Dalmation Molly Help

[james_fish]

I have 4 Dalmation Mollies in my tank (along with several Tetra species) 2 male and 2 female.
One of my males has been acting very odd today, he's been sheepish and been lying either on my gravel or tucked away in my featured shipwreck whereas normally he is a right go-er. My immonia, PH, Nitrate & Nitrite levels are all good, what could be up with him at all? Another odd thing is he along with the other 3 are straight to the top of the tank when the lid is removed hoping for a feed, whereas now he is not coming up?

Any help would be much appreciated.

 

[AquaBaz]

how long has he been doing this? Is there a chance that he is resting? I've read numerous posts and such online that mollies sometimes just flop to the bottom so to speak and basically sleep (if you can call it that) throughout the day. (I've just got some mollies so been doing some hard reading!)

Also... there is a chance he is having a S H one T day lol

Best bet is to leave it for a day or two I guess. See what happens if your water levels are ok.

 

[james_fish]

how long has he been doing this? Is there a chance that he is resting? I've read numerous posts and such online that mollies sometimes just flop to the bottom so to speak and basically sleep (if you can call it that) throughout the day. (I've just got some mollies so been doing some hard reading!)

Also... there is a chance he is having a S H one T day lol

Best bet is to leave it for a day or two I guess. See what happens if your water levels are ok.

Okay, thanks for your reply.

Its been happening a couple of days now, the only thing i can think of is the acid levels which are low as to what a dalmation molly likes (what i've heard anyway) im going to buy some PH down tomorrow even though judging its state now i doubt it will survive the night.

 

[james_fish]

I'm pleased to report that whatever the problem was it has been disposed of, my molly is back in good health and eating my wallet... =)

 

[OldMan47]

A molly will not enjoy a low pH at all. It is fine for many fish but a molly will do best with water having a high pH, over 7.5, and a high mineral content. On the other hand, many tetras greatly prefer soft water with a relatively low pH. The combination that you have in your tank is far from ideal in terms of you being able to establish good conditions for all of your fish. If you manage to get high pH and hard water, like mine is, your mollies will thrive and your tetras will suffer from having water they don't care for much. On the other hand, if you get some nice soft water for the tetras, the mollies will always be a bit sickly. Most true community tanks are some kind of compromise that both kinds of fish are able to tolerate but neither one really finds ideal. If the mineral content and pH of such a tank are fairly stable, the fish will live a good long life but may not be able to breed well or thrive in the tank.