White Molly Problem

[tonydb]

Hi guys,
 
I recently brought 3 molly's , 1 black and 2 white.
 
Now on day 3 of them in my tank and 1 of them is acting strange.
 
The one white one seems to be always hiding in the hollow log at the bottom . does come out on occasion and have a swim about but goes back.I've also noticed that compared to the other white one I have the strange one has slightly discoloured gills,well its whole body to be exact,if you compare it to the other one which is brilliant white.
 
Did water test this morn and all readings are well within normal perimeters.Temp is good.
 
Any ideas...could she be pregnant?

 

[the_lock_man]

Hi Tony,
 
When you say normal parameters, what are the actual numbers, and are you using a liquid test kit or paper strips?
 
What else is in the tank?
How long has the tank been set up?
How did you cycle the filter?
 
The chances are that she is gravid, and it could well be that she is about to drop fry, but it's the discolouration that is concerning me.

 

[tonydb]

hi,
 
ph is around 7
ammonia is 0
nirite is 0
nitrate is 0
 
used a liquid kit
 
Tank is well cycled,i did a fishless cycle
 
There are 3 mollys ,3 platys and a baby one and 2 plecos,ive only just put the 3 mollys and 3 platys in,last saturday.
 
Just been to have another look and its as though you can see the outline of her insides, like shaded areas,gills around the eyes etc ??

 

[the_lock_man]

OK, nitrate should not be 0ppm, but if you are using the API kit, that's probably just the usual problem of not shaking bottle no.2  fully.
 
Is she swimming correctly? Mollies can often be iffy in freshwater, they get the shimmies (ie they don't swim steadily), they should really have brackish water. I found when I kept mollies that they would get very thin as well, which could be what you are seeing.
 
A photo might help.

Oh, and what size is the tank? And what species of plec?

 

[tonydb]

yea its the api one.i did shake it a bit but not alot and i didnt wait the 5 mins either.
 
64l tank,and she seems to be swimming ok ,when she does come out.
 
Plecs are bristle nose,one is a baby and the other around an inch long.I only got the second one on saturday as the original one couldn't keep up with the tank cleaning..so i got in some help for him.
 
Ill try to get a photo but it wont come out for a decent shot.

 

[the_lock_man]

That bottle no.2, you really have to give it some welly. The reagent (the chemical that actually turns the sample the appropriate colour) in this bottle is a powder, which readily precipitates out of the solution. If the reagent isn't fully dissolved, it doesn't react with the nitrate, and you end up with a false zero.
 
The tank is a bit small for mollies, really, but I wouldn't have thought it would affect one fish that quickly. It could just be a naturally weak fish.