White Molly Looks Chalky All Over Help Please!

[1fish2fishfish]

Request Help 
My white molly is sick, she is in a separate 10 gallon tank for now. I am aware NOW that 26 gallons is far too small for 22 mollies, however my Dal molly had unexpectedly given birth so we are working on getting a much much bigger aquarium. I dont have a water ph test kit, nor do I have a thermometer, or an ammonia test kit. I know I suck, I didnt know that fish are this much work, I am an animal lover to the extreme and I love my dalmation molly just as any dog or cat lover does their pet. The sick white molly is my boyfriends and he is so heartbroken over it. Not to mention the fact that both of our mollies are nearly inseparable when together in the tank. Im worried also that the other mollies and mine might get whatever it is that the white one has. please help 

Tank size: 26 gallons
pH: Dont know
ammonia: dont know
nitrite: dont know 
nitrate: dont know
kH: dont know
gH: dont know
tank temp: dont know

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): Lethargic, chalky/pasty coating all over body, Rapid breathing/Gill movement, rubbing stomach against gravel, not eating, sluggish, 

Volume and Frequency of water changes: I do at least 25% water change daily. 

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: AmmoLock, Fungus Clear, Pimafix, Melafix, Ick gaurd.

Tank inhabitants: 1 other Molly (Dalmation) & 20 molly fry

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals: none

Digital photo (include if possible):
 
 

 

[LyraGuppi]

Like grains of salt on her, or a white film?

 

[Byron]

Without the benefit of your answer to LyraGuppi's very pertinent question, I will suggest that this might be a fungus issue which is common with mollies in water that is not stable or of the correct parameters.
 
You should invest in some test kits, the API Master Combo (liquid, not strips) would be worth it at this stage as it has ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH.  But another important number is the GH, the hardness of the water, which you can ascertain from your municipal water authority on their website probably or by calling them.  
 
On a general note, you should not be using so many additives.  For instant, ich guard is not going to help and may be more trouble to the issue.  Melafix, Primafix and Fungus Clear are all going to interact and stress the fish.  Ammo Lock should not be necessary, but we need to know the ammonia test result.  I  would do a major water change to get most of these additives out of the tank.  Use a good conditioner.
 
At this point, since these are mollies, salt might be beneficial.  But use proper aquarium or marine salt.  I will leave this for others, as we really need to know these test results to pin this down.
 
Byron.

 

[1fish2fishfish]

Like grains of salt on her, or a white film?

Shes got an iridescent gold dust on her fins and her gills look almost pearlescent but just 2 patches (one on each side) and she swims like she cant move anything as if she has body aches. I did a 75% water change. I got some expensive organic -type copper treatment...all the additives, I know, I just panicked. It sounded good so I did it. I will go to pet store and buy a test kit. She's swimming a little better today. still isnt eating tho, which only worries me more, Agh. 

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

Before treatment is going to work, you need to provide a proper environment which is going to almost impossible given your current situation. Do the right thing. Admit defeat and give up your charges to someone capable of caring for them. Then, if you still want to keep fish, learn about their requirements and don't get any more until you can set-up and provide a proper environment.

 

[the_lock_man]

 

Like grains of salt on her, or a white film?

Shes got an iridescent gold dust on her fins and her gills look almost pearlescent but just 2 patches (one on each side) and she swims like she cant move anything as if she has body aches. I did a 75% water change. I got some expensive organic -type copper treatment...all the additives, I know, I just panicked. It sounded good so I did it. I will go to pet store and buy a test kit. She's swimming a little better today. still isnt eating tho, which only worries me more, Agh. 
 

 
The reference that I have removed is not something which we condone, nor do we feel it is relevant to mention.
 
A gold dust would tend to suggest velvet, which is a parasitic infection. Please search for "velvet fish disease" in Google Images, and let us know if that's what your fish has got, then we can recommend some appropriate action. 
 
