Sick Molly, No Idea What's Wrong! Help Please!

[katiefairyinnit]

I separated my black molly into a quarantine tank 4 days ago and on the advice of a fish shop owner, put him in a 10 litre quarantine tank with filtration, an air pump, heater, a rock and a small plastic plant. He developed cloudy eyes overnight (both) and went partially blind. Over the last 4 days his sight has become worse. He has a single white dot under his pelvic fin and a single red dot on his caudal fin which he developed 2 days ago. (the white dot has been there for about a week now). The dots are very small and don't look like fungus or ich, so i'm very confused. He's in good spirits and feeding well still, but struggles to see very small bits of flake.

i've been advised to leave him for a week with no treatment and monitor him. He's not got any better, but equally not got any worse, except for his sight. I have ruled out several diseases but I'm at a loss as to whats up with him. He's also had white/clear poo for the past day

On the advise of the man in the shop, I've ordered some Melafix to treat him after a week, but he also advised i wouldn't need a filter as its only 1 fish, but i've added one anyway. I was worried about the uncycled new tank, but he assured me i'd be ok if i squeezed the main filter sponges into a bowl and soaked the quarantine filter sponge in the bowl. I did this and tested the water when set up and it was all OK, but after taking the man's advice to do daily 1/3 water changes, the NO2 has risen to around 2.5, while NO3 and CL2 are at 0. Should I be concerned about this or am I just being paranoid? I know its not much to rise, but I keep my parameters perfect and it's stressing me out as I don't want to cause him any distress. Will changing his water for my main tank's water solve this problem? Does anyone have any other suggestions as to what I can do or what might be wrong with my fish?

My main tank is a Juwel 120l with 5 platies, a betta, 2 amano shrimp, 1 baby pleco, 1 golden gourami and 3 juvenile endlers. Nobody has developed any signs of stress or illness since I removed the black molly so I'm not sure if he has something contagious? Its worth noting that I acquired him as a re-homed fish so I have no idea how old he is.

Advice welcome!

 

[snazy]

What was the initial reason you put him in quarantine for?
The cloudy eye that developed additionally could be from water quality issues in the new tank. You need to have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrItes(NO2) at all times.
You can try salt treatment on the molly. It won't harm and it can help.
I am not sure about the red and white dot. Can you upload a picture maybe?

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Hi, i put him in there cuz his eyes went cloudy overnight in my main tank. It was while in quarantine he developed the red spot, but he already had the white spot. Don't think I'll be able to get the spots on a photo, they're so small! Do you know how I can fix his water? I don't think the parameters are wayward enough to cause him any visible harm but I want to avoid a nitrogen spike. Could I avoid this by using main tank water and maybe just changing 10% every few days?

PS - I have been adding a couple of teaspoons of epsom salt to his water until i get the Melafix. Do you think this'll help?

 

[snazy]

Are you using a cycled tank for quarantine?
According to your initial post you have 2.5 NO2(nitrAte). If that's correct this is poisonous to fish.
You can fix it by doing a large 90% water change every time the test detects it. You need to do it slowly to avoid stressing the fish additionally and let it acclimate to such a huge change. You can use water from your cycled tank instead but it won't help cycling the quarantine tank. Maybe tap water is better as you would be sure it will contain less harmfull bacteria than the tank water as the fish is more succeptable to additional infections.
Best way is to use a bit of the cycled media from your cycled filter and put it into the quarantine filter. If you are not using a filter, then large water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrIte at 0 at all times while treating.
As for the sickness, I can't tell from the info you gave. Cloudy eyes for example could be from bad water parameters, from parasites, etc..
The white and red dot could also be a parasite, bacteria, etc.. It's too broad of a diagnose
I would say try the salt treatment in the mean time. Slowly add to the quarantine water to reach a level of on tbsp per gallon. Make sure you use marine salt or salt with no additives like iodine or some cooking agents/stuff.

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Thanks for the reply Yeah I am using a filter in a new quarantine tank. The guy at the shop said I'd be ok to squeeze out the main tank's filter sponges and soak my new filter sponge in it, but thats obviously not worked. Will doing water changes help, cuz thats what's taken out all the good bacteria in the first place? I'm at a bit of a loss as to what to do. I had to get him out of the main tank straight away as I have other fish to protect, I just took the guy at the shop's word that he's be ok in a new tank.

I'm using Epsom salts in his water at the moment just to calm him as i don't have any aquarium salt.

