Sick Mollies

[Bella]

My mollies have never been sick since birth. they are almost a year old and I have all the males in one tank and female's in another. The male tank is the problem.

It is a 29G and has 5 baby platy in there and four mollies.. a baby sail fin pleco till he grows a bit.
I decided to add some female mollies as they were showing signs of well the need for them. lol
Bad choice.. I added 4 small female mollies from the pet store.. I did not quaritine them I did not add the pet store water but did float the bag.

Everyone in the tank is ok but the the 4 male mollies started swimming crazy and flashing, shimmering, scratching. now the males are just laying there and can't swin upright anymore.

Last week I tried adding Pimafix for a bactiria infection thinking that was the cause.. that didn't work so I did another water change and added Binox by jungle..I hate jungle products too but I thought it might work.

What do I need to save my little guys. Two of them are not in the final stages of laying on the bottom but are looking weak. The others are all fine in the tank but if one is sick so will the rest eventually and I need to know what is wrong.

Oh yes and through all this one of those new female gave birth so I have have fry that I normally leave in another tank but don't want to move from a sick tank to infect my fry tank till I get this issue resolved.

Thanks,


Oh yes there is no nitrite, nitrate or ammonia showing in this tank either. and I did raise the temp to 80.

Edit: there is no bloating, no white spots, no fungus or signs on the body of sickness.

 

[WILDER]

It sounds like it could be a parasite with bacterial infection.

How many gallons is the tank.
How many fish and which type.
What your tap nitrate reading.

Are the fish showing any of these signs.

Laboured breathing or gasping at surface of tank.
Do there gills look pale with excess slime or red and inflamed.
Do the fish swim in a jerky movement.
Is there a geyish or bluish film on the fish.
Any golden yellow spots. dusting of gold, or rusty coloured varnish on the fish.
Any excess mucas on gills or body of fish.
Any red sores or red pin prick marks on the fish.
What does it look like when the fish go to the toilet.
Do any fish look skinny or bloated.
Is there anus enlarged or red and inflamed.
Is the fish belly sunken in.
Do any fish have bent spines.
Anything attached to the fish.

 

[Bella]

29G

5 baby platy
4 male mollies
4 new small female mollies
a baby sail fin pleco ( only there till he grows a bit then moved to a 90G)
oh yes and my 12 fry born last night in a breeder box now)
all the fish are small they are not full grown yet.

No signs on their body to show sickness at all.. no odd bathroom stuff. no mucus no scratches no red gills.. they do have a bit of labour breathing but that came on later while laying on the bottom.
they were shimmering, then flicking and flashing, and swimming erraticly .. now laying on the bottom can not swim very well and a hard time staying upright.

temp 80.. I raised it to 80 from 77.
I also added a bit of salt about 3 teaspoons for the 29g. did not want to make too much of a change while they are sick.
no nitrate, ammonia or nitrite. all levels are good.

 

[WILDER]

It could be flukes.
Used any chemicals near the tank.

The binox is for fungal and bacterial infections. Dosn't treat parasites.

I would half dose some clout with having fry in the tank.
Also make sure your temp is right for the med.

Get you some info on shimmering and clout med.

Shimmies



Symptoms:

This disease is named for the curious behavior seen in afflicted fish. Fish will swim with an odd, shimmying movement of the body. If left untreated, the afflicted fish will become unable to swim and will sit on the bottom, listlessly shimmying. This disease affects mostly livebearers, and particularly Mollies.



Cause:

Cause unkown but may be due to a variety of numerous pathogens, including protozoan, bacterial, and fungal.



Treatment:

Isolate the fish in a hospital tank and increase the temperature to 85°F (27°C). Treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Also ensure that the water chemistry is within acceptable ranges. Livebearers' should always be kept in water that has a pH of 7.8 - 8.3 and a hardness of 15°DH+.





Clout
Manufacturer: Aquarium Products
A very strong and effective medication for parasitic and protozoan infestations. Treats: Ich, Hydra, leeches, Planaria, Epistylis, Trichodina, Hexamita,Tetrahy-mena, body fungus, digenetic flukes, parasitic copepods, monogenetic flukes and anchor worms.

