15 Gallon Tank New balloon molly fish with ich

Ok so my mum brought me a surprise balloon female molly yesterday which has ich, i have bettas, mollies, an angel fish, platys and corydoras in the same room but different tanks, i have my betta rainbow and shrimp in there too in the 15g, i already have it treated with pimafix and api stress coat but was wondering if the water has been already affected as i have moved 2 little fry which idk if they were affected but don't think they were into the other side which also has 15g (its a 30g but has a glass built in seperating 15g hence why i put 15g as im focusing on the one side) my question is..... is there a cold temp that can kill ich instantly of very fast that won't kill my fish? I want this ich to be dead and never see light again in my tank. I hate ich so bad and never have i ever have to deal with it until now, please reply within the hour as thats when im able to reply and read your answers, i already added the 2 fry and my other question is will the ich have already affected my water and my other fish? I have heaps of fry in the other side and do not even want the slightest possibility that they might get ich
Here is a photo of my bettas as they both love the fame. Was wondering if the one with pink is truely a male they are both baby's still but the pink one is younger (much younger). First is rainbow he is a veiltail 2nd is moon star as he is a halfmoon my current temp is 26 was wondering if 23c would help kill the ich
I'll ask my mum if she can dose the other side as well tomorrow but i really just don't want to have to hear that the 2 fry (which i thought i was saving from ich) could have ich and spread it to the others or that the water from the net could spread the ich
And here is the balloon molly with ich, tip: look at the top and eyes, its where you can barely see but there are spots that is not apart of her coat



I also want to know if this looks more like ich or fungus
I would rather it fungus because it is easier but fear it is ich there are growths on it eye tho
Please identify what it is

 

Ich is treated with high temps, not low. It takes time. There is no instant fix.

Read this article on Fishlore:

Treatment of the Ick Parasite​

 

Psst, link is missing.

 

Thanks!

Treatment of the Ick Parasite

 

Alright thank you

 

Do you think she might have fungus?
Currently awaiting more molly fry

 

I can’t personally see anything in those pictures so I am not prepared to say if that is ich or fungus .

I feel the need to say if you live in Australia or one of the other very hot parts of the world be aware ich is heat resistant in some parts of the world.

 

I can’t personally see anything in those pictures so I am not prepared to say if that is ich or fungus .

I feel the need to say if you live in Australia or one of the other very hot parts of the world be aware ich is heat resistant in some parts of the world.

Oh thats no good, yea im in australia so it is quite hot
She is very scared so it is hard to get a photo of her i will try my best and see if i can get a clear shot
She has a growth on her eye though

 

All parts of Australia have the heat resistant strain of ich .
Increasing the temperature will only speed up the life cycle, it definitely will not kill the Australian strain.

Malachite green with formaldehyde is the medication required.

Ich is always small spots like sand.
Fungus is different sizes.
The medication for fungus contains methylene blue

​

 

All parts of Australia have the heat resistant strain of ich .
Increasing the temperature will only speed up the life cycle, it definitely will not kill the Australian strain.

Malachite green with formaldehyde is the medication required.

Ich is always small spots like sand.
Fungus is different sizes.
The medication for fungus contains methylene blue

​

Ok i am uploading a video as unlisted and i will leave a link once its finished uploading
This video is hopefully going to help in regards to this problem
My camera struggles to focus but hopefully its good enough here is the link to the vid

Had to zoom in 5x to be able to get her on camera, she will trust me in time but again she has only been with me for 2 days
Does fungus spread to healthy fishes?
This is not good, her eyes are enlarged and cloudy i can't see her pupil
What does that mean?

 

Doesn’t look lick ich to me, looks more like fungus

 

Doesn’t look lick ich to me, looks more like fungus

Alright, i can finally breath again, lol, i love her so much already and have big plans for her and her future, its relieving for me to know that it looks more like fungus as ich is hard for us to get rid of atm and would be a nightmare come true
Im taking care of my lyre tail molly moon who is a male, someone to me.mentioned on fb that he probably is exhausted and told me he needed plenty of surface agitation, he is doing much better but not 100% yet so im still looking after him

 

Alright, i can finally breath again, lol, i love her so much already and have big plans for her and her future, its relieving for me to know that it looks more like fungus as ich is hard for us to get rid of atm and would be a nightmare come true

