White Spots on Molly in 20 gallon tank

I have 4 black Molly's in a 20g. Yesterday my female betta was acting strange and this morning she was dead, don't know what happened. This morning I also noticed white spots on all my black Molly's. The white string thing coming off of her is an anchor worm. I'm treating the whole tank for anchor worms and tonight will be my third treatment with parasite guard. Perimeters are normal and unchanged, 0 ammo, 0 trite, roughly 20 nitrate. I read that black Molly's are brackish water fish but I have them in a freshwater tank (untrained LPS employees ) could this be the cause? Is it fungus?

 

Molly's are a brackish water fish however they have been successfully kept and bred in freshwater environments. it sounds like a case of ich. Read up on it online but in short, raise temperature to 84F and do regular water changes making sure to THOROUGHLY vacuum the gravel. Adding salt may help as molly's tend to be more resistant to diseases and infection in brackish water and it may help their slime coat regenerate if it is lessened at all by the ich. Try this and remember to keep us posted! Good luck!
~Mudkipz
PS as for the anchor worms, they best way to treat them is to physically remove them and THEN medicate to prevent them from reproducing and killing any that are still in the water.

 

I have 4 black Molly's in a 20g. Yesterday my female betta was acting strange and this morning she was dead, don't know what happened. This morning I also noticed white spots on all my black Molly's. The white string thing coming off of her is an anchor worm. I'm treating the whole tank for anchor worms and tonight will be my third treatment with parasite guard. Perimeters are normal and unchanged, 0 ammo, 0 trite, roughly 20 nitrate. I read that black Molly's are brackish water fish but I have them in a freshwater tank (untrained LPS employees ) could this be the cause? Is it fungus?

Most Molly's today are freshwater bread. In reality they can do a wide spectrum but they are not really true brackish fish. Traditionally that is a transported in opportunistic parasite. Same as Ich. It was brought in and something, usually but not always water quality.

Are you sure it's anchor worm and not ich?

Anchor worm is a parasite.

 

Molly's are a brackish water fish however they have been successfully kept and bred in freshwater environments. it sounds like a case of ich. Read up on it online but in short, raise temperature to 84F and do regular water changes making sure to THOROUGHLY vacuum the gravel. Adding salt may help as molly's tend to be more resistant to diseases and infection in brackish water and it may help their slime coat regenerate if it is lessened at all by the ich. Try this and remember to keep us posted! Good luck!
~Mudkipz
PS as for the anchor worms, they best way to treat them is to physically remove them and THEN medicate to prevent them from reproducing and killing any that are still in the water.

Its not ich for sure though and my team is normally near that (I broke my thermometer recently)

Most Molly's today are freshwater bread. In reality they can do a wide spectrum but they are not really true brackish fish. Traditionally that is a transported in opportunistic parasite. Same as Ich. It was brought in and something, usually but not always water quality.

Are you sure it's anchor worm and not ich?

I'm sure, 100%

 

I'm sure, 100%

Then as stated above, you will need to remove the worms. But just like ich... you treat to kill the remaining worms. I would research technicques.

Good luck!

 

Sorry about your betta and current predicament.. hopefully we can help!
Can you take pictures of the spots?
What are you testing with? How often are your water changes, and how much?
Are you aware that your tank is highly overstocked?
A single molly needs 29 gallon minimum

Anchor worm is a parasite.

I know, treating it currently
try to take more pics when I get back, mollies are so fast! Testing with some freshwater master kit, dunno the brand. I do 25%-50% roughly once a week. I also had no idea mollies needed that much room! I'm setting a 30 gallon up so I'll move them over there once its cycled, how large do they get?

 

Ill try to take more pics when I get back, mollies are so fast! Testing with some freshwater master kit, dunno the brand. I do 25%-50% roughly once a week. I also had no idea mollies needed that much room! I'm setting a 30 gallon up so I'll move them over there once its cycled, how large do they get?

Mollies are neat but it depends on the type of Molly. Some only get 3", some 4" but some subspecies can and do hit 6". Plan their home accordingly. But in a larger tank you will see their fins spread out ... wonderful fish. Still not sure how I ended up with none in my community tank.

 

They can get pretty big. But the main reason for needing such a big tank is more so because of their high bioload. They're pretty messy.
If you find they do have ich, you'll want to raise the temp to 86 degrees and do large frequent water changes with a gravel vac, being sure to get good deep cleanings, as ich infects the tank, not just the fish. Ich looks like grains of salt sprinkled all over the fishes body.

Is your test kit a liquid kit? If so, can you test again, being sure to beat the bejeezes out of the Nitrate #2 bottle

 

Looking forward to pics to help make sure!

 

They can get pretty big. But the main reason for needing such a big tank is more so because of their high bioload. They're pretty messy.
If you find they do have ich, you'll want to raise the temp to 86 degrees and do large frequent water changes with a gravel vac, being sure to get good deep cleanings, as ich infects the tank, not just the fish. Ich looks like grains of salt sprinkled all over the fishes body.

Is your test kit a liquid kit? If so, can you test again, being sure to beat the bejeezes out of the Nitrate #2 bottle

Yeah, liquid but it looks nothing like ich, it just looks like the fish completely lost color in it scales is splotches, not small little salt grain looking, and I will for sure

Its gotten worse since this morning

0 ammonia
0nitrite
20 nitrate

Looking forward to pics to help make sure!

 

Can you get pics that are in focus?

 

Can you get pics that are in focus?

I'll try to but mollies are so fast

Can you get pics that are in focus?

