Strange Patch On A Molly

[AN1M343V3R]

Tank size: 48L
pH: 7.4
ammonia: (unknown due to no test kit)
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH: 10d
gH: 4d
tank temp: 26C

Hes been like this for about 2 weeks, i thought it was a fungus so i treated the tank, still there..., put some general tonic to see if that would help and no still there, he still swims around fine and eats well, just seems to be bullied by the male swordtail (thinking about trying to rehome that one)

Picture: (sorry about the size)

 

[HayzH]

Tank size: 48L
pH: 7.4
ammonia: (unknown due to no test kit)
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH: 10d
gH: 4d
tank temp: 26C

Hes been like this for about 2 weeks, i thought it was a fungus so i treated the tank, still there..., put some general tonic to see if that would help and no still there, he still swims around fine and eats well, just seems to be bullied by the male swordtail (thinking about trying to rehome that one)

Picture: (sorry about the size)

Sorry can't see the patch?

Forgive me ..but if you have no test kit..how do you know your Nitrites and Nitrates??
I hench a bet you are using strips?...these are completely useless i'm afraid, and notoriously give false readings.
you need the liquid kind.
I also suspect you have an uncycled tank, as you should be seeing some Nirtrates in a cycled tank.
First things first...
How many fish have you got in your tank? plants? substrate? What are you feeding them?, how often?, how often do you do w/c's? and what %
Secondly do a big water change (70%) as you probably have high Ammonia in there.
Thirdly check out the Beginners section in the Resourse Centre...read up on Fish-IN cycles...you are now in one.
HTH xx

 

[AN1M343V3R]

Tank size: 48L
pH: 7.4
ammonia: (unknown due to no test kit)
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH: 10d
gH: 4d
tank temp: 26C

Hes been like this for about 2 weeks, i thought it was a fungus so i treated the tank, still there..., put some general tonic to see if that would help and no still there, he still swims around fine and eats well, just seems to be bullied by the male swordtail (thinking about trying to rehome that one)

Picture: (sorry about the size)

Sorry can't see the patch?

Forgive me ..but if you have no test kit..how do you know your Nitrites and Nitrates??
I hench a bet you are using strips?...these are completely useless i'm afraid, and notoriously give false readings.
you need the liquid kind.
I also suspect you have an uncycled tank, as you should be seeing some Nirtrates in a cycled tank.
First things first...
How many fish have you got in your tank? plants? substrate? What are you feeding them?, how often?, how often do you do w/c's? and what %
Secondly do a big water change (70%) as you probably have high Ammonia in there.
Thirdly check out the Beginners section in the Resourse Centre...read up on Fish-IN cycles...you are now in one.
HTH xx

Yes, i am using test strips, and the tank has been running 7 weeks now all other fish are fine which are
Tank inhabitants:
4 Guppys
1 rummy-nose
1 zebra danio
2 mollys
1 Male swordtail
1 Pakistani Loach
1 Common Pleco
no plants, gravel, flake food once a day, not done one in awhile last one was 25% about 3 week ago.
also the patch is at the front of the fish left of its eye where its slightly darker

on another note i am setting up a 4ft tank to move them all to soon

 

[the_lock_man]

After about seven weeks, I would expect the filter to be at least partly cycled, so you should be seeing some nitrates, especially given that your last water change was 3 weeks ago. Assuming that you use dechlorinated water when you do a water change, there must be some build-up of bacteria, therefore it seems to me that the test strips you are using are giving misleading results. You could try taking a sample of water, asking them to test it, and get them to tell you numbers (not just "that's fine"). Anything other than 0 for ammonia and nitrite is not fine.

I suspect this patch on the molly is down to poor water quality - Water changes for a mature filter need to be weekly, ideally, and I don't believe you have a mature filter - so water changes would need to be more frequent than that.

By the way, how soon is "soon" on the 4' tank? There are some issues with your stock as well, if you'd like some advice on that as well?

 

[AN1M343V3R]

After about seven weeks, I would expect the filter to be at least partly cycled, so you should be seeing some nitrates, especially given that your last water change was 3 weeks ago. Assuming that you use dechlorinated water when you do a water change, there must be some build-up of bacteria, therefore it seems to me that the test strips you are using are giving misleading results. You could try taking a sample of water, asking them to test it, and get them to tell you numbers (not just "that's fine"). Anything other than 0 for ammonia and nitrite is not fine.

I suspect this patch on the molly is down to poor water quality - Water changes for a mature filter need to be weekly, ideally, and I don't believe you have a mature filter - so water changes would need to be more frequent than that.

By the way, how soon is "soon" on the 4' tank? There are some issues with your stock as well, if you'd like some advice on that as well?

well ive ordered a API Master kit ( £18 new ), and i have the 4ft tank set up but im waiting on a new filter, which should be here today.
its got an under gravel filter in it, and a JAD filter (be replaced) at the moment.
stock problems?

 

[the_lock_man]

After about seven weeks, I would expect the filter to be at least partly cycled, so you should be seeing some nitrates, especially given that your last water change was 3 weeks ago. Assuming that you use dechlorinated water when you do a water change, there must be some build-up of bacteria, therefore it seems to me that the test strips you are using are giving misleading results. You could try taking a sample of water, asking them to test it, and get them to tell you numbers (not just "that's fine"). Anything other than 0 for ammonia and nitrite is not fine.

I suspect this patch on the molly is down to poor water quality - Water changes for a mature filter need to be weekly, ideally, and I don't believe you have a mature filter - so water changes would need to be more frequent than that.

By the way, how soon is "soon" on the 4' tank? There are some issues with your stock as well, if you'd like some advice on that as well?

well ive ordered a API Master kit ( £18 new ), and i have the 4ft tank set up but im waiting on a new filter, which should be here today.
its got an under gravel filter in it, and a JAD filter (be replaced) at the moment.
stock problems?

Good that you've got an API kit coming, far better than the strips, nice one! Be interesting to see what results it comes up with. As per previous posts, anything other than 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite is bad, so water changes are necessary to keep those levels down. If you post the results up here when you get the kit, you'll get some more detailed advice as to where you are in the cycling process.

The main stocking issue was the common plec - this will grow way too big for a 48l tank - if the 4' tank was "soon" as in "when I can afford it, maybe next month, maybe never", then I'd have said that you needed to rehome it - I think it'll be fine in a 4' (though best to check with someone who knows more than me on plecs).

Zebra Danio again need a much bigger tank than a 48l, because they zooooom around so much, but again a 4' tank is fine for them - but I'd suggest you up the numbers to at least 6, as they are a shoaling species.

And the Rummynose Tetra are also a shoaling species, so again I suggest you up the numbers to at least 6, if not more.

 

[colleen0309]

Unfortunately the pleco will eventually out grow a 4' tank also. These guys can and will get 2' long. And contrary to some opinions, they do not stop growing if they are kept in a smaller tank. I recently saw a 15" common pleco in a 10 gallon aquarium. He spent hi whole life in there not being able to swim. It was amazing to see him go into a 6' tank! At first, he didn't know he could swim.

When you discribe the dark patch on the fish, do you mean the gill plate is dark? This could be a water quality issue. Ammonia and nitrite poisoning can cause the gills to look red and inflamed.

 

[the_lock_man]

Unfortunately the pleco will eventually out grow a 4' tank also. These guys can and will get 2' long.

Told you I wasn't an expert on plecs.

 

[colleen0309]

I'm not an expert either, but I had one outgrow several tanks. When I rehomed him to a 125 gallon, he was 18".