Ich looks like tiny grains of sand, it’s actually one of my preferred diseases since I’ve had really good luck curing it. Also if you ever do get ich, I’ve always had really good luck with api super ick cure

 

Ich looks like tiny grains of sand, it’s actually one of my preferred diseases since I’ve had really good luck curing it. Also if you ever do get ich, I’ve always had really good luck with api super ick cure

Ok thank you so much, flyfisha and fish 321for helping me understand more better of what is going on, and i will see if i can get my hands on api super ick cure so if it does happen im prepared again thank you so much

 

A good enough video to see the fish well. At times I can see dirty glass as well . Just saying the glass has spots on it. Does not look at all like ich to me ether. Could well be fungus?

Its still a serious situation mate. Don’t get your hopes up.


Addind aquarium salt or plain rock salt without iodine may burn the fish enough to stimulate new slime coat production ?

Did you say you had a medication for fungus?

 

A good enough video to see the fish well. At times I can see dirty glass as well . Just saying the glass has spots on it. Does not look at all like ich to me ether. Could well be fungus?

Its still a serious situation mate. Don’t get your hopes up.


Addind aquarium salt or plain rock salt without iodine may burn the fish enough to stimulate new slime coat production ?

Did you say you had a medication for fungus?

Yes i did, i have pimafix which goes against fungus and bacterial infections atm and api stress coat
I understand that it is still serious its just that atm i have the medication that helps more in fungus than ich and will have to wait before we can purchase more medicine, not too long but we need to wait a little longer
I'll let you know how she goes
Just cleaned the glass, its a fairly new aquarium but has come a long way (i got it for christmas)

 

Yes i did, i have pimafix which goes against fungus and bacterial infections atm and api stress coat
I understand that it is still serious its just that atm i have the medication that helps more in fungus than ich and will have to wait before we can purchase more medicine, not too long but we need to wait a little longer
I'll let you know how she goes
Just cleaned the glass, its a fairly new aquarium but has come a long way (i got it for christmas)

Not in Australia so don't know what meds are available to you & you're getting good advice from the other posters. Like them, I'm not seeing ich but as you think, likely something fungal. FWIW, I've found little to no success with any of the -fix medications, with research by the company & others indicating they act as mild anti-bacterials at best - not anti-fungals. Wouldn't be comfortable having a -fix med around any betta or other labyrinth fish either.

To answer your other question, yes, fungal infections as well as bacterial can spread in a tank depending on the health of the other fish. Good idea to separate & treat the affected fish quickly.

What I have found reliable is starting with either methylene blue or as also suggested, salt treatment, to nip fungus in the bud quickly.

Hope it helps & that your little guy heals quickly.

 

FWIW, I've found little to no success with any of the -fix medications, with research by the company & others indicating they act as mild anti-bacterials at best - not anti-fungals. Wouldn't be comfortable having a -fix med around any betta or other labyrinth fish either.

All these -fix-things are rubbish.

Thanks to the video: The fish looks to have a bacterial problem (SIMILAR to Columnaris, but not real Columnaris!), not fungal. Clean water, stress free environment (not gonna happen with THAT current btw) and long term optimization of the keeping conditions will work best. Meds may treat the pathogen, but unless the conditions aren't improved this will be in vain. And vice versa: If the conditions are improved thoroughly meds may not be necessary at all.

Please fill out the emergency template and ADD PICTURES OF THE WHOLE TANK, so the conditions can be optimized with the help of the other users.

It's always important to have a case history as complete as possible. So instead of probing in the dark, please always ask for the template to be filled out very first. Otherwise it's an endless probing and asking of singular questions which do not help at all and assumptions that something someone brought up might be indeed the diagnosis.