Best I can do

 

Well, this whole 'molly in a 30 gallon minimum' is worth a debate however it should probably be done in another thread. My point is, a single fancy goldfish can be kept in a 20 gallon tank. So you are saying that a molly gets bigger AND is messier than a goldfish. I think for 1 or 2 black mollies a 15 gallon is fine. Remember, this is my own opinion and everyone is allowed to express them. This is also not advice so I'm not telling anyone to do so, but I am saying that that is what I think.
~Mudkipz

 

Well, this whole 'molly in a 30 gallon minimum' is worth a debate however it should probably be done in another thread. My point is, a single fancy goldfish can be kept in a 20 gallon tank. So you are saying that a molly gets bigger AND is messier than a goldfish. I think for 1 or 2 black mollies a 15 gallon is fine. Remember, this is my own opinion and everyone is allowed to express them. This is also not advice so I'm not telling anyone to do so, but I am saying that that is what I think.
~Mudkipz

Actually your compariason to goldfish is great. Remember there is not one type of Molly. A three inch shortfin and a 6 inch sailfin will not have the same bioload, note tank need.

And dang... lol... yes it should be another thread.

 

DoubleDutch - secondary fungal infection?

 

DoubleDutch - secondary fungal infection?

Hard to say TD. Seems to be around the gills as well.

 

Hard to say TD. Seems to be around the gills as well.

That's just how her gills are colored its not the from the white spot

 

Hi,

I noticed today my black Molly has white spots. I'm really hoping it's not ick. The white spots seem raised, so I'm guessing it's fungal? None of my other fish seem to be displaying symptoms, but I did introduce a snail recently. Should I treat my whole tank? What with?

Thank you

(Pictures are attached if I did it correctly)

 

Goldiemom Rtessy hubby can’t see the white spots. Do they look ichy to you?

 

G

Goldiemom Rtessy hubby can’t see the white spots. Do they look ichy to you?

Gosh, the pics are really close, making the spots look larger than ich. However, they are sprinkled like ich. I’d go ahead and raise the temp to 86F and treat with heat. Watch to see what happens and gravel vac daily. Anyone else?

 

Goldiemom Rtessy hubby can’t see the white spots. Do they look ichy to you?

I'm not sure I can answer one way or the other either, it is spread like ich, but seems a bit larger.
OP, how large is your fish?

 

I'm not sure I can answer one way or the other either, it is spread like ich, but seems a bit larger.
OP, how large is your fish?

about an inch

G

Gosh, the pics are really close, making the spots look larger than ich. However, they are sprinkled like ich. I’d go ahead and raise the temp to 86F and treat with heat. Watch to see what happens and gravel vac daily. Anyone else?

will my plants survive at 86? I've moved it up to 80. It is sprinkled across body. Why aren't my Danios affected? Ill do a 50% water change and gravel vac. Is aquarium salt a good idea? I probably can't get any until tomorrow, but I can try.

will my plants survive at 86? I've moved it up to 80. It is sprinkled across body. Why aren't my Danios affected? Ill do a 50% water change and gravel vac. Is aquarium salt a good idea? I probably can't get any until tomorrow, but I can try.

 

Hello. First, don’t raise your tanks temp with the danios in it. 78 degrees is the high end of their temp range.
Next, can you get a better picture? And if it is ich, do you have access to formalin?

 

Hello. First, don’t raise your tanks temp with the danios in it. 78 degrees is the high end of their temp range.
Next, can you get a better picture? And if it is ich, do you have access to formalin?

okay, water change done. I won't put the temp that high. If I can get my 10 gal from the attic I'll set that up.

I don't have access to formalin. Petsmart has tetra, marineland, and API ich cures that I can get tomorrow. There's another pet store in my area but they're closed and have a bad site, so I'll check with them first for formalin.

I tried to get better pics, but he seems to like the back corner of the tank right now. He's not moving around much. Also, there are fainter specs on his body that the camera isn't picking up.

 

okay, water change done. I won't put the temp that high. If I can get my 10 gal from the attic I'll set that up.

I don't have access to formalin. Petsmart has tetra, marineland, and API ich cures that I can get tomorrow. There's another pet store in my area but they're closed and have a bad site, so I'll check with them first for formalin.

I tried to get better pics, but he seems to like the back corner of the tank right now. He's not moving around much. Also, there are fainter specs on his body that the camera isn't picking up.

You’d think white spots on a black fish would be easier to see. Have you tried using the flash?
If you believe this is ich, watch the fish’ Gills before buying a treatment. If the fish is having any kind of breathing difficulty, rapid gill movement, looks like gulping for air, don’t get a treatment that contains malachite green. Treat at night. That’s when the encysted parasites release their bbs. Follow the directions on the package. Make sure the water is well aerated.
How long has this fish had spots?

 

You’d think white spots on a black fish would be easier to see. Have you tried using the flash?

white spots are more obvious on this one

white spots are more obvious on this one

sorry, don't think it worked last time.

 

I just really have to question as to rather this is really ich. Could it be a fungus? Spots seems so big. Are they larger than a grain of salt?

 

I just really have to question as to rather this is really ich. Could it be a fungus? Spots seems so big. Are they larger than a grain of salt?

The ones on the face are, but the ones on the body are smaller/about the same size as a grain of salt would be. The pictures of ich online seem whiter than his. It certainly pokes out like a fungus might. I'm trying to get my hands on aquarium salt (Canada day long weekend— everything closed early). Should I treat it like fungus or ich first?