I've pored over books and articles for hours trying to put my finger on whats wrong with the fish, but I can't find any disease that looks even slightly similar. I doubt that his eyes are due to poor water quality as he developed them overnight in my main tank and I keep that sparkling. I'm very vigilant with it and none of my other fish have shown any signs of illness. I know eye problems are a broad thing and it could be anything, but my fish shop keeper suggested he may be old and his eyes have just developed cataracts? I have no idea how old he is as he had a previous owner. I'm guessing this is not the case though, as he's developed these dots afterwards, suggesting maybe a weakened fish?

If I carry on doing water changes, will that not keep fuelling the problem? He's had quite a lot of his water changed so far and he's only been in there 5 days. I changed 50% on the first and 2nd day and 30% on the 3rd. I only changed 10% last night though as I was really busy and didn't have much time.

Also, would you advise I remove a filter sponge from my main filer and place it in the tank? That wouldn't hinder the main filter would it?

Thanks!

 

[snazy]

Hi Katie,

You can't cure a fish in water that has poisonous toxic. Considering you have 0 ammonia and 2.5 nitrItes, it means the mulm from the other fitler has helped a bit but the tank is not cycled. It don't matter how much water you change if after the water change there is still a nitrIte reading. You need to change as much water as it takes to bring the level to 0.
This will have no effect on cycling this filter. Bacteria is not in the water volume. Some scientists reckon it is like super glue and attaches to surfaces only.
The fish is better with 0 ammonia and nitrite regardless what it takes as otherwise it can't fight the disease.
As for salt, even some supermarkets sell pure marine salt for cheaper than the fish shop.

 

[katiefairyinnit]

I've just changed his water now. i did 50% and the NO2 is now between 0 and 1 on my scale, so it's come down. Do you think rinsing his filter sponge in my main tank's filter sponge water is a good idea? Its not massively elevated, and my test says anything under 5 for NO2 would be safe for him. I know its not ideal, but as long as I keep it in check he'll be alright. I just don't want it to get worse. He's a really strong fish so I'm confident he can get better as long as I keep his water as good as poss.

What will marine salt do? Is it ok for him, given that he's tropical? I was advised to use Epsom salts just to calm him so I've been doing that. Is that alright do you think?

Sorry for all the questions! i'm not a beginner at fish keeping, but I am a beginner at dealing with a sick fish! I've never used a hospital tank before so i'm tryna get opinions from people who know what they're doing.

And do you think Melafix will be sufficient for him? I did ask at several pet shops but nobody seems to know whats wrong with him! So i've kinda taken an educated guess at meds for him!

Thanks!

 

[snazy]

I don't know what your tests says, but nitrIte is toxic to fish in way lower ammounts than even what you have after the water change.
What would salt do?
1. It actually makes nitrItes less toxic to fish
2. Mollies naturally prefer brackish water regardless
3. Salt can kill certain types of pathogens and since mollies love salt, the fish can only benefit from it.

As for Melafix, I don't know if it will help in your case as there isn't enough info to decide what is the fish sick from.
It's probably good to combine it with salt too as one can stop certain types of bacteria, the other will stop certain types of parasites and you never know...

 

[Kerf]

Having NH and NO2 at 0 is a must for a hospital tank, if you are not medicating yet I personally wouldn't even run a filter I'd just change 30-50% water twice a day, once in the AM and once in PM. It shouldn't take but a few minutes on a 10 gallon tank. As for the cycle of the new tank I'd place the sponge for the hospital tank's filter into the main tank's filter housing so it can start growing bacteria in prep for deployment. Be advised that a lot of medication especially strong antibiotics will destroy the bio filter anyway. As for aquarium salt I believe it's a total scam, NaCl is NaCl regardless of how much you spend, you are better off adding non-iodized table salt or pure water softener salt. As others have said though, I would add salt to ease the fish and help fight off infections. If you do go the water softener route, just be sure it is pure salt with no additives.

 

[katiefairyinnit]

Thanks for the reply Kerf. Just an update - I'm keeping the NO2 down and NO3 has risen above 0 now so I'm happy I can control the parameters okay The fish still has cloudy eyes but the mysterious red spot on his fin has now disappeared! Very strange! He's still got the single white dot. He's not got any worse at all in the 7 days he's been in there any my main tank has not had any outbreak. He's still in good spirits and I've just bought some really good dechlorinator that helps balance nitrates too so that should help. He's still eating well and hasn't deteriorated but I don't wanna put him back into the main tank in case he develops further problems. Has anyone got any idea what might be wrong with him? The eyes are the main problem, and I can't think of anything else I can do apart from what I'm already doing (regular water changes and adding epsom salts). His temperature is a few degrees higher than the main tank, in case it helps him. Is there anything anyone knows of that could have caused his cloudy eyes? I'm stumped really! He just developed it overnight in my main tank. Its pretty hard for me to see if there's any eye improvement as his tank doesn't have a light so I'm using a lamp to look at him at the moment.