Fish question!

tara g · Jul 28, 2007

So I've got a fish question. We'll probably get a much quicker response from this forum rather than the tropical fish one we are on.

Our creamsicle lyretail molly seems to be having trouble swimming to the top of the tank. Only just noticed it today. All the other fish seem to be moving along just fine. When I went to feed them, it tried swimming to the top, looked to be struggling, fell back to the bottom, then struggled up to the top for a little bit. Now it's just back on the gravel.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks a bunch

jeremy242 · Jul 28, 2007

Sounds like a swim bladder infection or something affecting it. If you didn't know the swim bladder is the organ that allows fish to rise and fall in the water collum.

snickers80 · Jul 28, 2007

If it's a swim bladder problem, you might be able to see something that looks like a tumor growing underneath the skin, on the bottom half of the fishes body near the tail. It may be caused by the food you are feeding, so in this case you could fast the fish for a couple of days which would let the impaction in the swim bladder deteriorate. You can also feed then a little bit of fresh spinach, or a green pea without the skin as they act as laxatives.

Usually if the fish is having problems surfacing, it is due to swim bladder disease. Hope that helps!

tara g · Jul 28, 2007

I didnt notice anything out of the ordinary looking at the fish. I will try putting a pea in there and seeing what happens. Of course, all the other fish will probably want a piece also.

Thanks for the advice

essayons89 · Jul 28, 2007

Sometimes, when a fish is either bloated or constipated it may have a little trouble swimming. If this is the case then the aforementioned pea )frozen pea that has been thawed and skinned) or other veggie matter may help to clear the blockage.

The cause of swim bladder disorder can be very hard to diagnose since they can be caused by any number of things. Viral or bacterial infection, injury, genetic defects and pollution (poor water conditions) are some of the problems of swim bladder disorders.

With cool water fish raising the temp a bit and adding some aquarium salt can sometimes help to bring about an improvement. However, mollies aren't cool water fish. What other fish are in the tank? What are the water parameters? What's the temp of the tank? How often do you perform water changes and gravel vacs? How mnuch water is removed during each water change?

If the peas don't help to bring about an improvement the only other thing that you can really try would be to place the fish in a quarantine tank and try a broad spectrum antibiotic. If the condition is caused by a bacterial infection then it may help but there's no guarantee that it will work. If you decide to try this then make sure that the QT has plenty of aeration and the light is kept off. Keeping the light off serves two purposes: 1) It helps to lower the stress level of the fish and 2) The meds are photosensitive and will break down under light rendering them ineffective. Follow the instructions on the package as far as dosing goes.

Good luck.

allie72 · Jul 28, 2007

Originally Posted by Essayons89

Sometimes, when a fish is either bloated or constipated it may have a little trouble swimming. If this is the case then the aforementioned pea )frozen pea that has been thawed and skinned) or other veggie matter may help to clear the blockage.

The cause of swim bladder disorder can be very hard to diagnose since they can be caused by any number of things. Viral or bacterial infection, injury, genetic defects and pollution (poor water conditions) are some of the problems of swim bladder disorders.

With cool water fish raising the temp a bit and adding some aquarium salt can sometimes help to bring about an improvement. However, mollies aren't cool water fish. What other fish are in the tank? What are the water parameters? What's the temp of the tank? How often do you perform water changes and gravel vacs? How mnuch water is removed during each water change?

If the peas don't help to bring about an improvement the only other thing that you can really try would be to place the fish in a quarantine tank and try a broad spectrum antibiotic. If the condition is caused by a bacterial infection then it may help but there's no guarantee that it will work. If you decide to try this then make sure that the QT has plenty of aeration and the light is kept off. Keeping the light off serves two purposes: 1) It helps to lower the stress level of the fish and 2) The meds are photosensitive and will break down under light rendering them ineffective. Follow the instructions on the package as far as dosing goes.

Good luck.

What he said....definitely quarantine the fish and do a water change just in case it affect the other fishies.

sharky · Jul 28, 2007

Qurentine if you can... Mollys like salt so add lots of salt and raise till about 80 degrees .If you have Melafix and Pimafix add these too.. If the pea does work do the above...

essayons89 · Jul 28, 2007

One other thing that I thought of, has the Molly been exhibiting anything that resembles shaking or shimmying in place?

tara g · Jul 28, 2007

What other fish are in the tank?
We have 5 black skirted tetras, a rainbow shark, two australian rainbow fish, a dalmation molly, 2 "baby" black mollies, another creamsicle lyretail molly, 3 guppies, and a pink kissing gourami.

What are the water parameters?
I think this is what you're talking about. According to our test strip:
pH - 7.0
Nitrate - 20
Nitrite - 0
Hardness - 0
Alkalinity - 120

What's the temp of the tank?
78-80Âº

How often do you perform water changes and gravel vacs?
Every 3-4 weeks. We are scheduled to/planning on doing one tomorrow.

How much water is removed during each water change?
About Â½ tank, so 27-28 gallons.

I will look into getting a quarantine tank if the pea and water change doesn't help. We barely have any room for another tank!

tara g · Jul 28, 2007

Originally Posted by Essayons89

One other thing that I thought of, has the Molly been exhibiting anything that resembles shaking or shimmying in place?

When it's trying to swim to the top, that's what it looks like. I haven't noticed it doing it constantly.

I just looked over at it now, it was laying on its side. When I came near the tank, it swam away a bit, now its laying on the bottom again.

essayons89 · Jul 28, 2007

A quarantine tank doesn't have to be an actual fish tank, nor does it need to be something that is permantly left up. Something as simple as a 10 gallon rubbermaid container with a sponge filter will suffice.

goldenkitty45 · Jul 29, 2007

Not sure but if I were you, I'd take and isolate that fish in a different tank. My dad and I raised guppies, and rarely had any problems. If a fish was acting funny we usually just took it out and destroyed it. Guppies multiply fast

and it usually was not worth the time to treat.

Sounds like it might have something to do with the bladder.

tara g · Jul 29, 2007

We got some Melaxfix, put it in a quarantine tank, and unfortunately it died a few hours later

. After we got home from stopping at the store, it was laying on its side on the bottom. I just checked now, didn't look like it was breathing, and it died. We did have another molly die (a dalmation one) earlier in the year, but we didnt notice any of those symptoms with it.

Thanks for everyone's advice! I'll be sure to ask again if there is anything else odd going on in our tank.

sharky · Jul 29, 2007

RIP little Molly

Fish question!

tara g

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jeremy242

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snickers80

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tara g

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essayons89

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allie72

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sharky

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tara g

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tara g

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essayons89

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