# Something definitely wrong with Molly



## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

I just posted a couple of days ago about my new marbled Molly acting weird. Now she has clamped fins, is not interested in food for the last two days, (only ate the first day I got her) semi-shimmies sometimes and doesn't act like my other Molly (swimming around, looking for algae and exploring). She also acts as if something is irritating her. She will suddenly jerk. I just got rid of a case of ick in my tank a few weeks ago, and I suspect this Molly may be coming down with it, although there are no spots yet. I have loaches, shrimp and Otos in the tank so cannot add salt. Should I wait a while to see what happens, or return her to the store tomorrow?


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## crabnabber (Apr 21, 2012)

I'm new to this but it looks like you might have way to many fish in one tank. I had a tank a long time ago with too many and each one would do what yours is doing for a day or two and then be dead until I ended up with only 1 who was happy as could be to have the tank to herself. Just a guess...


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

It will be ich or velvet, and if you see symptoms, it's in the tank and looking for hosts. As soon as you can tell what it is, you have to treat.
No sane store will take her back if they see her state, and the pandora's box is open in your tank already...you can net her out of the tank, but you can't net her parasites out.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

That is one of the main reasons of a quarantine tank. If you qt new fish like that for awhile your not putting anything into your main tank.

Look for another case of ich or velvet soon.


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## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

Mollies are really brackish water fish that rarely do well in fresh water aquaria. Your fish has the shimmy which is a symptom of a lack of salt. Platties and swordtails are a much better choice if you want to keep and breed livebearers larger than guppies.


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## crabnabber (Apr 21, 2012)

ArtyG said:


> Mollies are really brackish water fish that rarely do well in fresh water aquaria. Your fish has the shimmy which is a symptom of a lack of salt. Platties and swordtails are a much better choice if you want to keep and breed livebearers larger than guppies.


That's a good point also, I've had mollies in fresh water and none survived! Definitely follow the above advice and get her in some salt!


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## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

crabnabber said:


> That's a good point also, I've had mollies in fresh water and none survived! Definitely follow the above advice and get her in some salt!


If you do decide to ad salt to her tank bear in mind a dose of salt may kill your tetras, angels, and other up river fish . It may just be too late for molly but whatever you do don't replace her.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

She's still the same today. Appears almost normal at times, and at other times does the shimmies. I thought they did the shimmies almost constantly (?) when ill. My other Molly is starting to do it too. Fins clamped and sometimes shimmies for very short periods of time. I don't know what to think. One minute I think I'm being paranoid and the next it looks clear to me they are both becoming ill. I will treat as soon as something shows up, but this has been going on since the 18th, and still nothing concrete has shown up. 5 days, and everything is still the same. The pet store will take her back--I have a 14 day guarantee and I can get a refund or exchange. This is upsetting, as I keep reading that Mollies can do fine in freshwater. If I had known this would happen, I wouldn't have gotten mollies. I just don't want to take her back unless she's really sick. I hate having to treat my whole tank, and none of the other fish are acting the least bit abnormal. But like you said, its now in the whole tank.
I guess its just a waiting game. game.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Oh, forgot to mention that I have otos, Kuhli loaches and a snail, and from what I understand, they can't tolerate salt. So that is not even an option.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Mollies are not brackish water fish - that's a busted myth. Some populations of Poecilia velifera and latipinna are salt water, even going to sea, but sphenops, mexicana, butleri, petenensis, gillii and the other mollies are pure freshwater.
Aquarium mollies are hybrids, usually mostly sphenops but often with genes from latipinna or petenensis mixed in to give size and fins. 
What they are is hardwater fish - they are never far from limestone, and their water is full of dissolved minerals and usually of a high pH - the complete opposite of your other fish. 
What you are describing is either a molly coming down with parasites, or being kept in soft and acidic water. Otos and kuhli loaches love soft water, mollies need hard water. It would help if you could find out your water hardness, as I used to be able to keep them together in my moderately hard tapwater, (a happy medium) where I used to live. I have to harden the water where I am now for mollies, swordtails and platys.
It still could be parasites, and not water. 
The API master test kits are annoyingly impractical because they don't test hardness, but your municipality will know . An easy test is pH - it doesn't say much, but it gives clues.


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## ArtyG (Jun 29, 2011)

navigator black said:


> Mollies are not brackish water fish - that's a busted myth. Some populations of Poecilia velifera and latipinna are salt water, even going to sea, but sphenops, mexicana, butleri, petenensis, gillii and the other mollies are pure freshwater.
> Aquarium mollies are hybrids, usually mostly sphenops but often with genes from latipinna or petenensis mixed in to give size and fins.
> What they are is hardwater fish - they are never far from limestone, and their water is full of dissolved minerals and usually of a high pH - the complete opposite of your other fish.
> 
> A busted myth notwithstanding, you'd do well to avoid the molly clan in general if you plan to operate a community tank with soft water fish such as neon tetras and angels, et al. It would be wise to familiarize your self as to required water conditions of perspective fish species.


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## seaecho (Jan 31, 2012)

Actually, I did research each type of fish before buying, but somehow I missed the critical need for soft water in Otos and loaches! My PH comes out of the tap at 8.2 and stays right around 8.0 in the tank. I understand that is ideal for Mollies. I do know that I have hard water, but don't know the exact measurement.

I also read lately that Mollies can be stressed from changing environments, and that can cause shimmies. The new Molly is still acting weird, but at least she did eat today. Only a small amount, but eating. Fins are still clamped. Still no sign of ich or velvet. The other Molly is totally back to normal now. She was starting to shimmy and I was afraid I would lose both of them. I'd love to have a Molly only tank, but its just not possible. I have a 40 gallon, but no room to put it anywhere! So I have to do with the 10 and 20 gallon for now. 

I won't worry about salt--that's a relief. I read so many different opinions that sometimes its hard to know what is really best for the fish. So I'll just leave out the salt. Hours of research come up with a variety of opinions on salt for Mollies, just as I'm getting here, lol.


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