Black Mollies in Saltwater?  6/27/04
Hi, Hope all is going well there.  
<Hi James, Pufferpunk here & all is great!>
I have a 75 gallon F/O saltwater tank.  I have heard that black mollies could be acclimated to live in a saltwater aquarium.  Have you know of success stories about this?  
<Yes, they can live & thrive in SW.  When acclimating from FW, I would use a drip system.  Put the fish in a bucket with the water from it's bag (ask for a larger bag) & slowly drip water through air tubing from your SW tank into it (you will have to tie a knot in the tubing).  Only raising the SG .001-.002/hour.  You may need to bale water out of the bucket, so it doesn't overflow.>
Also, I have a pair of false perculas, a flame Hawkfish, a royal Gramma and a coral beauty angel.  Would the mollies fit in with these guys?  
<Just make sure the mollies have smaller crevices to escape to, in case any of your fish go after them.  I have found that a heavily decorated tank can make all the difference to "smaller" fish.>
Thanks for your help, James
<You're welcome, enjoy the mollies!  ~PP>

Re: Black Mollies in saltwater
<Hi, MikeD here>
Thank you for your help.  I have one more question please....I have read
that it is best to keep mollies in groups of 1 male and at least 2
females.  (I used to keep them when I had freshwater tank).  If I just
added a male, would it do OK without any more of it's kind in there?<Sure. The reason they don't suggest pairs is that males are considered "drivers", ALWAYS trying to breed with females, and if kept with just one she will often break down and become ill from the exhaustion of trying to get away from him constantly...the best mix is actually 1 male to at least 4 females>
Thanks again, James<You're welcome>
James Hall

More Molly Questions
Good morning, A few weeks ago I wrote in about our black Molly
having fry.  The fry are really big now and fun to
watch.  I've put 12 of them in the 29 gallon and 15
are in the 10 gallon and doing very well.
The 10 gallon has excellent readings for the ammonia,
nitrate and PH and we do a 10% water change every
other day.  
<<What about nitrIte?>>
The problem is the water reeks even after
the water change.  I rinse the filter twice a week and
change it after 2 weeks.  Why the smell?
<<Are you overfeeding? And again, test the nitrites...and do NOT clean your filter media under tapwater that has chlorine. You are effectively killing your good bacteria every time you "clean" your filter. Bad idea. What kind of filter are you using? Rinse filter foam in old tank water, and make sure you have a BioWheel or some other form of biological filtration in the filter that you do NOT clean, in order to keep your good bacteria.>>
Now the 29 gallon. Momma Molly wasn't doing so good.
Checked the water and nitrate was sky high.  Did an
immediate 50% water change and added some "get rid of
nitrate" and it's now down to 0.25 but won't go lower.
<<Do more water changes. Are you testing for nitrate, or nitrite??>>
Momma still not doing too good, eyes were bulging and
staying at the bottom not eating... Treated entire 29
gallon with antibacterial.. antibacterial treatment of
tank stopped 2 days ago and nitrate still at
0.25..
<<Keep testing for ammonia, nitrites, AND nitrates. Antibacterial meds will kill off your nitrifying (good) bacteria and you will have even more problems.>>
Then Momma got some white spots so again 30%
water change and added a quick "cure ick".  First
treatment yesterday.  Should I do another "cure ick"
treatment today?
<<What do the directions say on the package?>>
Changed to the food to your suggestions of Spirulina and BTW all fish love it.
This morning Momma is swimming a little bit more and
back to eating although she seems a little
disorientated.  I would like to transfer the 15 babies
from the small tank to the large tank and put Momma
and another orange female Molly that I suspect is
pregnant in the small tank.  Is this a good idea?
<<No>>
as I think Momma is stressed enough as it is and I don't
like the smell of the small tank.
<<You really need to do a lot more water changes in order to get your tanks into better condition. Make sure when you do your water changes that you are adding water that is the exact same temperature as what is in the tank, and use a good dechlorinator. -Gwen>>
Thanks so much for your wonderful site and all the
helpful information. Monique

More Molly Questions
Good morning, Thanks for the quick reply and all the help.  You guys
and gals are a Godsend.
Here's an update...Saturday morning I got up and one
of the baby Mollies in the 29 Gallon was swimming
around with a dead newborn in his mouth.  Looked
around and there were about 12 dead ones.  Hubby
cleaned that out and I called the pet store and they
said they would take all my babies black Mollies...I
kept 4 of them.  I suspect Momma had other babies but
these ones didn't make it.
Now Momma is ick free, no more white spots) eyes are
back to normal no bulging or white film), swimming
around like there is no tomorrow and eating everything
in sight again from the top of the tank when I feed
MODERATELY and picking at the bottom (Colorbits 2
times  a week as recommended)...She's back to
following my finger around the tank and seems very
happy.  She's still in the 29 gallon.  I'm running a
Tetratec PF300
http://www.littlefishtank.com/Reference/reviews/display.asp?idkey=221
The nitrITRES, ammonia are excellent now. the PH is a
little high 7.8 and I'm doing that test every other
day.  The rest of the tank - total of 3 adult mollies,
2 neon, 4 baby black mollies and 3 tetra neon are now
very happy. No live plants in there just plastic.
The 10 gallon...all the babies are gone to the pet
store. did a 50% water change. ran the above 3 tests
and all 3 results are perfect.  In this one I'm
running a TopFin for a 20 gallon.  The only fish is
there is an orange Molly that I suspect is pregnant and
introduced (after reading your site info on how to
properly introduce) after the babies were gone.
I was guilty of overfeeding and have now learned a
valuable lesson.  If someone wants to keep their fish
healthy and happy don't overfeed, don't introduce too
many fish in the tank all at once and as this site and
all the crew here recommends. buy the test kits and
sample the water REGULARLY.
I'll check into this BioWheel or some other form of
biological filtration in the filter that you have
mentioned.
Learning quickly but correctly and VERY thankful for
all your help. Monique  
<<Dear Monique; Good to hear the momma molly is doing okay :) Your pH of 7.8 is FINE, mollies require high pH, alkaline water, the opposite of what Neons like...keeping both species generally means one is not being kept in conditions they require for long-term good health. I am so happy to hear things are on the right track for you and your fishies. Keep up the good work! :) -Gwen>>

Black Molly
Hello,
I have a black molly, just recently purchased, and it
has one big white and yellowish spot on the top of its
head.  It also stays in a back bottom corner of the
tank and doesn't eat.  I looked at many of the
articles, but they described tiny white spots called
ick.  Is this the same thing?
< Could be. Treat with rid-ich. If it clears up in three days then it was a protozoa infection. If there is no improvement then I would treat with Furanace for bacterial infections. Follow the directions on the bottle/package. Watch for ammonia spikes because these medications may affect the bacteria that break down fish wastes.-Chuck>

Molly care
Gwen,
I asked a few questions about a week ago about my catfish with Ick. They ended up dying. But instead, I went and brought 4 Mollies. For some reason, two days after I purchased them, there are little baby fish running around (basically just hatched). How do I keep my tank clean and how do I save them? Do I need to leave the tank alone for a while? Should I but the fish into another tank? I am new at this. The full grown Mollies are just running crazy all over the top of the water. Are they trying to get fresh air? Because they are not hungry. Respond as soon as possible to let me know how to save these cute little creatures.  Thank you,  Debbie
<<Hello Debbie; I hope you did a 100% water change before you added these new fish to an ich-infested tank? If not, I recommend doing a 50% water change now that the fish are in the tank, and adding some aquarium salt, approximately one teaspoon per gallon. You can buy aquarium salt at your Local Fish Store. Also, you need to get your water tested at your LFS, or buy yourself some test kits. Your mollies are going crazy probably due to either high ammonia or nitrite readings. PLEASE get some test kits! In the meantime, try to do regular water changes, start with a 50% change today. You can use a siphon to clean the gravel, again, find this at your LFS. Mollies prefer hard, alkaline water and a high pH. If your tapwater pH is low, you can add crushed coral sand to your gravel to make the pH higher. Again, found at your LFS. Feed your mollies a basic diet of Spirulina flake (you can crush the flake for the fry to eat) interspersed with some frozen brine shrimp and/or bloodworms every now and then, and make sure you do those water changes! -Gwen>>

Balloon Mollies
How can you tell if a Balloon Molly is pregnant?
<<Hello. I don't think that's easy to do :P Just be sure the scales of the fish are not sticking out like a pinecone, as that would indicate dropsy. Watch her closely, so that if the mother does have babies (fry) you will know her behavior for next time. Also, you might want to put some densely floating plants in the tank, so the fry have a place to hide from the adult fish, who will eat them. -Gwen>>

