I think my silver molly is sick, or at least certainly has something wrong with him. He's been at the bottom of the tank trying to spit something out, and looks like he's gasping for air. I would help him out with tweezers, but it looks like whatever he is trying to get out is clear. This concerns me because food is not clear, and i can't thinking of anything else clear in the tank (my fish are all males right now, so its not an egg or newborn or anything). My concern is that he maybe his stomach got inverted or something, and if i pull that out, well, yea. I want to help him, but i dont know if i should be trying to stick this thing back in or take it out. Any suggestions?
wow. nevermind. i already lost him i think. he's belly up and not moving. i already moved him to a side 'tank' in case he had a disease but man, that was fast. this is the first fish i'll lose from this tank. wump. i dont even know what was wrong with him. the chemical levels are fine in the tank. i did just introduce two new fish last night from the store. i hope they weren't carriers of something. i know you're supposed to quarantine new fish first.. crap
Mollies are schooling fish and do best with 3 or more of the same kind. However, with most live bearing fish, the males may have little battles for dominance. The weaker male usually suffers. The best solution to this is to have two or three females to every male. I would suggest that a school of eight silver mollies should only have 1-2 males max. Don't know what the fish swallowed. It sounds like the molly slowly suffocated. Unable to move water thru its mouth and across his gills....well you get it. Good luck.
I agree, it sounds like an internal problem or an injury from fighting with another fish...there's nothing you can really do in those situations. Even if it was a sickness, the medicines you see in Wal Mart are actually harsh on the tank and can end up killing everyone inside it, so it's normally better to let nature take its course. Sometimes they recover, many times they do not, but its exactly the same in rivers and lakes so do not feel like you did something wrong. Sometimes it just is not meant to be.
ok now I am really confused and scared. since the death of my first fish, BOTH of the gourami's I bought on monday have now died. I didn't see either die, just found them belly up on consecutive days, so I don't know if they had similar symptoms to the molly.. I have checked and re-checked the pH, temperature, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite levels and all are normal! I did a water change on saturday or sunday.. could there have been something in the city water that wasn't there in previous water changes that is now killing my fish? i know i've read about cities periodically adding chemicals to the water but I have no idea what LA has in there... Should i try to change out a bulk of the water or is the shock of the new water going to hurt my fish even more? the plants seem to be fine at this point, and all the other remaining fish appear healthy, but who knows at this point. If there is a sickness floating around in there anyone have any pro tips on how i can try to keep my other fish from catching it?
Lol, slow down a bit, you're fine. From what you've just told me, you made a few newbie fish mistakes. Continue to change your water 20-30% every week and do not add anything else to the tank (no more fish, extra chemicals, etc....just the water treatment, aquarium salt, food, and the water itself). One of your fish had a disease, which is common in fish store pets. The two that died this past week had weakened immune systems and the disease ended up getting them as well. 99% of the medicines you can buy to treat your fish tank are dangerous on the fish and could kill them just as easily as the disease, so do not give into temptation and buy them. Let the sickness run its course. The stronger fish will survive, the weaker ones may end up dying. Wait a few weeks minimum, then go buy a few more....but realise you're playing the genetic lottery every time you do so. One sick fish can kill everything, so stocking an aquarium should be done in stages; preferrably with two tanks if you can swing it. Bring the fish home, put em in the "test tank" for a week...if they still look good then add them into the main tank. When purchasing fish, the #1 rule is to look at their posture. They should be upright with their dorsal fin straight up in the air, their color should be excellent, and they should be active in the tank. If these conditions are not there, do not buy. If you see a dead fish or two in the store tank, do not buy. If one fish in the entire tank is hunched over and barely moving, do not buy. If you're in Wal-Mart, do not buy!!! The best bet is to go to the local pet store, ask them when they normally get the fish in that you want, and go to buy that evening.
No worries I wasn't planning on adding the fake medicines or anything to the tank, I know those aren't natural and can't really be healthy for the fish in the long run or at all. The remaining fish I have in there all appear to be okay, so I'll just keep a good eye on them for a long while. You make a good point about who you buy fish from, and I've learned that already only having been there a few times. The first time I bought fish, it was a young girl but she was very knowledgeable and was a huuuuuge fish fan. I think she was the store's expert. Either way, she picked out 3 mollies and 3 platys for me and with the exception of the 1 molly that just got sick, the other 5 have been incredibly healthy and hearty. She was really picky about which one she was pulling from the tank for me. That in contrast to the guy who gave me the 2 gourami's i just bought this week that both died. Here was a tatted up guy that looked like he was part of a gang and didn't know a thing about fish or really care all that much either. Go figure the 2 fish he picks out for me (probably just the easiest to catch in the tank = the slowest= the least healthy) and they're both dead in 3 days. Methinks I'll only go to the store when the thoughtful girl is working in the future.
Oh, you grabbed some Platys, great. Those are super hearty fish, and if they've made it a month you should have them for a few years (as long as other sick fish are not bought, but even then the species usually will last). For Platys you want two females for every male (the ladies have a full bottom fin, the guys have a little stump-looking fin underneath) and eventually they will stock your tank all on their own. If you happen to have 3 females, then just add one male....if you have 2 or more males then balance it out with the 2:1 ratio. I'm now to the point where I donate to the fish stores every month because I have so many babies, and it's cool because we get to pick the best looking ones so our tank always looks great. An added bonus is that they live longer since they've never been moved and stressed out, and they're always disease free so the pet stores love the donations too. I haven't bought fish food, light bulbs, or plants for a year now because the donations basically pay for them (figure each fish being worth a dollar, regardless of what the retail is on them). Some people actually raise rare fish and breed them for a living....well sought after ones can land $20-30 per juvenille easily. You're right about the easiest being caught too...that's exactly how it works. The one the store clerk can't catch...he's gotta be healthy to do all that bobbing and weaving. If you check out their top fins and their color you should be okay though; that's an excellent indicator of overall health. As your current fish age you will be able to tell when they're getting close to the end of their natural life stages by watching those two things. Anyways, hopefully I've helped....if something else comes up post again or message me. Good luck!
