lauracorm

Hi, Been having some problems with my mollies lately mainly since I introduced Guppies to the tank. My mollies became very lathargic and did not swim around much. I have since removed the guppies and introduced a heater temp 80 however my male mollie cannot swim properly he is going around in circles constantly his only rest is when he gets stuck in a plant. Carried out water change on Thursday

I have just tested water and readings are Nitrates 0 pH around 6.8 CL2 0 GH 8 and KH 3.

Not sure what to do to help him and it is very distressing to watch him.

Also I have just had a complete unexplained death of a mollie which I thought was 100% perfect

Lucy

Welcome to Fish Lore
I'm sorry about your fish.
Do you know what your readings are for ammonia and nitrite?

lauracorm

Hi,

Nitrite is 0 also have not tested for Ammonia yet will go to pet shop asap and get testing kit

thanks

fishrule101

I think your male mollie might have some kind of swim bladder disease. I hope everything gets better!

lauracorm

Hi, just tested water and Ammonia level is between 0.4 and 0.8 (although I would say nearer 0.8) should I do water change and clean gravel?

Lucy

What test kit are you using? If it's strips, I would be wary of the results. To get a more accurate reading you might want to invest in a liquid kit such as the API Master Kit. It's very relaiable.

To do a water change...you can get a gravel vacuum.
Here's a great instuctional video:
1-2-3 easy aquarium siphon instructions

If you can't get one right away, you can use some sort of container that has never seen soap to remove the water and replace it with conditioned water thats about the same temp as the water you removed.
Most of us use 1 bucket for dirty water and one bucket for clean (never seen soap or chemicals) water.
I would suggest you use Prime as your water conditioner, it'll detox the ammonia for 24 hrs. With ammonia readings you should be taking out about 50% daily until the tank cycles.

Swim bladder is often times associted with poor water quality. Your readings indicate your tank isn't cycled.
You can try feeding him small bits of thawed frozen shelled pea (about the size of it eye), that might help along with daily water changes.

Good luck, I hope your fish feel better soon.

matt11390

I have a male sailfin that swims as if the back half of his body is paralyzed. But he eats normally and is active. Does this sound similar?