# Two sick Mollies



## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

I have a 10gl with 3 Dalmatian Mollies and 2 ottos I added last week. I made a big mistake and added 2 Cory Catfish a couple weeks before and returned them when I got the ottos. I read up on it after the fact and found out that Corys do not thrive in brackish waters. Anyways, one of my mollies started swimming with his tail down about 5 days ago. He still eats and comes to the side of the tank to see me when I go near it. But he seems to be having a very hard time getting around like this. He chills on either the top or the bottom of the tank now instead of playing in the current in the middle. My other molly seemed to be getting bloated over the past week and I just thought he was getting bigger. The past 2 days though he's just been chilling in one spot in the current. Today when I woke up his tail is at the top of the tank and his head is down (the opposite of the other molly). The first Molly that got sick had white stringy poop followed by normal poop for the past few days. The other one that is bloated, either hasn't pooped in days, or I'm just missing it..

My tank has a heater and a 30gl filter. I change about 30-45% of the water weekly. All levels in the tank have been good since I cycled it. I made a beginners mistake by throwing the mollies in the tank when I first set it up, so they had to fight through the cycle, but did it with flying colors (the tank is 4 months old). The third molly is still looking and acting exactly the same. He even tries to swim by the other mollies but they just kind of ignore him and move away. 

PS. I would set up a quarantine tank for them but I seriously have 0 funds right now to put towards another heater and filter to do it. I also fed them their tropical flakes yesterday after soaking them in garlic (I read that it can help kill internal parasites)

I miss seeing them all playing together.  Any help is appreciated.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Sick fish after adding new fish are often ill from something from the store. Call and ask if they have other sick fish and if they are treating them.

But you should try the pea thing since it can't hurt. Cook a few peas in a dish of water in the microwave, remove the skins, chop them up and try to get the fish to eat them. Peas as fishy laxative is the first thing to try for poo and 'swim bladder' issues. Its easy and it sometimes works.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Sick fish after adding new fish are often ill from something from the store. Call and ask if they have other sick fish and if they are treating them.
> 
> But you should try the pea thing since it can't hurt. Cook a few peas in a dish of water in the microwave, remove the skins, chop them up and try to get the fish to eat them. Peas as fishy laxative is the first thing to try for poo and 'swim bladder' issues. Its easy and it sometimes works.


Thanks for the advice! I'm gonna pick up some peas in the morning and try it out. The bloated one REALLY looks like he needs to take a poo already, lol

I'll also give the store (Petsmart) a call in the morning and ask them. I have a feeling though that even if they do have some sick fish that they probably won't tell me.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

Ok, the bloated one is pooing right now. Has been for about 10 minutes.. It looks like a long white sack with brown spots on it. Has to be parasites from what I read so I'm gonna scoop it out right when it detaches.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

Ok, so I just got home from work and the second Mollie how has a puffy white eye... Not too sure what's going on now so I'm gonna have to do some research. The third mollie also looks like he's starting to not feel so good. He's moving slower and chilling at the bottom of the tank.

Edit: So I read up a little and it sounds like Popeye. I also read that Maracyn 2 works well to treat it so I'm going to pick some up tomorrow before work and start treating the tank.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

For parasites, you'll want a medicated food. You could get metronidazole powder and add it to a frozen food or keep on with garlic. Are they still eating? Are they getting skinny. Parasites kill more slowly than bacteria, so if you have to choose, treat for them later. 

Always do a water change before you start medicating and remove carbon from the filter. You may have to cut open a cartridge to do so. Since this will cause ammonia spikes, cut back on feeding. Sick fish eat less anyway.

For unhappy mollies, consider adding salt, but research first to see it the ottos can take it. Also watch for signs of columnaris. Its also called 'black molly disease' because they are so susceptible to it. It often starts as white fuzz on the mouth. Maracyn I and II can be used together if you think they have something bacterial.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

emc7 said:


> For parasites, you'll want a medicated food. You could get metronidazole powder and add it to a frozen food or keep on with garlic. Are they still eating? Are they getting skinny. Parasites kill more slowly than bacteria, so if you have to choose, treat for them later.
> 
> Always do a water change before you start medicating and remove carbon from the filter. You may have to cut open a cartridge to do so. Since this will cause ammonia spikes, cut back on feeding. Sick fish eat less anyway.
> 
> For unhappy mollies, consider adding salt, but research first to see it the ottos can take it. Also watch for signs of columnaris. Its also called 'black molly disease' because they are so susceptible to it. It often starts as white fuzz on the mouth. Maracyn I and II can be used together if you think they have something bacterial.


The sick ones will only eat a little bit and then become very uninterested. I caught the unsick molly pushing the other two around during feeding last night so I put up a divider in the tank so that the two sick ones are by themselves on the side farthest from the filter so the current won't toss them around as well. I don't think medicated food will work now because they won't really eat it. I think my best bet is to do the 2 Maracyn's. I do have carbon in my filter so I'll have to cut it out and remove it. 

I hate being such a newbie at this stuff.. I hope I'm treating them the right way.


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## pj1218 (Jun 11, 2011)

what does " normal " molly poo look like? i was just wondering caus my one female molly swims diagnally sometimes but i thought that was just her babies weighing her down  just making sure its nothing serious


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## Fishy Freak (Jun 1, 2011)

The ottos wont do too well with salt either.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

Doing the dual Maracyn dosing has brought my fish back to life! The eye swelling and bloatedness went away within 2 days, and on the fourth day they both were swimming the right way again. I did my last dose yesterday. Today I did a gradual 70% water change. I also took down the divider and they all seem happy to be able to swim around together again. The first molly that got sick seems to still have a slight difficulty when swimming around (current catches her back end a pushes it around a little). I think she might need to gain her strength back because she is extremely skinny now after being sick for over a week.

Edit: I didn't add anymore salt to the tank during my water change, and I don't plan on adding anymore in the near future. The ottos seem to be doing really good. They're very active following each other around the tank all day and night searching for algae.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

If she doesn't start fattening up, you may want to treat for parasites. You can try Prazi-Pro in the water, but medicated food is more effective if they are eating or you can do both together. Fish that eat and eat and keep getting skinny are worth trying anti-parasite meds on. I hate to say that its not uncommon for fish to bring home more than one problem from the store.

Bacteria kill quick, so you treated the right thing first. If fish in a tank seem to be starving one by one a month or so apart, treat for parasites.

Once you aren't medicating the water, you go back to carbon in the filter. 

Normal poo should look a bit like what they eat rolled into a string the same color as the food or a bit duller or darker. White, clear, bloody, flat, segmented or moving poo is suspicious.


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## Doberz (Jun 10, 2011)

emc7 said:


> If she doesn't start fattening up, you may want to treat for parasites. You can try Prazi-Pro in the water, but medicated food is more effective if they are eating or you can do both together. Fish that eat and eat and keep getting skinny are worth trying anti-parasite meds on. I hate to say that its not uncommon for fish to bring home more than one problem from the store.
> 
> Bacteria kill quick, so you treated the right thing first. If fish in a tank seem to be starving one by one a month or so apart, treat for parasites.
> 
> ...


Yeah I need to get a new carbon cartridge for the filter still. Petsmart is out but said they should have some for my filter in the next couple days. I just noticed today that the third Molly, the one that wasn't sick, is chilling on the gravel a lot. No idea what his problem is. Hopefully he's just tired today, lol


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