Black Molly Fry
Good evening, You have the most informative and useful site and I
want to Thank You for that.
Two weeks ago our black molly had babies.  First we
didn't know it was a she nor did we know she was
pregnant.  She had 35 babies and we saved 31 of them.
They are now alone in the 10 gallon aquarium and we
bought a 29 gallon one for the adults. In that one we
have 3 female mollies, 1 orange molly, 2 neon tetra
and 3 glow tetra and 2 fancy tails.
We do not know if she was pregnant when we bought her
about 3 months ago or if the orange molly that we have
in the tank is the father.  If he is, will any of the
babies be orange like him or will they stay black as
they are now?
We have learned so much from this site and by reading
almost everything you had posted on "fry" we managed
to save the babies.  They are really growing fast.
Again thanks for your time and hope this isn't too
much of a crazy question. Monique
<<Hello :) Congrats on the fry! I hope you will do some regular water changes to keep the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels under control in the fry tank? It would be a good idea. Do you have any test kits? I cannot specify enough that test kits are important, and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate test kits should be must-haves for ALL fish tank owners. That said, it's hard to say who the father is, but if they are born black, they will probably stay that color. Just be sure the momma fish gets high quality flake food, you can give Spirulina flake, and supplement it with Tetra Colorbits for a dose of protein twice a week. -Gwen>>

Molly Troubles
Dear WetWebMedia crew,
Please help!!!  I have some funky disease in my tank that MelaFix didn't
help, and am unsure what to do, here are the facts about my tank....
freshwater tank, community tropical fish
tank size- 85 gallons
filtration system- emperor 400
water quality- just tested a few minutes ago and have been testing
throughout the sickness and the water quality has been and is perfect, the
ph has been and is between a 7.4 and a 7.8.
tank temperature -hovers around 80 degrees
Also, I have been putting the proper amount of salt in the tank, and
continue to add more according to my water changes.  For instance I just did
a partial change [about 10 gallons] and added the amount of salt for 10
gallons so as to keep the salt level where it belongs, since my fish are
somewhat brackish.
types of fish- mollies [who are what my question is about] about 25, none
fully grown but about 7 old enough to be sexually active, some medium sized
babies and some tiny babies.
platys- seem to be doing fine,7 adults about 5? babies [sooo cute].  1 ghost
catfish- gone, but I think my red clawed crab ate him.
1 red clawed crab- seems to be doing fine.
1 Pleco- probably about 7 or 8 inches long, seems to be doing just fine.
7 silver hatchet fish -all doing fine.
4 female guppies -doing fine.  I had a gorgeous fan tail male guppy but he
died.  One morning I looked and he was missing about the back 1/4 of his
tail, I came and looked again around lunch time and his tail was almost
completely gone and by evening I couldn't find him, it took me several days
to find his remains.  He was with me for almost a month when this happened
so I think he is part of my question of what is wrong with my tank.  I had
two female guppy's die, one from shimmy [but she was new from the pet store,
so I think that was something from their tank] and one seemed to die for no
apparent reason after she had her babies, maybe she died from birthing?
There are currently around 10, heck maybe even 15 guppy babies in my tank,
the little boogers are hard to count, and sometimes when really small hard
to see.
2 live plants -anacharis, thriving and doing well.  java fern -kind of a
weird plant [due to our crab liking to eat at the roots???] but seems to be
doing well, many daughter ferns growing on the originals from the store.
I have had this tank running for about 3 months now.  I started with a TON
of mollies given to me by my Aunt.  I gave a BUNCH of them to a local fish
store and kept about 30.  Now my mollies are dying like flies from a strange
ailment that I have been unable to diagnose even after my Aunt and I
extensively read your website.  Since I was unable to diagnose I tried
MelaFix.  I used the recommended amount for the medicine to water ratio in
my tank, and removed my carbons before using the medicine.  I treated every
other day [due to concern about the babies, I did not treat every day] for a
total of four? treatments.  I then gave a partial tank change [about 10-12]
gallons yesterday.  Oh, and on an unrelated note, we found the tiniest snail
in our tank [I have NO idea how it got there].  I do not want snails so I
got rid of it.  So, my problems seem to be strictly with the molly fish and
the strange quick death of my male guppy.  I had some molly fish die the way
he did as well.  I do not think that the red clawed crab has caused this
much carnage, I think he has only eaten maybe 3 fish total in the month he
has been in our tank.  The mollies are getting a very strange white spot on
them and depending on where it starts it turns into a rot and their bodies
literally rot slowly away.  But that is only some of them, others are
getting the white spot and then it grows and then it turns pink?  Maybe like
their color leaves and now I can see part of their body with no pigment?  I
am not sure.  Still others just up and die and others lose their tail fin
and then swim around seemingly fine just with no back fin.  Since there are
so many of similar size I am having a very difficult time seeing if any
specific ones are getting well.  This seems like so many different things
and I guess I got it from PetSmart somehow b/c the molly fish have been with
me from the beginning and they were fine.  I have not been using a tank to
put my new fish before introducing them into my tank, but I plan on doing
that in the future, I am sure that would have prevented this craziness.  I
look at my fish tank a lot, I am a stay at home mom and like to sit in there
by it and read and watch the fish so they are fairly closely monitored.
Basically my molly fish are very sick, they get a white spot and then it
grows and has several different results.  Please help!!!!
< You may have a couple of things going on. Sounds like your tank is in good shape so the problem is with the fish. Two things could be going on. The first is a protozoan infection. Treat the tank with rid -ich as per the directions on the bottle. Take the carbon out of the filter and put the BioWheels in a wet container for a few days while you are medicating. If after three days there is still a problem then it may be bacterial and I would treat with Furanace as per the directions on the package. Both of these medications will turn your water green so your live plants may not make it through the medicating process. These medications are affected by organics in the water so a 30% water change before medicating is recommended. To be perfectly accurate you would need to do a slide smear of the side of your fish and look at them under a microscope for a proper and precise diagnoses. I know for many aquarists it is not practical so I recommend these "shotgun" techniques based on the symptoms described. When adding any medication to an established tank you need to watch for ammonia spikes because the "good" bacteria that break down the fish waste will be affected. Your question brings out the importance of a quarantine tank. -Chuck>
Sincerely,
Sarah Hall

BW Tank? 6/5/04
<Hi Eric, Pufferpunk here. Sorry I took so long to get back to you.>
Please, help me determine a possible cause of illness in my Sailfin mollies. I have a 55 gallon tank that is brackish. The contents of the tank are 2 Gourami, 2 red-eye tetra, 4 black Neons, 3 black-skirt tetra, 3 lemon tetra, 2 adult red velvet platies, 1 plecostomus, 1 rainbow shark, 4 adult silver mollies, 1 adult Dalmatian molly (lyre-tail) and approx. 15 molly fry. 
<Oh my goodness! The only fish in your tank that would appreciate any salt, will be the mollies. All your other fish come from soft water, which is the opposite of BW. How much salt is in there? Just adding some salt to your tank, does not make it a brackish tank. Read about BW here: http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/management/Pearce_Brackish.2.html  & http://badmanstropicalfish.com/brackish/brackish.html .>
All parameters of the tank are stable, all other fish are healthy....except the adult Dalmatian molly. I have had a total of 4 (including this one) Dalmatian mollies in the past 6 months and at least 2 of them have suffered similar fates. It starts with patchy loss of scales/color and progresses to weight loss until their ultimate demise. They still eat and swim normally. The first one that developed this illness had me so concerned about cross-contamination and looked so pitiful, that I euthanized him. The first time I've had to do that! Then the other adult Dalmatian started developing the same symptoms. None of the other fish in the tank show any signs of illness, and are breeding well. I'm concerned about fish T.B. That is why I didn't want the first sick fish to die in the tank. I read the other fish ingesting the dead sick fish is sometimes the way it is transmitted. This is a very slowly progressing process. It takes weeks or months before they reach the full extent of the illness. What is the lifespan of a molly? Could these fish just be old? Why don't any of the other fish display symptoms of illness? I have treated the tank in the past with antibiotics, Methylene blue or malachite green, and MelaFix. I can't figure out if it is a parasite or other disease, why it takes so long for it to affect the fish and why other fish aren't simultaneously ill. What should I do? 
<This does not resemble the symptoms of TB. Generally, with TB their spine would be bent. It could be a bacterial infection. The stock you have, may have a congenital problem with their immune systems if none of your other mollies are getting it. As far as eating normally & loosing weight, this is a symptom of internal parasites, which isn't very common in tank-bred fish. You can read up on diseases here: http://www.fishdoc.co.uk/disease/clinicalsigns.htm  & http://www.fishyfarmacy.com/ . Always quarantine your sick fish, so you don't have to treat the whole tank, disturbing the biological filtration in the main tank. Also, this prevents spreading diseases further to the rest of the tank. You need to consider if you want BW fish or FW fish & only keep one kind. Keeping either in less than optimum conditions, can compromise their immune systems. ~PP>> 

