Please Help

[Lil]

I have a molly who i have only had for two weeks now. My mum was looking in the tank this morning and the molly is shaking its head from side to side and has clamped fins, she is eating and pooing ok. Is she ill ive had a molly do this in the past then a few months later she died. Any advice would be appreciated thanks.

 

[The-Wolf]

your molly is shimmying (sp) add that to the clamped fins
it could be any number of conditions.

what are your water parameters, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, pH etc?
for now do at least a 30% water change (no more than 50%) as most causes of problems are poor water conditions.

do you have other fish with the molly? I ask because mollies love salt in their tanks but other fish may not.

remember to test the water before the change, even if the params are ok, a water change will add some of the "goodness" back into the enviroment.

 

[Lil]

Thanks

Ammonia is 0.6
Nitrite is 0

The other fish in the tank are cories, swordtails, mollies, BN plec, ADF, and a Platy.
Going to do a water change in a moment and see if she seems any better after that.

 

[The-Wolf]

Ammonia is 0.6

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there is your problem
ammonia should always be zero.
has the tank cycled?

there are things on the market that can aid you
Sera ammovec is great as it is the bacteria that changes ammonia to nitrItes
but then you need to add Sera nitrovec to change the nitrItes to nitrAtes

Zealite will absorb ammonia but is not ideal if the tank is not cycled.
ammo lock and ammo lock2 will bond the amoina makeing it safe (still shows up on tests) but again not good if you are cycling the tank.

 

[Lil]

Tank is fully cycled did a water change also checked the filter as it wasnt flowing at all cleaned it as it was very blocked. The molly seems much happier now her fins arnt so clamped any more.

 

[The-Wolf]

ok cleaning the filter should allow the bacteria to naturally deal with the ammonia.
keep your eye on the levels for the next few days and all should be well.

 

[paulthegreat]

Another product that helps introduce the good bacteria deal with the ammonia and nitrite is Tetra Bactozym. But like The-Wolf said if the filter was clogged the bacts are not going to be able effectivly deal with the ammonia and nitrate.

 

[BigC]

Mollies like water that is hard and alkaline with a little added salt. Kept in this type of water the moillies I kept never had a problem with shimmies.

 

[WILDER]

Some info for you but i am not the writer of this.

Shimmies



Symptoms:

This disease is named for the curious behavior seen in afflicted fish. Fish will swim with an odd, shimmying movement of the body. If left untreated, the afflicted fish will become unable to swim and will sit on the bottom, listlessly shimmying. This disease affects mostly livebearers, and particularly Mollies.



Cause:

Cause unkown but may be due to a variety of numerous pathogens, including protozoan, bacterial, and fungal.



Treatment:

Isolate the fish in a hospital tank and increase the temperature to 85°F (27°C). Treat with a broad spectrum antibiotic. Also ensure that the water chemistry is within acceptable ranges. Livebearers' should always be kept in water that has a pH of 7.8 - 8.3 and a hardness of 15°DH+.