Male Dalmation Molly

[dnn3]

my male dal molly is acting funny, he's just laying on the bottom of the tank and he's usually very active. 2 weeks ago i lost his mate and he acted weird but once i replaced her was back to normal. any ideas what's wrong?

 

[WILDER]

Size of tank in gallons or litres.
How many fish and which type.
Water stats in ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and ph.
Laying on the bottom is bad new when livebearers do it.
Is the fish bloated.
Has it darked in colour or gone pale.
Being listless and lethagic is a sign of a bacterial infections.

 

[dnn3]

it's a 30 gal, with 2 female mollies , 2 german rams, 2 swordtails, a chocolate gourami, an eastern, a fire belly newt, and 19 baby swordtails in a breeder bag. you'll have to give me some time on the tank readings.this is the mate to the female you helped me with 2 weeks ago.

 

[WILDER]

Your stocking fine.
Once a livebearer rest on the subtrate they never tend to make it.
I have had livebeares do the same.
Can you issolate sick fish, then you could try a bacterial med.

 

[dnn3]

i have the bac med from when she was sick and i can put him in a breeder bag. will that work? i just noticed has acting normal again.

 

[WILDER]

They do that rest them swim around like normal.
Try the bacterial med.
have you ever had any skinny livebearers.

 

[bmxweeman]

i had a similar problem with a male molly when its partner died, i replaced the female as you did and it didnt appear to make a difference, i isolated it and sprang back to life to my amazement. unfortunatly it died the next day. hope yours doesnt follow a similar fate

 

[dnn3]

maybe i never noticed him resting before. he's acting completely normal and his color looks great. not really sure what you mean by skinny livebearer.

 

[WILDER]

The fish will look really thin, sometimes even a bent spine.

 

[dnn3]

all of my mollies have always been pretty plump, even the babies.

 

[WILDER]

Thats fine then.
Try and watch out for when they go to the toilet as that can be a sign if its long white and stringy.

 

[dnn3]

i'll keep an eye on that. thanks again for your help wilder. hopefully this story will have a happier ending than 2 weeks ago.