Sailfin molly disease?
Please, help me determine a possible cause of illness in my Sailfin mollies.  
<Ananda here to try...>
I have a 55 gallon tank that is brackish.  The contents of the tank are 2 Gourami, 2 red-eye tetra, 4 black Neons, 3 black-skirt tetra, 3 lemon tetra, 2 adult red velvet platies, 1 plecostomus, 1 rainbow shark, 4 adult silver mollies, 1 adult Dalmatian molly (lyre-tail) and approx. 15 molly fry.  
<Uh... aside from the mollies, none of those fish are brackish. The Neons and tetras, especially, will not survive in a brackish tank. The fact that they're still healthy tells me that you may be adding some salt to the tank, but it doesn't yet qualify as brackish. What's the specific gravity in the tank??
All parameters of the tank are stable, all other fish are healthy....except the adult Dalmatian molly.  I have had a total of 4 (including this one) Dalmatian mollies in the past 6 months and at least 2 of them have suffered similar fates. It starts with patchy loss of scales/color and progresses to weight loss until their ultimate demise. They still eat and swim normally. The first one that developed this illness had me so concerned about cross-contamination and looked so pitiful, that I euthanized him. The first time I've had to do that!
<My condolences... not an easy task.>
Then the other adult Dalmatian started developing the same symptoms. None of the other fish in the tank show any signs of illness, and are breeding well. I'm concerned about fish T.B.  
<Yup, me too.>
That is why I didn't want the first sick fish to die in the tank. I read the other fish ingesting the dead sick fish is sometimes the way it is transmitted.
<That is one way, yes.>
This is a very slowly progressing process. It takes weeks or months before they reach the full extent of the illness. What is the lifespan of a molly?
<About four years.>
Could these fish just be old?  Why don't any of the other fish display symptoms of illness?
<If it is mycobacteriosis, know that some individuals may show symptoms while others appear completely healthy. You can help keep the disease at bay by keeping the water parameters pristine: no ammonia or nitrites, and nitrates very low (10 or less).>
I have treated the tank in the past with antibiotics, Methylene blue or malachite green, and MelaFix.
<None of the ones you mention are known to help with mycobacteriosis. The one thing that may help is Kanamycin. However, the treatment course is long and expensive.>
I can't figure out if it is a parasite or other disease, why it takes so long for it to affect the fish and why other fish aren't simultaneously ill.  What should I do?  
<Keep the water quality excellent. You might consider setting up a truly brackish tank for the mollies. I find they do better in brackish conditions (i.e., with a measurable specific gravity), or at least in very hard, alkaline water -- the opposite of the more acidic, soft water conditions that your tetras will prefer. --Ananda>

Molly fry survival
Hi there! Found your wonderful website by chance and sure it is very very informative and useful to a newbie like me! I hope you can help me with this problem I currently have. I had got 3 female mollies and 2 male platies about 5 months back and the mollies had given birth several times but this is the first time which the fry had survived beyond the 4th week. However recently the fry had stopped eating and I am quite worried. I am using a breeding net and I have been feeding it TetraMin Baby powder food ever since.
Thanks for looking at this! Jon
<<Dear Jon; have you tested your water lately? It would be wise of you to test for ammonia (should be zero), nitrites (zero), and nitrates (as low as possible, say 20-30ppm). How often do you do water changes? How big is the tank? Do you vacuum the gravel? Do you rinse the filter media? How many fry are in with the adults? -Gwen>> 

Companions For Mollies
Hi crew, We have a 10g freshwater tank set up with three live plants and gravel, some granite rocks, heater (78 degrees usually), AquaClear filter etc. Water quality consistently excellent after spiking after about one month. For nearly three months we have had one female Dalmatian molly and two male guppies. Everyone growing and healthy, and happy except at feeding time when the molly chases the guppies away from the food.
My question is what and how many others could we add? We have five Molly fry two weeks-old in the same tank but in a partitioned area, looking healthy (a number were found dead and we have given away three). My kids would like to add two aquatic frogs, a catfish, another male guppy and keep a few of the fry. Is this realistic given the size of the tank? Do you have a recommendation re. a catfish type that is compatible with mollies and molly conditions e.g.. warm with some salt in the water)? We are looking for something quite different from the other inhabitants that can have a role in cleaning the tank and (hopefully) eating tiny snails (which I currently vacuum out with water changes). Thank you! from Andrea, Carter and Elizabeth.
<<Hello. Congrats on the tank :) Sounds like things are going well. I do feel the tank will be a bit overcrowded if you add the fish you are contemplating, yes. The best way to know is to test for nitrates. A good nitrate test kit will tell you if your bioload is too high. By regular testing and water changes, you should be able to keep the level stable, say at around 40ppm (for example). If you do a water change per week, but you can't keep the nitrates down at 40ppm, then you have too many animals in the tank. Keep in mind the nitrates will get higher as the fish grow...As for compatibility, some mollies can be aggressive. If the guppies start to lose tail finnage, you can probably blame the mollies. The mollies may also decide the frogs make good eating...and as to the frogs, please make sure you buy the actual Dwarf frogs, not African Clawed frogs. They are hard to tell apart when small, but the clawed frogs will have no webbing between their front toes. Clawed frogs grow quite large, the size of your fist. As for a compatible catfish...normally I would say Corydoras or Otocinclus for such a small tank, but given the mollies and salt, it's a bit harder. I believe you would be better off to add a lace catfish, (Synodontis nigriventris) if you can find one at your LFS. They are quite pretty, grow to about 2-3 inches, and swim upside down all the time. Interesting addition to a community tank. They will "hover: beneath the leaves of your plants: http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/s_nigriventris.htm  My last bit of advice to you is...save up for a bigger tank. You appear to be a true hobbyist! :) -Gwen>> 

Molly Fry Question
Hello! I have a ten-gallon tank with two female and one male molly.  No other
fish
or creatures in that tank.  One of the female mollies had babies and I was
not able to move her to a safer location before she gave birth.  Most of the
baby fry have been attacked, killed and eaten by the Mollies, however, I do
think there are a few hiding in the rocks.  At feeding time, I see them
shoot up and eat then dart back into the rocks before one of the Mollies
gets them.  However, I did see a few that did not make it back down the
rocks and were killed.  The tank is new and I have a few plants in there
growing, but they are still rather small plants.  I have a fake plant
located in there to give them a hiding place until the live plants grow a
bit bigger but they are not using it. What is the best way to get the Molly
Fry out of the rocks and into a safer location?  Most of the time I cannot
even see them, they are so small I have
to look close just to see them for a second.  Would using the cleaning tube
(not sure of the official name for it) hurt the fry?  The cleaning tube
sucks rocks into a tube, the rocks go back down into the tank, and the
debris from the tank keeps going into a bucket for cleaning so it can be
tossed out. Thanks for your help. Best regards, James
<<Dear James; yes, using a siphon to remove fry will work. Any piece of
tubing will work. My concern is with your tank water. You say the tank is
new, how new is it? Have you been testing for ammonia, nitrites, and
nitrates? I would highly recommend it, as ammonia at any level is quite
toxic for baby fish. I would also recommend that eventually you add a couple
more females for your male, once the tank has finished cycling. Otherwise
your male will harass the females too much. When your females are due,
placing them in a breeding trap will help, as the male cannot continue to
harass the female, and you can remove the babies easier. Make sure your
mollies are getting good quality foods, that the pH is relatively high, and
a bit of salt won't hurt either. Mollies like hard water and will reproduce
best under the conditions they prefer. It is important to keep your females
healthy, stress free, and well fed. Otherwise disease and sometimes even
death can occur to what seem to be perfectly healthy fish. Good luck :)
-Gwen>>

Molly Fry Question II
Thank you for your reply. My tank is two months old.  I test the water every week and so far all
levels are normal.  The Ph is high, around 7.8 or so.  The nitrite levels
got a bit high a few days after the female molly gave birth.  After I did a
10% water change I found out why, there were many unborn fish eggs at the
bottom of the tank along with a few dead baby fry.  After the cleaning, the
nitrite went down to almost zero again.  When I did the cleaning, I avoided
the living fry because I was concerned about the cleaning tube hurting them.
Will it be ok to have four females and one male in a 10-gallon tank?  I do
not want to over populate the tank.  No other fish are in the tank and I do
not plan on putting any other bred of fish in that tank. Thanks again! Best regards, James
<<James, good job on catching the egg problem. The tank would be overstocked with four females, but with regular weekly water changes and regular nitrAte testing you should be able to control it. If you prefer, three females instead. I just find two females will give a possibly-aggressive male too few targets, resulting in the weakest females death. If you think that he is not overly dominant, you could try the 2-1 ratio, but the first dead female will be a sign that you will need more females in there with him. Are these regular mollies, lyretail blacks, or Sailfin mollies? -Gwen>>

Re: Molly Fry Question
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
They are Sailfin mollies. When I first purchased the mollies I purchased two, one was gold and the other was a Dalmatian molly. The gold molly was bigger and went after the Dalmatian molly all the time. 
<Yep, establishing dominance in a small tank.>
This is my first attempt with mollies, although I have raised other fish, so I was very uneducated about mollies. After a bit of research I found they were both males! No wonder they did not appear to be very happy! I then got two more mollies, both silver and both female. Shortly after those two were introduced into the tank the Dalmatian molly died. It was obvious the cause of death was not natural. Either the male got him or one of the new females did. 
<Hmmm. Or, being somewhat weakened from stress, he succumbed to a nitr*te spike that happened after the others were introduced.>
For the first week after I put in the two females, the male molly was extremely aggressive. He has mellowed out a lot since then. I still think I will try one more female. I normally do a water change every other week, but if I need to, I can do it every week.
<Definitely plan on once a week with that stocking level.>
If this goes the way I am planning I will be placing them in a bigger tank as the population grows, if I can catch the females right before they have more fry. It is hard to get the timing right and I am still not certain what to look for. I know the female fish gets bigger and I remember a dark spot on the female's body before she gave birth this last time. 
<I've had Sailfins for 3 years and still have some difficulty with the timing. Typically, watch for a dark spot by the anal fin and a wider body -- so that it looks like the fish is bulging when you look at it head-on. Then when the belly "squares off", they're close. You don't want to catch them too close to the time when they're giving birth, or the stress can cause the egg expulsion you've seen.>
I hope that I will be able to spot it this time so I can protect her before she has them
and protect the fry after they are born.
<Some floating grassy stuff in the tank will help with that. Have you given thought to what you're going to do with all those fry?>
What is a good time to separate her before she gives birth?
<A day or two early should be fine.>
Is it possible to separate her too early once I know she is going to have fry?
<Not really... just means you have another tank to maintain. And as long as you have males, and for six months afterward, she's going to be pregnant.>
Also, can I separate her from the fry as soon as I know she is done? 
<Yep. But make sure you have something for the fry to hide in until she's done. I've seen molly moms turn around and snap up their newly-born fry as snacks. I've used a single layer of glass marbles on the bottom of a tank, plastic wheat grass (floating upside down), and other stuff for fry hiding places.>
Thanks again for all your help!
Best regards,
James
<You're quite welcome. --Ananda> 