 

Ok, currently the quarantine tank is not ready but as soon as it is we will have her in there, I'll make sure of it, the other fish are very healthy, and i will try to get methylene blue, i currently haven't been able to test the water though i know its good as my 10gallons water was put in it which had 0 ammonia 0 nitrite ph was ok, temp is good and nitrate is the lowest number above 0
Haven't done a water change yet as the water is trying to find a stability, but everything is pretty much good and normal apart from my new molly being sick but i already have her treated and i am waiting for better medicine for her
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? Im not sure how to know that but will try to find out with help
How long has the tank been running? Since the 27 of december and the water we used has been filtered with good bacteria for over a year.
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? No, we couldn't find one.
What is the water temperature? 24-25c
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) Amano shrimps, a molly and a veil tail betta, i will be adding more mollies once they are old enough and my male molly once he is better

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Every now and then when it needs it as it is quite stable
How much of the water do you change? 40-50%
What do you use to treat your water? Im not sure what my dad uses but they chlorinate it with what we have been recommended from the pet store
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum the substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes, it had water from the other tank and water which was chlorinated (what you add to the water you put in during a water change)
What do you use to test the water? A water test kit from the pet store
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm (the lowest number above 0)
pH: should be around 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2 times a day, in the morning and night
How much do you feed your fish? 2 pinches for the molly and shrimps
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Im not sure which brand it is as my parents buy the food but i feed them the tropical flakes i think they are called
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? Since the 31st
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? After the day i got her which was the day i posted this post
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Her symptoms include, spots, growth on eyes and mouth, swollen eyes that are blurry, stays at the surface.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Yes, i have pimafix and api stress coat and im waiting for better medicine
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Yes, she was ill most likely upon purchase as all of my other fish are fine.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? I haven't had her long enough so i don't what her behavior was before hand but to me she isn't acting very strange, her appearance change included spots and growths on her eyes and mouth, the growth on her mouth meanwhile isn't visible to me anymore
and appearance changed, if at all? It has changed a bit after from when i first noticed it had spots however the spots didn't multiply but instead a few disappeared while a couple remain.
Should be all answered
Here are the photos
I only did the one side as it is like 2 different tanks in one

 

You'll need a heater if the water temp drops below 24C. Using old water doesn't cycle a tank, the filter needs to be cycled. Otherwise, you'll need to monitor for ammonia & nitrite regularly while you do a fish in cycle.

What is your tap water hardness? It's common for mollies to develop all sorts of illnesses if they are kept in soft water. If it's soft you'll need to increase the hardness (GH). I'd also add some aquarium salt, about 1 tablespoon per 20 litres will do initially.

Following that, you may not need medication. If you do, and since you live in Australia, I'd recommend Aqua One Broad Spectrum Remedy. It's available at most pet shops here. I don't often recommend multi-purpose remedies but I find that one to be very good for a multitude of ailments.

 

You'll need a heater if the water temp drops below 24C. Using old water doesn't cycle a tank, the filter needs to be cycled. Otherwise, you'll need to monitor for ammonia & nitrite regularly while you do a fish in cycle.

What is your tap water hardness? It's common for mollies to develop all sorts of illnesses if they are kept in soft water. If it's soft you'll need to increase the hardness (GH). I'd also add some aquarium salt, about 1 tablespoon per 20 litres will do initially.

Following that, you may not need medication. If you do, and since you live in Australia, I'd recommend Aqua One Broad Spectrum Remedy. It's available at most pet shops here. I don't often recommend multi-purpose remedies but I find that one to be very good for a multitude of ailments.

Ok, yeah it did take a few days for the water to become clear, we already have good bacteria in the filter with special beads that act like houses to them, my water is no where near soft we had it tested at the store and it was fine, i don't know the exact gh but i know its not soft and i will make sure to have a look at the Aqua One Broad Spectrum Remedy and see if i can get it
The good bacteria was transfered from the other filter...
Our tap water is unfiltered
I asked my dad if it was and he said no

 

Ok, currently the quarantine tank is not ready but as soon as it is we will have her in there, I'll make sure of it, the other fish are very healthy, and i will try to get methylene blue, i currently haven't been able to test the water though i know its good as my 10gallons water was put in it which had 0 ammonia 0 nitrite ph was ok, temp is good and nitrate is the lowest number above 0
Haven't done a water change yet as the water is trying to find a stability, but everything is pretty much good and normal apart from my new molly being sick but i already have her treated and i am waiting for better medicine for her
Tank
What is the water volume of the tank? Im not sure how to know that but will try to find out with help
How long has the tank been running? Since the 27 of december and the water we used has been filtered with good bacteria for over a year.
Does it have a filter? Yes
Does it have a heater? No, we couldn't find one.
What is the water temperature? 24-25c
What is the entire stocking of this tank? (Please list all fish and inverts.) Amano shrimps, a molly and a veil tail betta, i will be adding more mollies once they are old enough and my male molly once he is better

