[lioness501]

hi im new to this site and i think i have a poorly molly, i hope someone can help. i have had her for 4 weeks, she is a black balloon molly, since i have had her she has had 10 fry. since then she has gone shiny?? and she has a long trailing white substance instead of poo? can anyone help i dont want my other fish to get ill, thanks, alex

 

[Lupin]

Hi and welcome aboard, Alex.:wave:

What are your water parameters? Is the whitish poo stringy? If so, it could be a sign of the presence of intestinal parasites. Treat it with Metronidazole.
Balloon mollies unfortunately are so deformed that I keep advising other people not to buy them.

 

[lioness501]

thanks for your reply and hi! i do not have the means to test my water right now but i take a sample to my local aquatic store every other week and they say its always pretty perfect. the poo is stringy yes. she is the second black 1 i have had, the first 1 died so i replaced her, now the same is happening. my other females are white and a dalmation, they r fine?? tho is it common for mollies to sit at the top of the water for a while? they dont always do it but for a while each day?

 

[willow]

hi welcome aboard matey.
sorry you're having problems,
don't forget that if you do medicate your tank,
take out any carbon in your filter if you have any.

do they gasp at the top of the tank at all.?

 

[lioness501]

hi, ive heard about taking the caron out. is that the blue sponge within the filter yeah???

 

[willow]

hi
no the carbon will be small black coal looking stuff,
don't wash your sponges out with anything but tank water,
as that will kill the bacteria,
sorry if you already know that.

 

[Lupin]

thanks for your reply and hi! i do not have the means to test my water right now but i take a sample to my local aquatic store every other week and they say its always pretty perfect.

There's no such thing as perfect in the case of water parameters unfortunately.:shake: Try to let your lfs write down the exact figures. Make sure they are using a reliable liquid test kit and should not be expired.
They were trying to convince you everything is alright when the actual result was that something is wrong but is unknown to you because they repeatedly assure you 'everything is alright'.:shake:

the poo is stringy yes. she is the second black 1 i have had, the first 1 died so i replaced her, now the same is happening.

Treat your fish accordingly. Try to do a partial water change of 10% and treat the whole tank with Metronidazole. There is a possibility the rest of your fish were infected as well.

Good luck and let us know how everything is doing.

 

[lioness501]

where will the coal stuff be? in the top of the filter? sorry if i sound thick!! lol i always wash sponges in tank water thanks tho!

 

[lioness501]

wat would u recommend i buy to test the water myself?? i have seen lots of testing kits is there any that test all of water?? i have seen them all seperate i.e 1 for ammonia, 1 for nitrate etc etc

 

[Lupin]

where will the coal stuff be? in the top of the filter? sorry if i sound thick!! lol i always wash sponges in tank water thanks tho!

That's carbon. Remove it as it can remove any medicine dosed in your tank rendering the treatment ineffective.

wat would u recommend i buy to test the water myself?? i have seen lots of testing kits is there any that test all of water?? i have seen them all seperate i.e 1 for ammonia, 1 for nitrate etc etc

API Master test kit.

 

[lioness501]

thanks for all your help ill try get 1 asap and sort out my poorly fish!! one more thing, is it possible that she could b the only sick fish? all the others seem ok? would it b best to perhaps take her out?

 

[willow]

it will be in your filter,uaually in a bag,it's black,
you don't sound thick at all !!!!!!
don't worry,
i'm sorry i forgot to ask....
what filter have you got ?
is it one on the inside of your tank,or a canister one
on the out side ?
what tank is it,and how big ?
and if you have a spare hospital tank take her out.

 

[lioness501]

im not sure the model its a fluval filter its on the inside of the tank. tank is 28 gal. i could put her in my nursery tank as the fry r still in breeding trap in main tank. is that ok

 

[Lupin]

thanks for all your help ill try get 1 asap and sort out my poorly fish!! one more thing, is it possible that she could b the only sick fish? all the others seem ok? would it b best to perhaps take her out?

I'm afraid the rest could be infested with intestinal parasites hence my advice to treat the whole tank with Metro.

 

[lioness501]

thanks blue, ill sort it out asap!! btw im glad im not the only one that loves the care bears hahahaha

 

[lioness501]

UPDATE!!!!
after treating tank with MYXAZIN polly the molly is all healthy again!!! she no longer has velvety or shiny scales and her dorsal fin is now upright whereas b4 it was clamped!!! happy fishies again!

 

[musho3210]

congrats. Do you add salt for your mollies? Mollies should have some salt in their tank, im not sure how much but it should be near brackish water conditions.

 

[lioness501]

no my mollies dont have salt but they came from non brackish water wen i got them, they were raised without salt so im told they r fine without it!

 

[FDStation152]

I wouldn't go up to brackish conditions or anything close to it but I've always kept a little bit of salt in with my livebearers. It's a near-universal reccomendation due to the variety of positive things it does for the fish. And yes before someone posts that some kinds of fish can't handle aquarium salt I am well aware of it and I'm talking about salt addition in the magnitude of 1tsp per 10 gallons which will be tolerable by almost all commonly kept community fish.

 

[Matt]

Double post Sorry!