Odd Balloon Molly
I don't know what's wrong with my balloon molly!  I'm a complete and utter novice, as new to fish-keeping as you can get.
<Well, we are here to help!>
We bought 5 bm's about 2 weeks ago; one of them was considerably fatter than the rest, and always had a tendency to hide really tight in a corner behind the filter and the heater.  We thought she was just a bit odd.
<most balloon mollies can be referred to as "odd".  But, that does seem unlike the normally outgoing fish.>
But this morning, we found her jammed upside down between the filter and the glass of the tank; now she's pottering around the tank looking really disoriented (although "confused" seems to be normal for these beasts) but her belly is so distended that her scales are all sticking out.
<That is not a good thing.  When the scales are sticking out it means that their body is stretched beyond what it should be.  This condition is often referred to as Dropsy, which occurs when the fish itself has swelling of the internal organs.  Either by parasites or water parameters not being correct.  most likely when you purchased this fish it already was on it's way towards developing dropsy.>
What's wrong with her?  What can I do to make her happier?  
<Sadly there isn't much to do with dropsy.  1 out of maybe 20 cases can be cured with anti-biotics if caught early.  Sadly it's something that most fish never recover from.  I myself recently lost a 10 year old goldfish from this, and I did everything I could to help it.>
I'm equally as concerned for my other fish (six black Neons and a blue widow).
<The best course of action would be to set up another tank so that you can separate the fish and attempt to medicate it. Check your local fish shop to see what medications they have that will help with Dropsy. But I definitely would suggest you remove this fish from the others!  The only other course of action would be to euthanize the fish.>
Regards, Melinda
< I do hope the fish gets better.  -Magnus.>

Sick Molly
My molly has something funny happening to its eyes and mouth. The eyes
look like they are about five sizes bigger and are white and the mouth
looks like I guess it has cold sore. What is it and what can I do. Shannon
<<Shannon, you need to treat your fish with an antibacterial medication. It
sounds like advanced Popeye and mouth rot. Chances are, this fish will die
before you can treat him properly, though. Sorry. If the fish was new, like
a few days in your tank, maybe you can get the store to replace him for you.
If not, you need to test your water for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate and do
water changes accordingly. -Gwen>>

Mystery molly deaths (03/31/04)
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
I'm hoping you can help me figure out what is killing my mollies.  They are slowly dying out one or two at a time. Here are the symptoms: the fish spend several days or longer on the bottom of the tank, they do not seem to be able to make it to the top to even eat after a few days, they display a shimmying behavior, some of them appear swollen in the abdomen but not like with dropsy, sometimes they will lie on their side for awhile before returning to sitting on their belly at the bottom, a few have displayed a few white growths but some have not. 
<I sometimes see mollies shimmy when their water isn't good. Regarding the white growths -- where do they appear on the fish? Can you be more specific in describing them?>
My nitrites and ammonia are zero. I have trouble controlling my nitrates because my tap water has them as well but I maintain them around 40.
<Ouch. I would suggest looking into a different water source.>
I put a tablespoon of salt for every 10 gallons of water. My pH is around 7.5 and the water is hard.  My temperature is around 77F.  My water is clear and does not stink. It is a 29 gallon tank that is well planted and has 2 platys, 4 guppies, 7 adult mollies and several babies, and 2 dwarf pufferfish.
<That's a bit overstocked... any chance you could get a second tank?>
I have an undergravel filter. 
<I bet you've got something decaying underneath there. I'd pull the thing and switch to a different type of filtration. Undergravel filters work best if there are *no* dead spots, and the plants are probably creating dead spots galore.>
I've had the tank set up with fish for six months.  
Thanks for your help
Amber
<Get the undergravel filter out of there, vacuum the gunk out of your gravel, switch filtration methods, and see if your nitrates drop... that will help every fish in the tank. I'm still concerned about the white stuff on the mollies; it's possible that's something else entirely. --Ananda> 

Mystery Molly Deaths
Thanks for replying so quickly!  I'm at my wit's end.  The white spots are not like fungus growth or anything like that.  It's more like the fish are getting mottled.  It does not really look like any kind of growth but more like they are actually changing color or fading.  Some of the lighter fish will show red streaks under the skin.  I had an all black molly but when he finally died, he was speckled white all over his belly.  He actually did have a growth that seemed to be growing from under his scales at the top of his head and it did look like it might be fungus but he had no other signs of it and none of the other fish show it either.  I've seen tail rot fungus and ich fungus.  On your other advice, I don't have a lot of money.  Any recommendations on filtration, and on keeping my nitrates down?  I tried using a couple of gallons of bottled water the last time I changed the water but it did not seem to have an appreciable difference.  I do have a reverse osmosis system under the kitchen sink which we use for drinking water but I do not think it will produce enough to use in water changes.  I can't buy a water filtration system for the tank.  Could I somehow collect rainwater?  I have a BioWheel on my 55 gallon tank and have the same nitrate trouble with that tank but the fish in there seem fine.  In fact, my angels keep laying eggs but the catfish keep eating them when the lights go out!  Would it help if I removed all the plants and decorations and just had a gravel bottom?  Would the undergravel filter
work better then?  I just planted up the tank a short time ago because I was hoping the increased plant life would keep the nitrates lower.  I also noticed today that one of my mollies has a growth under the skin on one side of his tail.  Could all of these things be caused by the high nitrates?!  
Thanks, Amber
>>Dear Amber, sorry for taking so long to reply. I agree with the info Ananda gave you, it would be a good idea to remove the undergravel filter. I've just seen too many problems due to their use. Or, improper use. Undergravel should be cleaned every couple of months, otherwise the substrate becomes anoxic and starts to cause water quality problems. Especially with plants to complicate things. BTW, many people prefer to run their undergravels with reverse flow powerheads, which prevents gunk from being drawn into the gravel. You can find lots of internet articles and FAQs on proper u.g. use and cleaning. But I would recommend buying yourself an Aquaclear HOB or a Penguin with a bio-wheel to replace your undergravel filter. You will need to treat your fish, and re-cycle the tank, but you have not much choice anyways, at this point.
SO, for now, you need to clean up the tank. The best way to clean an undergravel tank is to drain 50% of the water into a large Rubbermaid bin, add an air stone and transfer the fish and the heater over. THEN clean the tank. If you try to clean the tank while the fish are still in it, they could die. Remove the plants gently, try not to damage root systems, and place them in another bucket with a bit of water, or rinse them beneath the tap and put them directly into the Rubbermaid with the fish. Then remove the gravel and u.g. plates. Remove the rest of the water and pour it down a drain. Rinse the gravel well under tap water, scrub the inside glass with a sponge (obviously, do not use anything but clean water to do this). The tank should now be completely empty. Replace the cleaned gravel. Now refill 50% of the tank with tap water, at the proper temperature. Add dechlorinator, and transfer the fish and their water back into the tank. Make sure the pH and temp are the same, if not, acclimate them like you would when bringing home new fish. I do not see a problem with your tap water. You are not keeping a reef here, so it should be fine to use. Your problem stems from not enough water changes and overcrowding, and an undergravel filter that hasn't been cleaned properly.
Now you are now ready to treat the fish.
Your fish do sound sick, it sounds like it could be velvet, a parasite like ich, only smaller, complicated by a bacterial infection, possibly Columnaris. I would treat the tank with a broad-spectrum antibiotic for the secondary infection, and an anti-parasitic medication to kill the parasites. Remove your carbon, keep the temp around 82. Make sure the tank is well aerated! Treat with the antibiotic and anti-parasitic according to package instructions. If you have more questions, ask us :) Do not worry about transferring any of your good filter bacteria, since the antibiotics will kill off nitrifying bacteria anyways. As I mentioned, you will need to re-cycle this tank.
To sum up. First, go buy yourself a new filter. While you are at your LFS, ask them specifically for a broad spectrum antibiotic, like Super Sulfa, and for an antiparasitic medication, like Quick Cure. Follow directions. Buy some test kits, ammonia, nitrite, nitrates. Keep the water parameters stable. IF you can, buy an ammonia removing resin, like Amrid. This will help keep the levels low so your fish don't die, and the test kit will tell you when to do water changes. Ammonia resins will give false readings, though. Don't panic :) It's very important to keep the ammonia and nitrites low while you medicate fish. The test kits will help you do that. I realize you don't have much money, but sometimes it requires money if you want to fix problems. I'm sure you are much more aware of potential problems at this point, and can spot them coming now. Remember, regular, partial water changes help will keep the ammonia levels down, and help keep your fish as healthy as possible. There can still be things that go wrong, but at least you are on the right track. Keep reading! Best wishes, Gwen>>

