Sick dalmation molly

[Richie30]

Tank size: 240 litre
pH: 7.5
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp: 26.6c

Fish Symptoms sitting at the bottom of the tank since lunch 1pm so 7 hours. Lethargic not eanting to move much. Easy to catch and put in seperator tank. Now and again will be active for a min. Has orange spots but had that from when i brought her nearly a week ago. She seems tohave more and more prominent than previous

Volume and Frequency of water changes: 1 in 5 weeks 30%

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: filter is juwel bioflow with carbax and phorax blocks installed with the normal foams

I have additionals to replace

Tank inhabitants: 3 plecos 1 betta 10 guppies 4 platys 11 neon tetra 2 swordtails 10 mollies

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): some small plants and last week 3 dalmation mollies 6 guppies

Exposure to chemicals: teaspoon of salt

I took my water into 2 different shops for testing and both said that the water was clean no issues this was weeks apart.
I had 3 fish die in total

2 died same night 1 molly was shimmying in corner of tank.. seperated her and seemed fine settled down but dead the next morn
Small swordtail was just low to the bottom. Was moving around and eating that day but died that night. Was shy from when brought.
Another molly found dead in morning didnt see any issues prior.

These died within a week or 2 of buying, however the other fish brought at same time are all ok

 

[Salty&Onion]

Tank inhabitants: 3 plecos 1 betta 10 guppies 4 platys 11 neon tetra 2 swordtails 10 mollies

Gonna start with your bad choice of stocking, bettas are not community fish no matter what, they should be on their own.
Neon tetras, tertras in general are soft water fish and they need acidic pH too.
Ideally 1 pleco per tank should be kept.
Guppies and swordtails and platies need hard water as well.

Now issues, mollies need pH above 7.0 and water hardness (which is not mentioned in post #1) of 250+ppm.

You have not mentioned your pH, GH and KH. What are they?
Same with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. What are they?
We need the exact numbers for above.

 

[Richie30]

I dont have figures but doing a tetra 5 in 1 and ammonia strips they all were normal.
Ill try and get some figures asap.

Sammy the betta has been fine she was 1 of my 1st fish and has not been bothered by the others and they havent bothered her.

 

[Salty&Onion]

Fish should not be deprived of what they need.
Bettas are not called fighting fish for no reason, for now he can be fine but later or sooner he can snap out of the blue and kill all of the fish in the tank.
Fish send out pheromones that other fish read as allomones leading to tensions between the fish.
Others may nip his fins or he can kill them.
@Byron can explain this better.

---

'All normal' , there is nothing normal in fish keeping when it comes to fish diseases.
We need numbers on your:

- KH and GH
(This can be found on your water providers page)
(Crucial)

- Ammonia and nitrite
(Crucial)

 

[Richie30]

Typical water hardness:Mod. Soft
Hardness clarke:5.8
Sorry i cant find it as gh or kh ill try and attach a screenshot when im on my pc. Test levrls showed very low to none for ammonia and nitrite but will try again and get figures

 

[Salty&Onion]

Your water seems too soft for swortdails, mollies, guppies and platies, but alright for a betta and neons.
Get a spare 5 gallon tank for the betta and make sure you include a filter and heater and nothing plastic.
@essjay what is their hardness?

 

[Byron]

The GH is certainly part of the issue, and may be the only issue. 5.8 d Clarke is equivalent to 83 ppm, which equates to 5 dGH (rounding up). @essjay will correct my math if inaccurate. This is soft water, and livebearers cannot last long. Livebearers include swordtails, mollies, guppies, Endlers and platies. You other fish are soft water species and will be fine in your water parameters.

 

[Salty&Onion]

The GH is certainly part of the issue, and may be the only issue. 5.8 d Clarke is equivalent to 83 ppm, which equates to 5 dGH (rounding up). @essjay will correct my math if inaccurate. This is soft water, and livebearers cannot last long. Livebearers include swordtails, mollies, guppies, Endlers and platies. You other fish are soft water species and will be fine in your water parameters.

I agree, just like I said.

 

[Retired Viking]

Hello and welcome to the forum, sorry for all the questions but our members are concerned about the health of your fish and wish to assist you with helpful information. I have both hard water fish and soft water fish in different tanks. Your water would be good for fish like your 11 neon tetras which is also a good number for a shoal so that is one good thing.

 

[Richie30]

Sad to say she died last night.

I checked on her at 9 and she was lying at the bottom of the seperation tank but moving about. An hour later she was head down tail up at an angle and moving about but this morning was gone.
I did some reading and read it could be swim bladder.

I feed them small amounts three times a day. There is live plants rocks snd driftwood in my tank and i have an air stone running.

I dont have any more room for another tank just yet. When i brought the fish they didnt tell me I couldnt keep any that i have together.
When i wanted some tiger barbs i was told they would attack my guppies so i left them and when i got my betta there was another fish i wanted and they said no because it would attack the betta.

When i brought my 1st bunch of fish the 1st lot were mollies and guppies they are still fine its only been recently with the last 2 lots ive brought that 2 died from the previous and 1 from the last.

 

[Richie30]

They have just been fed but i wanted to share a pic of my tank

 

[Byron]

Sad to say she died last night.

I checked on her at 9 and she was lying at the bottom of the seperation tank but moving about. An hour later she was head down tail up at an angle and moving about but this morning was gone.
I did some reading and read it could be swim bladder.

Something very important we must all realize in this hobby...symptoms of a disease can be the same for a number of problems. "Swim bladder" problems can occur with almost every protozoan, parasitic, and water quality issue. This is because all of these things affect the fish's internal physiology, and it is something like a chain reaction. Never make the mistake of assuming "x" is this or that. All we can do is provide what the species requires, and also work to prevent introduction of disease/issues with new fish. The prevention is always better than trying to find a cure later.

When i brought the fish they didnt tell me I couldnt keep any that i have together.
When i wanted some tiger barbs i was told they would attack my guppies so i left them and when i got my betta there was another fish i wanted and they said no because it would attack the betta.

Second lesson learned here...never trust advice from a fish store unless you know the knowledge level of the individual. Very few store staff are trained in fish biology, habitat, etc. With the internet today it is easy enough to research reliable sources (like this forum where you gain the benefit of peer review) before making the purchase. Here they were correct on the barbs and the Betta, but they failed to go further. And they clearly misled you on the livebearers.

When i brought my 1st bunch of fish the 1st lot were mollies and guppies they are still fine its only been recently with the last 2 lots ive brought that 2 died from the previous and 1 from the last.

I don't mean to scare you, but I can guarantee that your livebearers will all die because of the soft water. Some fish can manage to somehow struggle for weeks, even months, but the damage is being done and it is not reversible. At the very least the fish is weakened beecause it is not in suitable water, and often this means they succumb to other issues that normally they can fight off. Eventually it comes to the end.