Balloon Molly has lost a lot of color?

Ive been noticing our balloon molly has lost a lot of color since we got him 2 and a half months ago. Will attach a picture of how he looked when we got him and now he’s just plain black. Barely any white on him. Is this a bad sign or does the color just fade when they get older?


Picture is from March 26th.
His top fin where it’s white everywhere is just all black now. Same as his tail. Only white he really shows is his belly.

 

Sometimes when there is too much ammonia the fish will get black marks. Highly doubt this is the case, probably not the case. Just in case do a water change.

 

In the picture, it looks like he has a lot of new fin growth on his top and back fins. You see how ther are clearish in the picture? My guess is the color is nit returning to the new growth, that's all

 

Fish change colors all of the time. What's your water parameters?

 

You really see this in bettas. A lot of times, the breeders want to sell their fish asap and wind up with juviniles that haven't developed all their color yet.

Ive been noticing our balloon molly has lost a lot of color since we got him 2 and a half months ago. Will attach a picture of how he looked when we got him and now he’s just plain black. Barely any white on him. Is this a bad sign or does the color just fade when they get older?


Picture is from March 26th.
His top fin where it’s white everywhere is just all black now. Same as his tail. Only white he really shows is his belly.

 

Fish change colors all of the time. What's your water parameters?

He’s been through cycling a tank twice. Just recently moved him over to a 20 gal. Right now it’s .25, 0, 5
Thought we were cycled as we were reading 0,0,5 but now ammonia is up a bit. But his color has been that way for about a month or so.

In the picture, it looks like he has a lot of new fin growth on his top and back fins. You see how ther are clearish in the picture? My guess is the color is nit returning to the new growth, that's all

That could be!

 

He’s been through cycling a tank twice. Just recently moved him over to a 20 gal. Right now it’s .25, 0, 5
Thought we were cycled as we were reading 0,0,5 but now ammonia is up a bit. But his color has been that way for about a month or so.

you just answered your own question. when ammonia is up, it can make the colors change. Next to look for is red gills. Did you use prime when you used the balloon molly in the cycling tanks?

 

you just answered your own question. when ammonia is up, it can make the colors change. Next to look for is red gills. Did you use prime when you used the balloon molly in the cycling tanks?

I’ve been using prime for months every day when there is ammonia present. They show no sign of ammonia poisoning besides his color fading.

 

I’ve been using prime for months every day when there is ammonia present. They show no sign of ammonia poisoning besides his color fading.

what are you doing to get rid of the ammonia? water changed? or just naturally letting the ammonia go away?

 

what are you doing to get rid of the ammonia? water changed? or just naturally letting the ammonia go away?

Water changes when it goes above 1 because we have 1ppm of ammonia in the tap. So have been using stability and prime if under 1. But like I said he’s been showing discoloration way before this tank.

 

He is likely just growing older. So, yeah it's just normal. is he ever stressed? that's the other reason they change color.

 

He is likely just growing older. So, yeah it's just normal. is he ever stressed? that's the other reason they change color.

Only time I’ve seen him stressed is when we first got him. He’d hang out by the heater. Then when we upgraded tanks he hid around the top for a few days but now he’s normal. But he is constantly trying to mate. I mean constantly. Is that normal? We already have about 20 fry and had about 13 the last round and I think both females are pregnant again from him. Is that a sign of stress?

 

Males are always trying to mate. That's not a sign of stress. It's very normal. He is just being a guy. just make sure the females have plenty of hiding spots.

 

Males are always trying to mate. That's not a sign of stress. It's very normal. He is just being a guy. just make sure the females have plenty of hiding spots.

Ok that’s good to know. He’s always trying even though they are already pregnant again. Sigh lol. They don’t seem to run from him when he tries.

 

Hey, everybody. We bought a beautiful cream colored balloon molly for our 5 gallon tank which we began in April. She gave birth like a day of two later so now we’ve got a nursery of 10 babies also floating in the tank. Got my money’s worth on that one Anyway, as soon as I figure out how to add photos to share I want to show you my mommy balloon molly then and now and get your take on what’s going on. She seems happy, unintimidated by her tank mates, which include 5 tiger barbs and just this week a glofish danio with a bad case of adhd. Also we have a mystery snail slinking around in there. We do monthly water changes and monitor the fish closely. I plan to take a sample of tank water today and have it tested at our lfs.

Until I get the photos up I will describe what I’m seeing. She was all cream colored when I bought her, now she has a thin layer of dark coloration along her fins. They do not appear damaged or frayed. Also, she had a stringy poo the other day and for 2 days now she has a Popeye on the left side. That was discovered a day after we had to add the danio to the tank because his filter suddenly decided to go haywire and stream water out the back of the tank. We think maybe our hyper danio bumped her. I’ve heard there are fungal and bacterial forms of fin rot, which would produce black if that’s what it is? All told, she’s my favorite fish and I’d pet her if she’d let me and I want her back in prime health, so please help me understand what to do.

 

Did you cycle the tank before adding any fish?

Your tank is severely overstocked. None of the fish you have in the tank are suited for a 5 gallon and the bioload is huge.
The only fish suited for a five gallon is a betta (and maybe something like chilI rasboras), but mollys, tiger barbs and the like don't, unfortunately.

 

Update: just got back from lfs and the water test revealed slightly high nitrogen levels. Alkalinity and hardness etc were in acceptable range. So I will do a water change.

 

We will soon be splitting them all into more tanks and we are considering a 10 gallon or bigger. The current situation is 11 fish higher than originally planned but will have to do for the moment. I just need to keep them in good health til then.

 

The tiger barbs require something like a 20 gallon, while the mollys should be in a 30 gallon minimum.
If I were you I'd do something like 50% every other day. Stuff builds up fast in that size tank.

What's the plan for the glofish?

 

The glofish will be isolated again when we fix his filter problem. He does best alone. Any clue why a brand new whisper filter would start pumping water out the back?
I just performed a water change and will do them more frequently.

So... about my balloon molly...

 

This is all related to your molly.
Pop eye is usually the result of poor water parameters.

 

More photos. Hopefully her issues show up better.

 

What about her fins?

 

I don't see anything on the photos regarding her fins that I find unusual.
If they're not clamped, looking fuzzy or something like that it might just be coloration due to changed environment, water parameters, stress, etc. If it's something to be worried about I bet it will go away with clean water and a larger tank.

 

Do their fins change color like that normally?

 

Finally got a few good shots of her fins just to be triple sure. Not fin rot?