Aggressive Molly
Hi.  I hope you can help me.  I started with 3 black mollies- 2F, 1M. After
about 1 week, the male began chasing and biting at the females during
feeding times (only during feeding).  1F ended up dying.  I've never had
this problem, past mollies have always been so peaceful.  He doesn't chase
anyone else in the tank.  Any info on if this is normal?  Tank is FW 65
Gallon, nearing the end of cycling.  Thank you, Kelley.
<<Kelley, sounds normal to me. Mollies can be quite aggressive, which is why we usually advise people to keep one male molly per three to four females. Remove the obviously impregnated females to a safe breeding trap, so she can have her babies in peace. Stressed females can and do, die, due to males constant harassment. Make sure your water quality is always good, keep nitrates low, and make sure the temp is always stable, 80F is fine. Add some more females, things should get better, but keep in mind that mollies are not peaceful fish. They just vary depending on their own character, some are worse than others. They are also herbivores, so try feeding them twice a day, it may help. -Gwen>>

Mollies Brackish?  4/13/-4
Hi :)
<Hi, Pufferpunk here>
I read your information about Mollies liking (needing?) brackish water -1T to each 5 gallons.   We've a 75 gallon with 2 female adult mollies and their 35+ fry, two Corys, two shrimp (rock and bamboo), and four C.A.E.  Our question is will the addition of salt bother the inhabitants that AREN'T mollies?
<Mollies do best in salty water.  They even thrive in marine.  Your other fish won't like any salt at all.  So, either keep your mollies in FW, expecting some illness & shorter lifespans, get a 2nd tank, or return the FW fish & have a BW tank.>
Thank you for your time :)
Mrs.. D. Pontrelli
<You're welcome ~PP>

Molly Babies
I had 20 new mollies born last week. The one was dead. Then 2 days ago I lost another one, and yesterday morning found two more dead. It has been 20 years since I raised Mollies, and I can not remember if this is normal. The water is good, and all of the fish are healthy, eating and happy. The fry are in a breeding net. I also have a batch of guppies born two days after the mollies, and have not lost any of them. Are molly babies hard to keep alive? 
< Not really but you have to look closely to see what's going on. Tiny fish babies are difficult to see let alone find any symptoms of disease. Check the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels of the tank. If nothing else change some water and add a tablespoon of rock salt for every 5 gallons of water to the tank and see if that helps. Mollies like salt and it helps build up a protective slim on the fish and the guppies won't mind so try that and see what happens.-Chuck>

Kill the Rabbit!
I've read all the pregnant Molly posts, but I still have a question:  I have a pregnant black balloon Molly in an existing 10g freshwater tank with a few other fishes (Mollies, Platy, etc.). The tank is perhaps even overcrowded, but I'm in the process of curing that issue with additional space. A Dalmatian Lyretail follows her around and pokes at her behind, but you already know how that goes. In anticipation, I set up the maternity tank on Sunday (3/4/2004) with eco-complete wet substrate to aid in the 
cycling of the tank. I'm currently running an over the side, dual filter, Whisper for 30g-60g tanks. It's working better at cleaning the mess from the substrate then the single filter Whisper (20g-40g) I had originally set up. I plan on covering the end of the tube for the filter with a screen or mesh of some sort, to keep the fry out of there. I used 5 gallons of existing tank water to kick start things. Also, I added an existing fake plant with about a 1"x1" total area of algae on it, a few flakes of food, and I'm planning on adding a few scrapes of algae to the filter tonight.  The maternity tank is perfect at pH 7.5 +, nitrite 0.0, and ammonia 0.0, 
temp. 80, but I'm sure to see a spike at the peak of the cycle. Because of  the spike, I've considered holding off on moving her because of the cycling and the fact that I have live plants coming for the tank this Thursday. I don't want to stress her by adding plants in her presence. I figure I have a week to ten days before she's due, based on a 4-week period overall, but who really knows? I decided in the meantime to buy a net breeder to house her in the original tank until I can at least get the plants in, and fake lava moss to guard her young until I see that they were born. I'm also buying some OSI Spirulina and Liquifry (spelling? - fry food) to feed them. Am I thinking of everything? 
< So far so good> 
Also, I want to move her before the birth so I don't endanger the fry with a change in water chem. upon moving them. With 
the tank not being fully cycled, will it harm one pregnant Molly, assuming I keep a super close eye on it? 
< No. Keep track of the spikes and control them with water changes until everything gets cycled> 
What about her young? If a tank takes 6-weeks to cycle and a Molly take 4-weeks to give birth, how does anyone get a Maternity tank up and running in time? 
< Many aquarists use bare take with a sponge filter that is already cycled from another tank. Young fish will not get sucked up into the sponge and usually find something to eat on it too.>
If I have to, how long should wait before transferring her in to the new tank? 
< I would transfer her anytime.-Chuck>Thank you so much ? T

Molly Help 
What a neat site. This place is packed with so much info...anyway, What does it look like when a molly "goes into labor"?  I have had pregnant mollies forever and cared for fry before, but I have never actually seen them give birth. I would like to try and save the majority of the fry and by the time I notice them, there are only a few left. Any info you can give would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks, Wendy in PA 
<<Dear Wendy in PA; mollies don't actually go into labor, per se, they drop their fry randomly. Most times the fry are eaten even as they emerge from the poor mother.. All you can do is count...or try, in some way, to keep track of the gestation period (normally from 4 to 6 weeks) for each molly, and put her into a breeding trap when she approaches her "time". -Gwen>>

More Molly Troubles 
I'm hoping you can help me figure out what is killing my mollies. They are slowly dying out one or two at a time. Here are the symptoms: the fish spend several days or longer on the bottom of the tank, they do not seem to be able to make it to the top to even eat after a few days, they display a shimmying behavior, some of them appear swollen in the abdomen but not like with dropsy, sometimes they will lie on their side for awhile before returning to sitting on their belly at the bottom, a few have displayed a few white growths but some have not. My nitrites and ammonia are zero. I have trouble controlling my nitrates because my tap water has them as well but I maintain them around 40. I put a tablespoon of salt for every 10 gallons of water. My pH is around 7.5 and the water is hard. My temperature is around 77F. My water is clear and does not stink. It is a 29 gallon tank that is well planted and has 2 platys, 4 guppies, 7 adult mollies and several babies, and 2 dwarf pufferfish. I have an undergravel filter. I've had the tank set up with fish for six months. Thanks for your help, Amber 
<<Hey Amber; what are you feeding them? Is there a lot of algae in the tank for them to feed on? It sounds like internal bacterial infection, but whether or not it is being caused by their diet is hard for me to tell. You need to make sure they get a good quality algae based food. Best if provided with actual algae. You can cultivate it quite easily by setting up a small lamp with a Gro-bulb over a bucket with a few inches of old tank water and some smooth, round rocks. They will have algae on them in no time. You can keep rotating the rocks into your molly tank on a regular basis, and the fish will always have fresh algae without you have to worry about your glass getting dirty :) The algae will help to prevent the intestinal blockage that leads to infection. Also, temperature...try raising your temperature to 80F. Keep it stable, of course. And you may raise the salinity, but do so gradually. Go for one tablespoon per 5 gallons of water. I would prefer to advise one tablespoon per gallon, but your live plants might begin to rebel at that level.. :) One last thing, for the mollies that are already ill, you can treat by feeding medicated food, and hope that their internal infections are not too far advanced. -Gwen>>

Mystery molly deaths (03/31/04) 
<Hi! Ananda here today...> 
I'm hoping you can help me figure out what is killing my mollies. They are slowly dying out one or two at a time. Here are the symptoms: the fish spend several days or longer on the bottom of the tank, they do not seem to be able to make it to the top to even eat after a few days, they display a shimmying behavior, some of them appear swollen in the abdomen but not like with dropsy, sometimes they will lie on their side for awhile before returning to sitting on their belly at the bottom, a few have displayed a few white growths but some have not. 
<I sometimes see mollies shimmy when their water isn't good. Regarding the white growths -- where do they appear on the fish? Can you be more specific in describing them? 
My nitrites and ammonia are zero. I have trouble controlling my nitrates because my tap 
water has them as well but I maintain them around 40. 
<Ouch. I would suggest looking into a different water source.> 
I put a tablespoon of salt for every 10 gallons of water. My pH is around 7.5 and the water is hard. My temperature is around 77F. My water is clear and does not stink. It is a 29 gallon tank that is well planted and has 2 platys, 4 guppies, 7 adult mollies and several babies, and 2 dwarf Pufferfish. 
<That's a bit overstocked... any chance you could get a second tank?> 
I have an undergravel filter. 
<I bet you've got something decaying underneath there. I'd pull the thing and switch to a different type of filtration. Undergravel filters work best if there are *no* dead spots, and the plants are probably creating dead spots galore.> 
I've had the tank set up with fish for six months. 
Thanks for your help 
Amber 
<Get the undergravel filter out of there, vacuum the gunk out of your gravel, switch filtration methods, and see if your nitrates drop... that will help every fish in the tank. I'm still concerned about the white stuff on the mollies; it's possible that's something else entirely. --Ananda>