Maintenance
How often do you change the water? Every now and then when it needs it as it is quite stable
How much of the water do you change? 40-50%
What do you use to treat your water? Im not sure what my dad uses but they chlorinate it with what we have been recommended from the pet store
Do you vacuum the substrate or just the water? Vacuum the substrate

*Parameters - Very Important
Did you cycle your tank before adding fish? Yes, it had water from the other tank and water which was chlorinated (what you add to the water you put in during a water change)
What do you use to test the water? A water test kit from the pet store
What are your parameters? We need to know the exact numbers, not just “fine” or “safe”.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5ppm (the lowest number above 0)
pH: should be around 7.5

Feeding
How often do you feed your fish? 2 times a day, in the morning and night
How much do you feed your fish? 2 pinches for the molly and shrimps
What brand of food do you feed your fish? Im not sure which brand it is as my parents buy the food but i feed them the tropical flakes i think they are called
Do you feed frozen? No
Do you feed freeze-dried foods? No

Illness & Symptoms
How long have you had this fish? Since the 31st
How long ago did you first notice these symptoms? After the day i got her which was the day i posted this post
In a few words, can you explain the symptoms? Her symptoms include, spots, growth on eyes and mouth, swollen eyes that are blurry, stays at the surface.
Have you started any treatment for the illness? Yes, i have pimafix and api stress coat and im waiting for better medicine
Was your fish physically ill or injured upon purchase? Yes, she was ill most likely upon purchase as all of my other fish are fine.
How has its behavior and appearance changed, if at all? I haven't had her long enough so i don't what her behavior was before hand but to me she isn't acting very strange, her appearance change included spots and growths on her eyes and mouth, the growth on her mouth meanwhile isn't visible to me anymore
and appearance changed, if at all? It has changed a bit after from when i first noticed it had spots however the spots didn't multiply but instead a few disappeared while a couple remain.
Should be all answered
Here are the photos
I only did the one side as it is like 2 different tanks in one

You're doing good & I hope your molly continues to improve. Just a heads up - you're adding de-chlorinator at water changes to remove chlorine. Impressed with what you're relaying about your fish keeping & tank cycling knowledge. Your animals are clearly in good hands.

 

You're doing good & I hope your molly continues to improve. Just a heads up - you're adding de-chlorinator at water changes to remove chlorine. Impressed with what you're relaying about your fish keeping & tank cycling knowledge. Your animals are clearly in good hands.

Thank you, it means a lot to me and thank you and everyone else for helping me as much as you could

 

You were right, all she needed was good water, i gave her the same medicine but all the spots have pretty much vanished, she is in the other side of the 30g as rainbow is aggressive and i don't want to upset him and she has loads of fry to be with too with my halfmoon who is very sweet and peaceful, he doesn't even flare! So i have one betta who is good with other fish, lol, rainbow just doesn't like having tank mates apart from shrimp as its his fav snack
My betta (rainbow) though is not out of the blue yet, i think i misdiagnosed him but was treating him with the right medicine
I think it could be finn rot instead of clamped finns, but i wanna hear your thoughts

 

He is also still very young, less than a year old i believe
I got him as a baby

 

The balloon molly caught what ever she had again today and is now laying on the floor, im devastated...

 

Ok, so seems as though she is trying her best to fight i have put in medicine (our new medicine has not arrived yet...) And can turn down the flow if she really needs it but right now she is staying on the bottom which is ok because i think she is struggling to see anything but that will get better as time goes on, it only takes 2-3 days to get better i have realised so fingers crossed and this time i will keep treating her for 2-3 days after it has disappeared just to be sure its gone for good, here are photos of her, this time she let me take photos its my camera thats at fault here but it should be an ok photo



She's in labor, but idk if she is strong enough I'll let you know how it goes
She's doing better in regards to swimming and not laying down but prefers the bottom, her eyes have gotten better and she can see through them again! Hopefully she gets through and doesn't get it again! Sigh i don't like what has happened to her but i have hopes for her as she got through it before.

 

She's recovering well! I think she will be just fine.