 

[Bella]

ok perfect. I kinda thought it was the shimmies and that the bateria meds would work. I'll pick up some clout on my way home from work. I hope it works. I placed the two not swimming in a breeder box because the platy was pecking at them. they are just laying there. Poor guys. I hope I save them or at least the other two males. I thought they would be prime for breeding.

 

[WILDER]

With the flicking and rubbing and darting, it sounds like a parasite.
All fish have flukes abit like cats with fleas. Young fish are more prone to them.
It's when they start to multiply you notice the symtoms.

 

[Bella]

I bought shimmy blocks. but they didn't work. I did have parisite meds in there but did a water change and added the shimmy blocks. All four male mollies died. Two Platy's died and the other three are on their way. no flicking . The other four female mollies have no energy just kinda lay around or stay in one place. All these fish are under a year old they are not full grown therefore I know I am not over stocking. I do have a young gibby who is also now not doing well in that tank. That tank has never seen an ilness since I started it as a baby fish tank. The gibby is comming to the surface to get air every 1-2 hour or so.. he is also lighter in color.. signs of stress. I removed the shimmy blocks.

I'm not sure what to do now.. I'm loosing the whole tank.. I only bought those tiny females for the males to have some girls in there and now everything is not going well. The 5 baby platy's and the 4 male mollies were mine from birth they were never sick once till these females came.

The platy's are hiding in the corner or just laying on the bottom.
No one is eating today not even the gibby.. that is a first for him.

Where to go now? I've tested the water and everything is good. no ammonia nitrate or nitite. .. ph is good. I changed the filter yesterday just in case some of the fry made their way in there before I put them in a breeder.

Where do I go from here?

 

[WILDER]

I would get some clout and start treating.
I would only half dose.

 

[Bella]

oh yes .. I went to the store to get that but they said it is on backorder. they seem to have a hard time getting meds in.. the wall was half empty... I went to two stores... thats all we have here.

I almost want to drive the 3 hours to big al's lol

 

[WILDER]

These are the treatments for flukes.
Treatment:

Skin Fluke infestations are highly infectious. All fish as well as the aquarium they inhabit should be treated. Effective medications include Clout, Fluke-Tabs, Quick Cure, Formalin, Paragon, Trifon, Parasite Guard, and Potassium Permanganate.



Also do a search on skin and gill flukes.

 

[Bella]

oh good.

I have Parasite Guard. Because the fish stores seem to never had that many meds... Last year they had a big shipment in of a varity of meds.. I bought everything I could so I would have it on hand if needed... I never had a problem but wanted to be prepared .. too bad they did not have clout that day. lol.

 

[WILDER]

Have you been using any chemicals near the tank.
Has your ph changed.

The symtoms there showing point towards, parasites, ph shock, toxins, overdose of meds.


Take a look here.
http/www.aquarticles.com/articles/manage..._sick_fish.html

 

[Bella]

Ph is good... for some reason that tank is always around 7.6 to 7.8 but it's never changed really in the year I've had it... I just did a test to confirm 7.8
no chemicals near the tank.. even my man knows not to spay anything even in that room. lol.

 

[WILDER]

I would treat for flukes.

Flukes also cause bacterial infections aswell.
All I can suggest is researching flukes as I think you are not convienced it could be flukes.

You can't see flukes with the naked eye.
There not showing all the symtoms of flukes but flicking and rubbing, erratic swimming laboured breathing point to 4 things. Parasites, toxins, ph shock, bad water quality.

Keep a look out for when the fish go to the toilet.

 

[Bella]

Thank you for the link.

I wish it was something simple to narrow down like ick. I feel bad throwing all these different treatments in the tank.

I started off using Pimafix before because of it treating a broad range of infections... then I did a water change because it was not working and tried the Binox...thinking it was more external then internal... that did not work. water change then shimmy blocks.. I really dont like those because there is no indication on the box or paper work exacly what they are. I took the shimmy blocks(due to the mollies dying there was no reason to keep them in there ) out and did another water change

I will try the parasite guard. I will half dose... I did a water change yesterday but I will clean out the bottom a bit today because no one ate their food last night.


Wish me luck.