Balloon Mollies gestation II 
<Hi! Ananda here...> 
Thanks so much. They are amazing little creatures. 
<Aye, even though they can be dumb as a box of rocks sometimes. Don't be too surprised if the male guppy starts making advances towards your female molly...saw that happening in a store the other day.> 
I'm in my 50's--you would have enjoyed the expression of the 19 yr old assistant at the pet store when I asked him how a female molly could have babies without a male! 
<Oh, to have been a fly on the wall! So are you going to tell him what you've found out? >:-) 
--Ananda>

The case of the disappearing fry... 
<Hi! Ananda here today...> 
My molly was pregnant when I bought her and after about a week with me she gave birth. 
<A very common occurrence with mollies.> 
5 of the 9 were stillborn and unfortunately the mother died the morning after the birth. 
<That's not a common occurrence... usually happens when the fish is stressed during late pregnancy or delivery, but there are other causes -- perhaps a malformed fry that would not be born, for example. If the tank is new, poor water quality during cycling is a more likely cause.> 
I gave two of the fry to a friend and kept two for myself. My two have been happy and health for three weeks. I noticed that one of the two liked to hide and would bury herself under the rocks and not come out for about a day. Then, the other day both mollies disappeared, I assumed hiding under the rocks, but they have been gone for about a week. I am very new to keeping fish and am starting to get concerned. I don't think that they could possibly survive under the rocks for a week. Any ideas? 
<My guess is that something else in the tank ate them, or if you have no other fish, that the fry were simply not strong enough to survive in your tank. Molly fry are especially susceptible to poor water quality, for example. --Ananda>

Balloon Mollies gestation 
I have looked at the FAQ's, and can't find an answer to what is probably a much too basic a question. 
<Ananda here to tell you that we all have basic questions... :-) > 
I have a balloon belly molly that gave birth to 15 fry the day after I put her in a 6 gallon tank I have at work. I took the fry back to the pet store which put them in a fish nursery they had. Any way, here we are 6 weeks later and she gives birth to more fry. 
<Yep, they do that.> 
I have found 7. No other molly was in the tank, just 3 neon tetras and a male guppy. From what I understand, the molly can hold sperm and give birth later. 
<Yup. They can hold sperm for about six months.> 
My question: is this an indefinite process? 
<If there are male mollies in the tank, yes. If you remove her own fry before they mature -- which can take only a few months -- she should quit having fry in another four months or so. Molly gestation time seems to vary by species -- and tank conditions! There's not a whole lot you can do to keep her from having fry, except for isolating her from male mollies for six months and more. --Ananda>

Spinning balloon molly 
<Hi! Ananda the molly nut here today..> 
I've had this particular balloon molly for close to 7 months. She has mated w. a platy male. 
<*sigh* Those livebearers....> 
She had 4 babies 
<Unusual, but not totally unheard-of.> 
and after this birth she started swimming with her head toward the bottom of the tank and her tail up. Now she's starting to spin some at the bottom of the tank. 
<Check your water quality... sometimes, this is a symptom of poor water conditions, such as high nitrite levels.> 
I put her in a 3gal tank by herself. 
<Good plan.> 
Is there anything that can be done for her? 
<If she's spinning like a top, spinning to exhaustion, it may well be whirling disease. In that case, there is not much that can be done. Do check the WetWebMedia site for more information about this disease and its symptoms, so you can get a better idea if that's what it is.> 
Thank you! Patty 
<Wish I had better news for you. --Ananda>

Molly Growth 
I have an orange molly fish that developed what looks like a 'growth' coming out of her face, below her eye - like a big orangey bubble - is it a hematoma from a cut or bite? She seems to eat and swim okay but the growth is getting bigger. What is it and does it need treatment? Thanks. 
><<Hello; is the bubble clear? or whitish? If it's whitish, it may simply be lymphocystis, a non-curable disease that usually clears up on its own. If it's clear, like a blister, then it could be an air bubble, due to oversaturation of oxygen and/or other gases in your tank water. I'm sorry I cannot be more specific, since it's impossible to know if this particular bubble is due to your current water, or previous water that the fish was exposed to. Previous exposure should not be an ongoing problem, like I said, unless the bubble ruptures. But if this bubble has recently occurred while the fish was in your tank, you must make sure your water is not oversaturated, because exposure to such water can kill fish, as the gasses will pass into the fishes bloodstream. Make sure your water-change water is well circulated to remove excess gasses before you use it for water changes.  You can try putting it into a bucket and using a simple airstone to aerate the water for a few hours before you use it. The bubble on its face is not a problem unless it ruptures, since it could then become infected with fungus if your water quality isn't good. Also, make sure your tank has enough circulation. The surface of the water should move, but without being a Jacuzzi..:) If need be, you can add a powerhead for more water movement. -Gwen>> 

Molly Growth II 
Thanks for the quick reply, it is a bubble molly and the 'bubble' is more like an opaque growth - like a tumor coming out of the side of her face - almost the size of 3 of her eyes - do you think it is a 'scar' from a bite or an infection growing out of her body? Thx. 
<<Hiya, it sounds a bit like a benign tumor, or even lymphocystis, a viral infection that should go away on its own, with good water and low stress levels. Keep an eye on it, and let me know if it changes, grows, discolors, or spreads. Make sure there is no fungus! -Gwen>>

Molly Mom Mystery? (03/22/04)
HI there!
<Hi! Ananda the certifiable molly nut here tonight...>
I witnessed my gold dust molly give birth last night!
<Fun!>
When I looked in there, she had a fry tail hanging from her vent area. It stayed in there for a bout a hour, and when she finally delivered it, it soon died. About thirty minutes later, her vent began protruding and she became very uncomfortable. About another ten minutes, her gravid area looked as if it may split in half! Then, babies began popping out. In the end, she had ten babies (it was her first delivery!) and also about four eggs.  
<Ten fry is a little much for a first delivery. (I've had females have a single fry at the ripe old age of four months.) The one time I've seen molly eggs was with my first female molly to give birth -- I unknowingly stressed her after she'd started having fry, and she released a bunch of eggs.>
Seven of the 10 fry have survived so far. I did not even know that she was pregnant! The strange thing is, all of our mollies are females, but we have three male platys. The other strange thing is, there is not ONE black fish in the 29 gallon tank, and EVERY SINGLE FRY looks the same, a white head and a black body! Seventuplets!!
<Sounds like your female encountered a black molly at the store or earlier.>
I also know that she probably wasn't pregnant from the pet store, because we've had her for about three months, and she hasn't had any fry, and they had the males and females separated.
<Female mollies can store sperm for up to six months, so she was probably biding her time.>
I guess she became pregnant when we added the male platys about five weeks ago! What do you think?
<Unlikely, for the reason given above.>
Maybe this will help some people with fish that are moms to be!
RACHEL
<That's why we're here. --Ananda>

Pot belly molly fry (03/05/04)
<Hi! Ananda here this morning...>
My black pot belly molly is having babies as I'm typing this. Do they lay eggs or do they birth live young?
<The latter, generally, though on rare occasions, you may see a fry that is still encapsulated that has to break out of the remainder of the egg.>
My male keeps attacking the babies and so far I don't see any of them moving.
<Newborns often just hang out for a while before they start wandering around. Hopefully the male isn't hurting them.>
I see a couple of them hidden in the leaves of the artificial plants, but they seem to be in a egg sac. What should I do?
CA
<Truly, there isn't much more you can do to help them. Pot-bellied mollies are highly inbred, and so the fry may have a relatively low survival rate. For the next batch, if you can figure out when the female is about to have fry, it will be easier on her and the fry if you can move the female into a maternity tank. Use a single layer of round, glass marbles as the substrate, and the fry can hide there safely out of mom's reach. If the second tank isn't a possibility, do use lots of floating and submerged plants for the fry to hide in. I've used fake wheat grass very successfully -- the leaves are so close together that the adults can't reach the fry at all. Do check out the forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk -- we have a few  pot-bellied molly fans there who will be happy to chat them up with you.  Best of luck. -- Ananda.>

