Help - I Have A Very Sick Looking Female Molly

[mcgriffin]

Hi,

I have a female Molly that keeps lying at the bottom of the tank with laboured breathing and twitching.

History - We set our tank up [two and half foot long - approx 1 ft deep and 1 ft wide] over five weeks ago. After a week the local fish shop tested our water and told us that it was good and we got eight fish who have all been doing really well. A week later our water tested fine but on the advice of the fish shop we left the tank as it was for another week. The following week we got another eight fish to include four Molly's - three males and one female. Towards the end of the next week we noticed a white patch spreading on one of the males fins. Our water tested fine and the shop thought it sounded like a fungus so after a 25 percent water change and filter clean that day we started treating with Myxazin. On day four of the treatment one of the other male Molly's who was looking absolutly fine was dead. I did not treat on day five because although the white, mouldy looking mark had moved a little off the fin it had started to spread on to the body of the fish. We then took the fish and water sample to our local shop - the water tested fine but the shop said it was Velvet disease. Following their advice we did another 25 percent water change and began treating with Protozin. We have been away for three days but our very realiable neighbour gave the normal food and treatments on day two and three. However, we arrived home yesterday [day four] and there appears to be no improvement and the female looked dead lying on the bottom of the tank. When we went to remove her she started moving and continued to move about the tank last night although looking unwell and with what looks like fin rot. This morning the one remaining healthy male looks like he is harrassing the sick male and female, continously swimming around them flaring his top fin, the white mark on the sick male appears larger and now the female has taken to the bottom of the tank as described above. All of our other fish look healthy and happy.

I'm completely at a loss for what to do - any advice is gratefully received.

 

[Zawiha]

Best advice i could give you would to be first take a picture of the infection,
so we can get a definate on the disease, continue to treat the water and 20% water change every 2/3 days untill you've changed 100%.

hopefully that should get rid of it.

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Velvet looks like the fish has been dusted in talc, or yellown golden spots or a yellow or brown dusting on a fish.
Any signs of flicking and rubbing against onjects.
Columnaris the patches can look fluffy in appearance.

 

[WILDER]

This explains columnaris very well.
http/www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm

 

[mcgriffin]

I have a photogragh of the infected male fish but cannot figuare how to attach it? It could be Columnaris but doesn't look as fluffy as the photo in the link sent. He is not rubbing or flickering.
The tank is 88 litres and we have 15 fish - 3 Mollys, four Zebra Danio, four orange platys and four tetra fish.
Sorry I don't know the stats on the water yet but they were all good four days ago.
Also, is there anything I can do for the female - is her behaviour due to fin rot?

Thank you both.

 

[Zawiha]

her behaviour is more than likely due to her infections.
Upload the picture to an image hosting site such as imageshack or photobucket.

 

[mcgriffin]

Thanks - What do you think?

 

[kenny92]

To me this does sound like a fungal infection, when buying the fish i would not have bought 3 males to one female as the males in live bearing species tend to pester the females so this would not of helped. I also think you may have put to many fish in the tank in the fist two weeks, this means that the tank has not had enough time to mature and good bacteria to build. I advice that you dont buy any more fish until you are sure the fish are cured and you have completed the treatment course. In my experience you must keep the treatment up and maybe try feeding life food to keep the fish regenerated.

 

[WILDER]

Can't make the pics out to well but it looks more like columnaris to me.
If the fish had velvet they would be flicking and rubbing against objects.

 

[mcgriffin]

To me this does sound like a fungal infection, when buying the fish i would not have bought 3 males to one female as the males in live bearing species tend to pester the females so this would not of helped. I also think you may have put to many fish in the tank in the fist two weeks, this means that the tank has not had enough time to mature and good bacteria to build. I advice that you dont buy any more fish until you are sure the fish are cured and you have completed the treatment course. In my experience you must keep the treatment up and maybe try feeding life food to keep the fish regenerated.

Thanks for the advice - The current treatment of Protozin is due to finish with one more treatment tomorrow on day six. Do you suggest that we repeat the course of - day 1,2,3 and 6 treatment on the following day with a partial water change and life food? Are there more effective treatments that will help both the fungal infection in the male and the fin rot in the female? Once fish are treated would you suggest getting more female and if so how many would you suggest we get?

Can't make the pics out to well but it looks more like columnaris to me.
If the fish had velvet they would be flicking and rubbing against objects.

In that case do you think that we should return to treating with Myxazin?

 

[WILDER]

If the fish had velvet they would be rubbing them selves on things in the tank.
For columnaris in the uk myxazin and pimafix.

 

[mcgriffin]

Thanks for all the advice. We have removed the healthy male that was harassing the others and left in the care of a local shop. With the sick male and female left we have completed a 25 percent water change, added water and restarted treatment with myxazin. The female already looks a bit more active so fingers crossed.

 

[WILDER]

Good luck.