osuftball12

i just got a silver molly last friday. it was fine until today, there is alittle red by its mouth and in the middle of its stomach. is it sick, or could it be pregnant from the store. it is not really swimming that well either, just layin on the bottom of the tank. any help? thanks

Nicholaa

How long has this tank been set-up? (i.e. is it an older/cycled tank?) I was a newbie to keeping fish when I first set up my tanks last fall. I picked up two 10g tanks and dumped them with like 6 Mollies each and within a month, all the fish were basically dead (new tank syndrome from not having the tank cycle).

Have you tested the water for high ammonia levels? I believe high ammonia can cause the redness around the mouth/gills/etc. Also, any high nitrites in the tank would be bad. And if the pH in the water where the Molly was living is extremely different from your water's pH, it could be pH shock. There are sooooo many things for what it can be. People who always say that Mollies are "hardy fish" -- well, not in my case and I was a stickler for water changing/vacuuming 20% every week after the tanks finally cycled and I was still losing them left and right.

If it is laying on the bottom of the tank, from my past experiences with Mollies (oh, I've had probably 20 adults and hundreds of fry), once they're on the bottom, it's pretty much downhill from there. In the end, when my last adults all died (still not sure from what), they almost became paralyzed and their lower bodies wouldn't move. They'd try to swim to the top to feed or whatever, but then they'd just fall right back down on the rocks. (Some people thought it was a reverse swim bladder, where their bladders couldn't fill up with adequate air to help keep them floating -- instead of typical swim bladder where the bladder is permanently swollen and the fish can not swim down.)

Oh, this might help some too:

http://www.fishlore.com/Forum/3-fres...e-chart.0.html

I wish I had better answers, but testing your water is the first place I'd start and then go from there. Good luck!

osuftball12

alright, so the fish definitely died. i poked it with the net to make sure and it did not move at all, and then i noticed little white eggs possibly floating around, just wondering if they will hatch without one of the fish in the tank

osuftball12

oh yea another question, my black molly is doin fine so far by itsself, but i notice sometimes instead of smoothly swimming, he seems to jump real fast all of the sudden. is that normal or is something wrong with one of his fins. i am also having trouble seeing if it is male or female. sorry for all the questions i am new to this whole experience. feel free to post on here or email me your thoughts...craig.chintella@utoledo.edu thanks

armadillo

Check out this post. Sounds very similar. Aquarium Fish Forum | Freshwater Fish | Freshwater Fish - Species Specific | Livebearers | Molly | Topic: OK so what the heck killed my fish??