Is There Something Wrong With This Dalmation Molly?

I posted a picture of it the other day along with some others, and someone said it looks like the start of sunken belly, which I'd never heard of.

Now before that comment, I noticed that the fish hung out away from the others, and during feeding time, would make it's way to the food but not really eat. If it did, it spit the food out. I assumed it was fine until that comment.

Since I couldn't get a definitive answer about whether that's contagious or not, I put it into my 10 gallon tank that'll be a shrimp tank in the next couple of weeks.

I feed it flakes and bloodworms, and it puts them in it's mouth and spits them out over and over. I'm not even sure if this thing is actually eating or not.

Any ideas?

 

I would definitely agree with the statement that it looks like her belly is beginning to sink in. The fish appears to be female going by livebearer female/male identification, but I'm not 100% sure because its fins are clamped. This is important because any female livebearer that was ever exposed to a male should appear pregnant, and yours doesn't really have that appearance.

Anyway, it looks to be some sort of internal parasite. I've had something similar go through my tank once before in my guppies - clamped fins, sunken belly, not willing to eat. All those infected died except one, and the one surviving looks horrible but she acts okay. However, your fish does not appear to have white/clear stringy poop, which is also indicative of internal parasites. There are so many possibilities that I personally never figured out exactly what went through my tank. I treated for Camallanus with levamisole which definitely helped out the fish clearly infected, but I believe what killed them was ultimately something different. It's really tough, and I wish I could offer real advice, but this is my experience.

Edit: Whatever it is, quarantine immediately. This may potentially save the rest of your tank. Double edit: Just realized you said you already did. Sorry!

 

It could be fish TB; keep your hands out of the tank and get a culture done at a lab, if possible. Some universities can do it.

If the sample tests positive for mycobacterium marinum, you will likely need to euthanize the fish, but for now it may be worth trying API general cure in case it's internal parasites.

 

The fish is just laying on top of the moss bed, no movement aside from eyes.

 

The fish is just laying on top of the moss bed, no movement aside from eyes.

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This is exactly what happened to a small handful of my guppy colony. I'm also curious to see if anyone figures out what it is. How fast is she breathing/moving her gills? Does she dart away and hide from an object (like a net) placed in the tank near her or does she mostly ignore it?

 

This is exactly what happened to a small handful of my guppy colony. I'm also curious to see if anyone figures out what it is. How fast is she breathing/moving her gills? Does she dart away and hide from an object (like a net) placed in the tank near her or does she mostly ignore it?

Breathing seemed normal. I didn't see any gill movement, but then again, I never really notice that on any fish. She doesn't move away from things. I was able to get her to eat small pieces of food, and even some live mosquito larvae if they were small.

Unfortunately I came home from work yesterday and found her dead at the bottom of the tank I stuck her in.