and the nitrites? Most diseases stem from poor water quality. IF the ammmonia or nitrites are above 1 then do a 20% water change, test the water the next day if 1 or above then repeat the 20% change daily, making your you dechlorinise the water and it is close to the temp of the tank

 

[AnimalFriend]

Thanks again to all!

My Mollie clearly had dropsy and was suffering so I helped her to fish heaven.

The ammonia levels are about 1.0 ish. I did a water change yesterday and will do a good vacuuming job/water change today. My aggressive male is still separated by a divider. I think I leave him in solitary until the water values look better. I had purchased a new and better filter this week for the tank so I moved the old one to his "side."

Hopefully this beginner can figure out how to maintin water quality to avoid illness in the future. The other tanks are beautiful and happy.

Thanks again to all!

 

[Pufferpack]

Sorry to hear that , but at least she's not suffering. Good luck with the others