It is a bad idea to just bung in any old fish medication. Most meds are effectively poisons which are at a dose strong enough to kill the infection, but not the fish. A bit like chemotherapy in humans, it makes the fish feel seriously bad, but it has the relief of getting rid of the infection, and thus the fish feels better. If you are using a poison which is inappropriate for the infection, the original issue doesn't go away, but still makes the fish feel seriously bad. This is actually more likely to kill the fish than not treating at all.
 
Your priority is to properly obtain a liquid-drop test kit, most members here recommend the API, so we know what needs to happen to your water. The vast majority of fish illnesses are due to poor water quality. Then we need to fully identify what your fish are suffering from and treat it.
 
Next you need to rehome most of the fry. You may be lucky, in that your local fish shop (LFS) will take them from you (unless you're seriously lucky, you won't get any money for them) or you could try selling them on Craiglist, or similar. However, don't do this until the disease is cured - 
 
If you are able to get a larger aquarium, so much the better, but let's get the immediate issues sorted first.
 

Before treatment is going to work, you need to provide a proper environment which is going to almost impossible given your current situation. Do the right thing. Admit defeat and give up your charges to someone capable of caring for them. Then, if you still want to keep fish, learn about their requirements and don't get any more until you can set-up and provide a proper environment.

 
Rob, I feel your response is unnecessarily harsh towards the OP. I fully appreciate that your concern is for the welfare of the fish, and you are not wrong in that viewpoint. However, I don't feel that telling someone to stop keeping fish is constructive, and is more likely to make the OP dismiss any advice you give. This would be a shame, as the advice you give is usually good. 

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

My harshness was in response to the content that was deleted. My concern is not only for the fish, but for the store owner and the employees of that store. I'm not going to coddle someone who admits to committing a crime in order to care for their animals. If they were willing to admit something like that, there has to be much more that they have done. The problems in the fish tank can be chalked up to ignorance, but committing a crime cannot, even by the OPs admission. It wasn't even out of desperation. They did not know if the medication would even work. It was a stab in the dark. If they care so much for animals, why do they not care about people. What she did hurts a number of people. I would suggest that while she is at the store buying a test kit that she pay for that medication.
 
Without the content that has been deleted, my post is harsh. It is now out of context and would appreciate it if you would delete it.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

I stand solidly with Dr.  Rob on this and feel the staff here has handled this matter extremely poorly. This thread should be deleted in its entirety or else allowed to remain as it was originally written.
 
T_L_M I feel your response has done a lot more harm than good here. I fully concur that the OP has no business keeping fish and feel that you have effectively condoned their thievery by your removal of that piece of information.  What do you think the store owner would have done had he caught her in the act? What do you think your removal of this information will have on the future behavior of this person?
 
I had a discussion with another staff member about this thread. Neither of us was willing to post and we both felt Dr. Rob's response was dead on. I will not mention who this staff member was as that is not relevant beyond making the point that the decision to edit the original post could not have been agreed to by all the staff. We both agreed on two things. The first was all the fish involved are going to die, there is no way they can be saved under the circumstances. The second was that Dr. Rob's post said what we were both thinking perfectly and there was no need for either of us to comment further.
 
How can anyone having read about the stealing before it was removed from the post suggest the solution here is to buy anything? This person could not afford meds or a heater, how the heck can they afford test kits? I am hoping this is a very young person who will learn better behavior with time.

 

[RobRocksFishTank]

TTA, I don't think you meant Dr. Rob. He is another member here and I haven't seen any posts by him in this thread.
 
BTW, thank you for your support. I agree with your statement that this thread being deleted or kept in it's original form. Since there isn't much value on the fish keeping side, I am leaning towards deletion. The only value I can see is it serving as a classic example of "animal loving" gone wrong.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Sorry Rob, you are correct. I mixed up the names. Sorry about that. Apologies also to Dr Rob for my mix up.
 
And I do not accept the animal loving aspect here either. If this person were really an animal lover they would have done some sort of research in advance. Clearly this did not happen or the situation would have been avoided in the first place.