 

She's doing much better now swimming around and barely laying on the bottom anymore, i think she will be ok

 

I just thought I'd show a picture of one of my molly fry, its name is leopard, there is a reason i called it that!
You would need to zoom into the photo
Ok just screenshoted the photo i took with it zoomed in


I am still amazed on how it looks like, it will be such a stunning fish!
I will update you all once she is bigger!

 

Ich is treated with high temps, not low. It takes time. There is no instant fix.

Read this article on Fishlore:

Treatment of the Ick Parasite​

Actually there is a instant fix, its called quick fix, you can buy it in pet stores its malachite green/formalin. Why cause stress with high temps when this works fine for most people for ick.

 

Actually there is a instant fix, its called quick fix, you can buy it in pet stores its malachite green/formalin. Why cause stress with high temps when this works fine for most people for ick.

Oh wow thank you for letting us know, when I run into a problem with ick i will definitely get this as well

 

From this to this, this girl has truely proven the odds, i am so lucky to have her in my life thriving after the ordeal she has went through, i have also learnt that from the experience she went through i have gained her trust and she now gives me kisses and doesn't shy away from me, she is also brave enough to show me the places that still have tiny dots barely visible different sizes, there are only 3 left that i recognised and so she will have 2-3 more days of treatment, all thanks to pimafix for saving my sweet girl ❤ i have truely formed a bond with her

 

Im panicking so bad, one of my fry has starting bleeding somehow but i read that if i applied citric acid like a soda to the spot that is bleeding that it will stop bleeding so i did that and it seems to work, I'll let you know if he makes it
Ok i moved it out of the water into its water that has no citric acid in it, im praying for the best
I don't think it will survive, i think i was too late im devastated
It won't stop bleeding idk how it happened
SIP little fella, it has died just now
Sigh i have no idea how it happened but i did my best

 

Im panicking so bad, one of my fry has starting bleeding somehow but i read that if i applied citric acid like a soda to the spot that is bleeding that it will stop bleeding so i did that and it seems to work, I'll let you know if he makes it
Ok i moved it out of the water into its water that has no citric acid in it, im praying for the best
I don't think it will survive, i think i was too late im devastated
It won't stop bleeding idk how it happened
SIP little fella, it has died just now
Sigh i have no idea how it happened but i did my best

I'm so sorry for your loss. A sudden death like that can be harrowing.

 

I'm so sorry for your loss. A sudden death like that can be harrowing.

Yeah, its alright, he was also having something going on that one of my mums fry that she gave to me also had which was that it was constantly trying very hard to swim and would get exhausted quickly, i knew what i had to do and just gave it loads of love and even received some of its special love for me (my fry love to give me kisses when i put my hand in the water for a little time) which was giving my hand kisses which he loved, but yeah, i still have no idea how he got such bleedings but i do know that his life was kind of timed/limited, he will love heaven and swim with all of his other friends that he may not have known and has known
Currently im caring for quite a lot of fry and 3 which are a bit more special
If you pause this video and slowly drag the red dot to either side, on the bottom of the sponge that i was using to clean the tank (i was cleaning the tank but i got swarmed with fry) there will be a white male molly fry and that is the one that i was talking about but there are also a lot of other fry so please enjoy this funny video of me trying to clean the tank but suddenly paused due to not wanting to scare the fry lol they decided to trick me! They wanted to nibble the sponge and my hand, well some were wanting to kiss me while others not so much

But yeah the bright white one should be the male

 

Ok so im planning to rehome all 60+ fry, but how did i end up with 60+ fry you might ask well snowdrops the name! Snowdrop gave birth to 63+ fry and i have gotten the chance to do the scoop with the fish net that i always wanted to do, which is scooping up a lot of fry with one scoop! They are right now disguised as another fishes fry so that they can get the chance to grow up into loving fish with future loving homes! But yeah snowdrop broke her own record! I'll attach photos and will think about uploading a video.... So far 150+ fry in 3 batches in less than 4months! I wonder which ever male has blessed her with so many frys!
i will upload the video as it is a pretty good one! It will take a sec...

I love them so much!

 

I just thought I'd show a picture of one of my molly fry, its name is leopard, there is a reason i called it that!
You would need to zoom into the photo
Ok just screenshoted the photo i took with it zoomed in
View attachment 870884
I am still amazed on how it looks like, it will be such a stunning fish!
I will update you all once she is bigger!

here is an update photo of her