Creamsicle Molly Having Trouble Swimming! Help!

[troykristoffer]

Hiya! I bought a male Creamsicle molly a little over a month ago, and he was lively. Now he's sick

Here are the facts:

• He's a male.
• He shares a 5 gallon tank with a neon tetra and a tequila sunrise guppy. They are fine.
• I went on holiday vacation for two weeks and left the tank in the care of my best friend with detailed instructions.
• When I returned, the tank was filled with green and brown algae, covering all the decor and sides of tank.
• There were signs of significant overfeeding (flakes)
• He was laying on his side inside the little cave decor, but still breathing
• He was very fat and bulging (but no pine cone appearance, so probably not dropsy)
• When I did coax him to swim it was quite a struggle, very erratic and he couldn't get anywhere. Mostly on his side or upside down or vertical head-up.
• After significant research into the symptoms, I thought he had swim bladder disease.
• I put him in about an inch of water in a "hospital" bowl and fasted him
• I also added a tiny bit of Methylene blue according to the directions, added aq salt, and changed his water each day. On the 4th day I fed him a crushed pea which he nibbled violently.
• After about 4 days, he has shown significant improvement in the hospital bowl. He's no longer bulging, and seemed to be swimming upright and active.
• I've cleaned the tank of algae and bought a gravel vacuum to keep that clean
• I've changed out the water, vacuumed the gravel
• I've used Methylene Blue (an antifungal) and bacterial food, but he wont eat it.

Unfortunately, as soon as I returned him to the large tank, he instantly sunk to the bottom and laid there, though upright, which is a bit of an improvement to the way I found him 5 days ago. (on his side) He can swim a little better, but he does so almost vertically, tail down, head up, and still struggles a bit to get to where he wants to go.

I'm going to leave him alone to see if he continues to recover, but how long should I remain concerned, and what else can I do? How do I know if this is simply a condition he can live with or if I should euthanize him?

I've paid close attention to his breathing, and he doesn't seem to be struggling there. After about 15 minutes in the big tank, he seems to have gotten himself stuck in the plants, up against the tank... vertically head-up. *sigh*.

Thank you for your time!
-Troy

 

[WILDER]

Have you done a gravel vac, water change, tested water.

I would issolate him and use a bacterial med.
Also don't feed him any other foods but shelled peas for a few days.

It's not sounding to promising at the moment for him.

 

[troykristoffer]

Well, now after leaving him for a few hours, he's resting on his side on the bottom of the tank again....

He was swimming better it seemed, but just as if his tail was really heavy, but now he's just laying there, but still breathing...

I don't know what to do.
Sorry Wilder: I forgot to mention in the original post that I did try and get him to take a antibacterial food, but wouldn't eat it. Also I had him isolated in a small bowl with Methylene blue. I've also tested the water, but the strips colors are all safe. Is it possible for the other fish to be more tolerant of whatever's wrong with my water?

 

[WILDER]

Medicated food only good when a fish is till eating.
If you have an airstone add some maracyn.
Remove the methylene blue from his bowl.

Strip cards are not very accurate. Liquid test kits are the best to use.

 

[troykristoffer]

Unfortunately, it was too late. We lost him in the evening yesterday.

R.I.P. Big Joe.

Thanks for your input though!
-Troy

 

[WILDER]

Bless Him.
R.I.P.