# Balloon molly problems?



## ClubHead9786 (Jan 13, 2008)

I have a problem with my Balloon belly mollies. My water levels aren't excellent but i have been trying to fix those. I have a high nitrate and nitrite problem. Also, my heater broke about a week ago and i just got a new one so the aquarium was about about 65 F temp for about a week but im not completely positive on the temp before but it was def lower than what it should be. Now it is back to 81 F. I add Start Right and salt every water change and i did one about 4 days ago. i also put about 4 bunches of anachris and i had 1 bunch of frill and one bunch of a plant that i dont know the name to but it has red leaves and thin stems but is pretty tall and reaches to the top of the water.

Anyways, on molly died about 2 days ago and right after that i decided it was def time to get a heater and plants so i did. Now one of the mollys is basically moving around near the bottom and has an obvious problem with buoyancy and puts in a lot of effort getting to the top to eat.

Another molly has SIGNIFICANTLY decreased in size and is about half of what he was before. also, he is a white balloon molly so its hard to see if he has any white spots but i could kind of see a couple on the tail and his left fin seems like something almost took a bite out of it and there is a white almost like a fungus outline around where the fin is missing. Also, his gills are red and can be seen through the body and is very noticeable.

The only good about my mollies is that one of them is pregnant but i don't that the fry will be very healthy considering all the problems going on in the tank.

Please help. I really like my mollies and i don't want them to die.  .

Thanks in advance  .


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

The water quality is the first thing to get back on track, as having good water quality can help with a lot of the problems. Your fish have also undergone a lot of stress from loosing their heater, so any problems that were undercover have probably surfaced as a result- this can happen to even an experienced fishkeeper. I cannot tell you much about the best ways to treat for the fungus, but it does sound like possible fin rot to me, which just good quality water is an excellent start for solving. Chances are that someone here will know how to treat the fungus itself 

Hopefully someone will also know how to deal with your skinny fish, because I don't think that skinniness is from fin rot. Sounds more like an internal parasite. 

BEFORE you medicate choose wisely and listen to what is said because messing with a bunch of meds will also have repercussions for this tank! If it were me I would research for internal parasites and that would be my first choice in terms of dealing with it, provided I was certain this was the issue (you will want a medication with praziquantel in it). I say this because again, fixing your water quality will help a lot with the fin rot, making that less of an issue for medications. 

I am sorry I could not be of more help than that. I know that dealing with sick fish while trying to learn about your tank can be overwhelming at times. Just keep at it! Everyone makes mistakes and you are learning!


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