Molly Seems Like Stuck Giving Birth

[dfield]

Hi

I did my bedtime check on my fish and noticed a large female molly (who I think gave birth to some fry today - now removed to nursery tank) with a swelling round the birth canal. (external) she was really stressed as the male would not leave her alone and so I took her out and put her in the hospital tank.

Its hard to explain but its so swollen that her scales have risen on either side of her around that area.

I am not 100% sure its her that gave birth, but she is heavily pregnant and I am just wondering if the males constant hassling has stressed her out so much it has brought this on?

I really do not know what to do for the best.. any ideas?

 

[Cazgar]

Can you get a picture?
Raised scales are usually a sign of dropsy

 

[dfield]

Hi

My cameras dead at the moment, anyway I was right, she just gave birth to a dead fry, It sort of came out bent so I think that was probably what it was.

Still at least she's all clear now.

I will leave her now in the dark and hopefully she will be able to give birth to the rest ok. I'd hate to lose this one since she is one of two original females I had.. between them and their offspring we've had a couple of hundred fry so far.

 

[tomtomtom1230]

Can you get a picture?
Raised scales are usually a sign of dropsy

Dropsy is a condition in which the affected fish's body will take on more water than it's internal organs can process and push out. This excess water will make the cells swell, which is why the scales raise in fish with dropsical symptoms. This is sometimes referred to as 'pine-coning'. In which case, by the time you see the raised scales it's normally too late for the fish Dropsy has an incredibly high mortality rate which isn't good for the outlook of your fish's health, however there have been some cases where fish that are exhibiting symptoms of dropsy have been 'cured'. I want to add that dropsy is a condition and therefore a symptom of an illness, rather than an illness it's self (just like sinus pressure is a condition, but the common cold or flu is the illness).

Even though she has given birth, the stress that she has been subjected to may have caused to to detract an illness. Keep an eye on her and if she doesn't get any better, try answering the questions below and we'll see if we can't help you some more



Are you able to test your water? Can you tell us your ammonia reading, your nitrite reading and your nitrate readings, please?

Also, are their any recent additions to the tank (within the last 2 months)?

Have you recently changed your filter and/or the media inside your filter?

How often do you do water changes?

How much water do you change each time?

Is the affected fish's eyes normal or are they bulging slightly?