Sailfin Molly Illness (02/27/04)
Please, help me determine a possible cause of illness in my Sailfin mollies.
<Ananda here to help try, with Sabrina helping out...>
I have a 55 gallon tank that is brackish.  The contents of the tank are 2 Gourami, 2 red-eye tetra, 4 black Neons, 3 black-skirt tetra, 3 lemon tetra, 2 adult red velvet Platies, 1 Plecostomus, 1 rainbow shark, 4 adult silver mollies, 1 adult Dalmatian molly (lyre-tail) and approx. 15 molly fry.
<Uh... the only fish in that whole list that are brackish are the mollies. Platies can tolerate some salt. But the rest of them should not have any salt at all, except perhaps a "tonic" dosage of about 1 tbsp of salt per 10 gallons of tank water. (Which doesn't qualify regarding making the tank brackish.) What's your specific gravity?>
All parameters of the tank are stable, all other fish are healthy....except the adult Dalmatian molly.  I have had a total of 4 (including this one) Dalmatian mollies in the past 6 months and at least 2 of them have suffered similar fates.  It starts with patchy loss of scales/color, fins become translucent and there is progressive weight loss.  They still eat and swim normally.  The first one that developed this illness had me so concerned about cross-contamination and looked so pitiful, that I euthanized him.  The first time I've had to do that!  Then the other adult Dalmatian started developing the same symptoms.  None of the other fish in the tank show any signs of illness, and are breeding well.  I'm concerned about fish T.B.
<Sabrina and I agree that it does sound like mycobacteriosis.>
That is why I didn't want the first sick fish to die in the tank. I read the other fish ingesting the dead sick fish is sometimes the way it is transmitted.
<I have read the same thing. You were wise to remove the affected fish from the tank.>
This is a very slowly progressing process.  It takes weeks or months before they reach the full extent of the illness.  What is the lifespan of a molly?  
<About four years.>
Could these fish just be old?
<Most mollies I've seen at stores are 6-10 months old.>
Why don't any of the other fish display symptoms of illness?  
<Mycobacteriosis, aka fish TB, is a funky thing. You can have fish that are infected that display *no* symptoms. Meanwhile, other fish exhibit slowly degenerating health. Sometimes, things progress fairly quickly. And the list of possible symptoms is staggering.>
I have treated the tank in the past with antibiotics, Methylene blue or malachite green, and MelaFix.  I can't figure out if it is a parasite or other disease, why it takes so long for it to affect the fish and why other fish aren't simultaneously ill.  What should I do?
Debbie Bronson
<The best thing to do is try to prevent any more fish from becoming sick. The way to do that is to maintain impeccable water quality; a UV sterilizer *may* help. For you, always wear long-sleeved aquatic gloves while working in the tank and see your physician if you develop any funky bumps on your hands/arms (and do mention the possibility of TB to the physician). The one possibility Sabrina's read about that may possibly cure the disease is Kanamycin, administered in food. However, this does not always work, and can be expensive to boot. If you have fish that exhibit symptoms, it is best to remove them from the main tank. Then, you can either keep them in isolation (possibly attempting to treat them), or euthanize them (I use clove oil; do a search both on the WWM site and at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk for more info). I wish I had better news for you. Fortunately, even though your mollies may be affected, the rest of your fish seem healthy, and you could raise the fry in a different tank. --Ananda>

Sailfin Molly Illness - II - 03/01/04
Thank you so much for your response to my mail.  
<Sabrina responding this time, with Ananda shouting from the sidelines.>
My error on calling the tank "brackish", I add about 1-2 tbsp. per 10 gallon.
<This of course is fine for your freshwater pals.>
Since your e-mail, I have euthanized my adult molly that was displaying symptoms.
<So sorry to hear that you had to make such a choice; I know it is difficult.>
My question now is, are the other tank fish ill as well?  
<It is quite possible, if you are dealing with mycobacteriosis; however, they may never exhibit symptoms - or they may all fall ill with it.  The best you can do is to fortify their diet with vitamins, perhaps using a product like Kent's Freshwater Zoe or something like Selcon or Zoe marketed for saltwater use.  Other than that, just keep their tank in tip-top shape.>
Will they one by one display symptoms?  
<Possible, as above.>
Or is it possible that the disease wasn't transmitted?  
<Also possible.  Mycobacteria are thought to be perhaps ever-present, and stressed or immunodepressed fish may contract the disease; it is virtually impossible to eliminate this from your tank - likewise, you could not have prevented it, and it's probably floatin' around in my tanks, and certainly in my mucky ponds, and probably most of your friends' tanks, and so forth - healthy fish are the preventative.>
Should I assume, at the very least, that the molly fry are infected?  
<Again, possible.  Fortify diet with vitamin supplements.  Say, you can even use (human) baby vitamins for soaking fish food (thanks, Gage, for that tip!).>
I use a water ionizing system for all water changes, and the tank is impeccable.  I've had multiple broods of mollies, and the red velvets have produced once.  I have to watch the gourami's since they can't resist an "all you can eat fish buffet" of small fry, but I usually put a tank divider in place and sequester the babies until they are of adequate size.  
<Sounds good.>
I'll look into the Kanamycin just in case.  
<While one of my books (Tropical Fishlopaedia, by Bailey and Burgess) suggests Kanamycin, another far more comprehensive text I have (Aquariology: The Science of Fish Health Management, by Dr. Gratzek, et al) suggests Minocycline or Rifampicin used at 0.3 percent in food, treatment to continue for at least three weeks, to be marginally effective....  I do not know how likely it is that any of these treatments may do good - I am under the impression that Minocycline treats only gram-negative bacteria, whereas Mycobacteria is gram-positive.  To be quite honest, I would not treat; I would remove fish if they show signs of illness, and continue upholding excellent fish health and tank maintenance - and do start adding vitamins to your fish foods.  Er, and as Ananda mentioned, wear gloves in your tank.  Or at the very least, wash thoroughly with an antibacterial soap when you mess around in a tank, and if you have cuts on your hands, well, wear gloves.  All aquarists should do so - though, I admit, I am lax in doing so.  'Course, I'll probably find some funky bumps on my fingers, some day....  Wear gloves.>
Your team is the greatest.  Deb
<Thank you very much for the kind words, Deb.  Wishing the best for you and your fishes,  -Sabrina>

Potbellied mollies
I have 2 pot bellied mollies a male and female.........the female has looked pregnant since I got her about month ago but has had none......is there a way to tell for sure if she is or whether its just a big belly, thanks, Tazzy
Dear Tazzy; Hello, do you know for sure that you have a male and a female? The male will have a gonopodium (small, pointy thing in the place of a regular fin at the rear part of his belly, towards his tail) and the female will have regular fin. Since their bellies are so round, it's hard to see how pregnant she is, but sometimes she will have a few babies without you knowing, they will hide, or get eaten if you are not around at the time of delivery. Look closely, you may see some lurking babies yet! It might be a good idea to add some java moss to your tank, this will give the babies a place to hide, and will help provide food for them to pick at. Make sure you do regular partial water changes :) -Gwen<<

Aggressive Mollie
Hi, great website you have here!
<Thank you, we hope that you find it informative (not to mention fun).>
I have a black molly, female, who is so aggressive. I have a 46 gal. tank, everything has been going good. My chemical levels are all perfect. I also have one Silver Dollar, one Australian Rainbowfish, one Guppy male, two Guppy females, one male Swordtail, and three female Swordtails. I know my stock choice isn't so great, that was a mistake of mine. I'm new to this hobby and I've learned that I definitely need more than just one fish of all my breeds. So I'm working on adding stock.
<It's good that you have learned that, researching your fish and knowing what they need to be happy definitely increases the fun you have with your fish.  Just be careful not to over stock your tank.  If you will be adding more fish, you might want to think about increasing the filtration on your tank.>
In the meantime though I'm really worried about the aggressiveness of my molly. I got all my fish as babies, and the molly is about two inches now. She's really growing and the bigger she gets the meaner she gets.
<That is a Mollie trait, I've never been a big fan of these fish because of that reason.  I find them to be aggressive in nature, they pester many tankmates.>
And mostly it's just with my Swordtails and particularly my male Swordtail. I thought it was very odd that she seems to just pick the Swordtails to pick on.
<Perhaps your "she" is a "he".  Male of the species will pick on other males for breeding rights.  The Mollie thinks that your male swordtail is a competitor and is trying to chase the other one to breed with the females.>
I thought these two breeds did well together.
<Yes they do.  Though it has never happened in my tank, I have been told of them cross breeding.>
She is constantly chasing them. When I recently (about 3 weeks ago) added two of my female Swordtails it didn't take long before I noticed a nipped fin in one of them. Since then her fin has healed. I haven't noticed any more nipped fins except for in my male Swordtail. My molly has taken a bite out of his top fin and quite a chunk off the end of his sword. I will be moving her to a tank by herself for the time being since noticing that today.
<Separating her is the best choice you can do now.  She will not stop the harassment, and it will only get worse as the fish ages.>
Why does she harass him so? She chases him constantly, when of course she's not chasing the other Swordtails.
<In my opinion, I think the molly is chasing the swordtails for breeding issues.>
Is she mad because she doesn't have any other mollies to hang out with? What should I do with her? I hate to give her up, but I don't want her harassing anyone else I have or may get.
<My opinion you should probably trade her in for something else.  She will not stop this behavior, and adding more will most likely add more headache to the problem.  I suggest you take her back to your LFS and see if you can find a Rainbow or Silver dollar to add to the tank.  At least then you know that you will be adding a fish that will be okay in the tank.  Plus it will be good to add more of the same fish to enlarge the schools.>
The water conditions are favorable for her, 8.0 pH and alkaline and a little salt. So I didn't think that the water conditions were causing her aggressiveness. Thanks for all your help you can offer me.
Stacie
<That is the headache with Mollies, in my opinion they are very annoying fish.  My suggestion is to remove her from the tank, either give her a tank all to herself (with other mollies if you wish).  Or you can return it to the pet store and try to get a mate for one of your other fish.  Good luck -Magnus>

