Velvet

[joelaughing]

Just lately my black molly has been swimming different and he doesn't hold his fins the way he used to. Also he is keeping to himself and is showing loss of appetite. If i look closely i think i can see a powder white substance on him. I changed the temp to about 82 and added a little more aquarium salt. Is there anything else I can do? Is this contagious? What are the chances of him dying?
thanks

 

[SarahBravo]

My fish recently had velvet - they looked like they had been sprinkled with gold dust. Are you sure it's velvet? Could it be ich? I treated my fish with Interpet Velvet cure, and they perked up pretty quickly. they still show signs, so i shall do one more dose, but they are definately better. If you can see individual grains of white stuff, it sounds like ich - you need to dose with an anti parasite medication as soon as possible. If you're in the UK the Interpet range seem pretty good, although i am only a newbie!

Hope you fish gets better, keep us posted.

Sarah

 

[a1wonder]

It might also be cotton look on google for some pictures to see if that is what is plaging your fish.

 

[CFC]

If it is velvet you will also need to cover the tank so it recieves no light for a week as velvet while in its free swimming form is photosynthetic and gathers energy from light like plants do. If you have any live plants these will need to be removed for the week and treated in a seperate container.