Unwell Molly

[Bigdave84]

One of my male molly's doesn't seem to be able to swim upright, in fact he is vertical most of the time. The tank is cleaned every week the water is fine as I do regular checks, and the other fish I have seem fine, can anyone tell me what the problem is and what I need to do to cure him.
Also he was born and raised in this tank.

 

[nic1]

Hello,

What are your water parameters?
Do you have soft or hard water?
How old is he? And how long has he been swimming been affected?

 

[Bigdave84]

Unfortunately I don't really know the answers to those questions apart from the fact he has been like it for about 2 weeks now, I think he may be 4-5 months old but could be older. Sorry I can't give u anymore than that.

 

[evan47]

does his tail appear to be curved or bent? is he a bit thin and swimming awkwardly? is he still eating?

 

[Bigdave84]

No his physical appearance seems normal, he can swim normally in little bursts, and yes he is eating normally

 

[bluesword23516]

Maybe swim bladder?  Are they in fresh or brackish water? What are their tank mates and tank size? 

 

[Bigdave84]

He is with 3 other molly's the tank is 45 litres and what is brackish water?

 

[bluesword23516]

Brackish is fresh water with some salt in it. Mollies do much better in brackish water.  You may be able to convert the tank to a brackish tank if its just the mollies.

 

[Bigdave84]

Is swim bladder curable?

 

[nic1]

Hiya, to help him out... Starve him for a day then give him a pea, do this 3 times and see if it makes a difference.

Cook the pea and take the shell off it, just crush it a bit... So it's not mush but chunks. Try and hand feed him as it may be difficult for him, lower the water level so he can get to the surface easily and raise the temperature to 80

Brackish water just means a bit salty! Mollies prefer the water to have salinity, go to the LFS and buy some aquarium salt and add the right amount, start with 1 table spoon per 5 gallons.

There are also some medicines for swim bladder but don't add it yet as it's unnecessary to add medicine to a tank when there isn't a disease present. - not saying that there isn't bit we don't know what we are treating yet.

Just raise the temp, but him in a breeder box or quarantine tank lower the water and add salt, hopefully this will help.
Let us know,
(45 litres is 9.9 gallons so add 9 table spoon of aquarium salt)

 

[Bigdave84]

Are frozen peas ok to use?

 

[the_lock_man]

So long as you cook them, yes.
 
We usually have peas at dinner, I just take one or two from the bowl before they are served up (they aren't boiled in salted water). If you want to do a couple of peas specially, take one or two from the packet, pour some boiling water into a mug, and leave the peas in there for a couple of minutes. Take them out, take off the shell, and crush them under a fork.

 

[Bigdave84]

Is it normal that he isn't showing any interest in the crushed pea?

 

[nic1]

Kindda yeah, if he isn't well enough, in my experience mays eat everything!
You can soak it in garlic juice before you give it to him, it may entice him and also garlic is good for their digestive track.
Try that, if he still isn't eating the peas then try adding salt if you haven't already done so.
.... Mays is meant to be Molly's