Swim Bladder In Sailfin Molly?

shannan76 · Aug 23, 2011

I am new here but I have a 20 gallon tank with 3 platys, 2 mollies, one dalmatian and one sailfin, and a guppy. The dalmatian molly had an open sore near her gill so the petstore told me to treat the tank with marcyn cuz it was probably a bacteria infection. Well I noticed the sailfin molly can swim fine and everything but when he is still he floats with his body going upwards, any suggestions on what I should do. We've had the tank about 3 months. Thanks

colleen0309 · Aug 24, 2011

Good morning and welcome! :good:

We need alittle more information on your tank before we can give any advice. What are the water parameters? pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ect... How did you cycle your filter? What's the temp? It does sound like a bacterial infection. Just curing the infection may not help. You need to find the cause so it doesn't come back. It could be a water quality issue.

shannan76 · Aug 25, 2011

Ph is 8.2 not sure of the numbers but nitrite and nitrate were normal ammonia not sure I didn't see that on the test strip. Our water is very soft though according to the chart and not sure what cycling the filter means, sorry pretty new at this!!! Temperature was 76 this morning.

colleen0309 · Aug 25, 2011

Don't be sorry! We all started somewhere. Cycling a filter is building up the bacteria that eats ammonia, converting it to nitrite. Then building the bacteria that eats nitrite, converting it to nitrate. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish. Nitrite is slightly less toxic. Nitrate is even less toxic. You can find all of the information on cycling in the beginners resource section of this forum.http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/277264-beginners-resource-center/.This is a great place to start. You said the nitrite and nitrate levels are good. Could you post the actual numbers for the tests? Those test strips aren't very accurate. If possible, you want to get a liquid test kit. I use the API freshwater master test kit. The temperature looks pretty good. The pH is high, but that may or may not be a problem. I'm still thinking this is a water quality issue. You could try doing a 50% partial water change. Use warm dechlorinated water. Good clean water will help with most problems. The most important test at this point is the ammonia test, then the nitrite. Hope I have been able to help.

shannan76 · Aug 25, 2011

Im not at home right now but our tank has been up and running for almost 3 months, I read the link about cycling still a little confused but im not sure if the testing test I used gave me numbers on the nitrite and nitrate I just knew they were good. Should I be concerned that our water is very soft

Also I have been treating the tank for 4 days with marcyn, and was told not to do any water changes??? Is that correct. I have one more day of treatment. I also think I have been overfeeding them a bit, is it ok to skip a day??? Not sure if I told u but the tank contains 3 platys, 2 mollies, 1 guppy and a pleco. I believe my sunburst mickey mouse platy is pregnant. Any other suggestions for food for their diet. I will go to the pet store and buy the liquid testing kit.

colleen0309 · Aug 26, 2011

+1 for getting the test kit! I've never used marcyn, so I don't know about that, but if it says not to do a water change, then don't. When the treatment is finished, I would do a big water change. When you test your water for nitrite and nitrate, make sure you shake the living crap out of the bottles like the directions say. I'm not sure about the hardness of your water. Mine is hard and I want it to be soft. I think mollies and platties prefer hard water, but like I said, I'm not sure on that one. As for overfeeding, I think we all do it once and a while. It's fine to skip a day or two.