Mollies, To Salt or Not To Salt
I am in the process of setting up my new aquarium, a 25 gallon
Eclipse and I was to have Mollies.
After reading many, many articles on-line, I still have one major
question- Brackish or Freshwater????  Most of the articles recommend adding salt, however I ran across this article by Kevin
Yates, "The Great Molly Myth" which totally shattered my previous beliefs about mollies.
So salt or no salt??? Thanks for reading.
Marion Allen
Brevard, NC
>>Hello Marion. I believe mollies should be kept in water with a high pH, around 7.8, and medium to high alkalinity. Salt can be added, a tablespoon per 3 gallons of water, give or take. The exact amount doesn't matter, what DOES matter is pH, and water quality. Especially with black mollies, who should also be kept in warmer temps, around 80-82F. Make sure you test your water regularly for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate readings. Keep the nitrate level low, say around 40ppm. Feed them a varied diet, including both vegetable and protein based foods. Keep a ratio of one male per three-four females. Give the females plenty of hiding spaces, like plants, for example, so they get a chance to rest and not be harassed by the male. They can be aggressive, so make sure not to overcrowd them. A 25g can safely handle around 10 mollies, with once-a-week partial water changes. Sailfin mollies will grow to around 4 inches, so understock those.-Gwen

Baby molly's disappearance
I had five 1/4 inch mollies in a hanging net breeder by themselves. Over the past 1 mo, 2 died that I know of. One is bigger and the rest of them. The other day, a smaller disappeared. No corpse to be found. Since no adult fish gets into the net breeder, could a sibling have eaten him up??? 
<Yes, larger mollies have been known to eat small young. Also, mollies will pick at the bodies of dead fish, so, perhaps the fish didn't eat them when it was alive but nibbled it right up after it had passed on. When I bred mollies I found it best to set up a second tank with lots of (plastic) plants so that it offered hiding areas. It worked well until I felt they were large enough to go back into the display tank with the other adults. -Magnus>

Sick mollies (1/5/04)
Hi Gang,
I am hoping to reach Ananda.
<I'm here... just happened to be online and saw the email in the box.>
I recently posted a question on the web chat and now I cannot get to that page for some reason.
<Likely a forum error...those happen occasionally. Do let me know if you can't access it now; I have it open in another window: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=3&thread=15355 >
Ananda, the name I used was ilovesailfins. I do have salt added to my 55 gallon. I use 1 tablespoon per gallon of water, but I am using salt for freshwater should I change to marine salt, if so what kind?
<Hmmm. That's not much salt at all... I think whether you should switch to marine salt depends on what your water hardness is, and what other fish you have in the tank.>
If I do need to change to marine salt, how do I do this with freshwater salt already added in?  
<I would do it slowly, via water changes. Just add salted water in when you take water out during a water change.>
I do not have anything to correctly measure the salt content, what do I need to get?
<The easiest thing to use is an Aquarium Systems or Marineland hydrometer. They are the only plastic hydrometers that read low levels of salt.>
My one older sail fine is not doing so good. She is not eating and is having problems swimming.  She is also loosing weight.  She was really a robust fish, not she is starting to appear hollow bellied. She also seems to be breathing a little faster than normal now. I also noticed that her fish droppings appear to be clear mucus.  I really am in the dark with this problem. My other molly is still eating, but she also appears to be loosing weight.
<Sounds like an internal parasite. You want to look for a food laced with Metronidazole, or make your own. You can mix Metronidazole powder with frozen/thawed food and re-freeze it for use later. There are a couple of companies that sell Metronidazole; Aquatronics has Hex-a-Mit in capsules, and Seachem sells the powder in a vial. The Metronidazole can be added to the water in a hospital tank, but is *far* more effective for this problem if it's added to food.>
I tested the water again today and the only change was the nitrates.  They are around 10.  
<Shouldn't be a problem. I've had mollies in water with more nitrates than that.>
I think they went up because I added Paragon II to the water thinking the mollies may have wasting away disease or maybe some kind of internal parasite.  
<Oh, wunderbar, that's got Metronidazole in it already, and Furazolidone and neomycin sulfate to deal with bacteria in case that's what it is.... Keep using the stuff.>
I am going to do another water change tonight, how much do you think I should change.  I normally do about 20 percent.
<Follow the directions on the Paragon II package.>
The only change made to this tank is adding some real plants.  I added some java fern plants and some anacharis.  I did go over the plants to make sure no snails were attached and also rinsed them really well. Do you think this is the problem? Did the plants bring in something?
<It's possible. I try to quarantine all new plants if I get them from a fish store.>
Here are the water test results
ammonia 0
ph 7.4
nitrites 0
nitrates 10
KH 71.6 (I think I did the math right)
GH 100-200 ppm
<Hokay, I don't think you need to switch to marine salt...what else is in the tank?>
Thank you all for the help.  I am addicted to your site.  I have to read it every day.
Cindy
<Goodness knows, there are worse addictions. :) Thanks! And do check the forums, too...  --Ananda>

Sick Mollies II (1/5/04)
Hi Ananda,
<Hi again...>
Wow what a fast reply.  Thank you so much for your time.
<I was probably online shortly after your email came in...>
I didn't tell you about the other fish in our tank.
We have 2 brick swordtail, 1 male one female
3 Platies, 1 male 2 females
2 cat fish, one albino, one panda
1 very large sword, not sure of the sex. Could be female turning into a male.
<There's a fair bit of debate about that possibility... there are no proven cases of a viable female (i.e., one who's had fry) turning into a viable male (i.e., one who's sired fry). More likely, it's a case of the fishy hormones getting away from what's normal for a female, and thus the fish shows some traits usually found in males. I had one female swordtail (who'd had fry) develop a sword a couple of millimeters long, but that's as far as it went.>
2 males sail fins, one is very young, 5 months, I know because he is one of my babies
5 female sail fins, various ages 3 females 4-5 months old and 2 grown females.
I forgot to tell you thought that my older female had babies about 2 weeks ago,  she only ever has around 5 and not all the same day. She seemed to be fine after having her babies, but soon started to slow down.
<I wonder if perhaps she has more than that and the rest get munched... having fry is definitely stressful for the fish.>
I will continue with the Paragon II and hope the mollies will pull out of this.
<Me, too... The Sailfins are my favorite mollies.>
Thank you again.
Cindy
PS I was in Chicago this past September and I had to see the Shedds's Aquarium.  Wow it was really a wonderful day.
<Yup, definitely a fun thing to do in the city. --Ananda>

Molly chums? (1/15/04)
<Hi! Ananda here today...>
We've had a tank for years and years... a few weeks ago we got three mollies....two males and a female.  
<It's generally better to get multiple females per male, so that each female gets a bit of a break from the males' attentions.>
One of the males is acting very "spazzy"  (my son has named him Spaz!) He never seems to sit still, he is always kind of jerking back and forth.
<My mollies are almost always moving, but the jerking back and forth isn't a healthy thing. I occasionally see that in mollies that are in one of the freshwater tanks. My usual way of dealing with that is moving the affected fish into the light-brackish tank. If you are running these in a strictly freshwater tank, you might consider adding just a bit of salt (on the order of 1 tablespoon per 10 gallons).>
He is very chummy with the female molly....they are now hanging down in the bottom back of the tank together.... I was wondering, is this some sort of mating ritual???  
<Not one that I've seen. "Anytime the lights are on, anyplace in the tank" seems to be the motto of the males I've got. The one ritual I do see is that the males will raise their sailfin and swim in circles around the female, as if to say "Look at my pretty fin! I'm so gorgeous! You really do want to have my fry, don't you?">
...or is something wrong with this guy?? ....desire or disease?? HA!  
<Mollies really need hard water and a pH above 7.2, or a brackish system, if they're going to thrive. (Even in my planted tank, my pH is around 7.8 and the hardness is around 12.) If your water is too acidic or too soft, you might consider a brackish tank for them.>
Thank you!  ~Wendy and Levi
<You're welcome. --Ananda>

Re: Molly chums (01/15/04)
Thank you Ananda!   Sometimes all it takes for a problem to fix itself is address it....!
<Yup, seems like that's the way it works sometimes.>
This morning when we woke up, he was back to normal.....we've decided to still call him Spaz though! Thanks for your fast response!  Look forward to visiting your site some more!  ~Wen
<Cool. Check out the forums, too: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk ... often, you can get a faster response on the forum, because we don't have to wait for email transit time! --Ananda>

Makin' 'em Go Salty
>hi,
>>Hello.
>I have read in books that you can change the molly from freshwater to salt water and I would like to try that but none of the books said how big the container you drip the water in should be so how big of a container would I need to drop the water at one drop per second and if you have any other ways to convert them pleas tell me.   thank you, Joey                                         
>>Wowee!  Can you really say all that in one breath?  The size of the container is only important if you plan on keeping them there, Joey.  If we're only talking a couple of mollies, then a large bowl (a gallon or two) is fine.  They'll appreciate it if you go ahead and add a small air stone for aeration, too.. just don't make it too vigorous or they'll be bashed around (or, you'll get the toilet bowl effect on 'em).  Do be sure to do this over a few hours, and WATCH  their scales!  This is really important, because that's your best sign that you're going too fast - if their scales begin to stick out like a pinecone, you know you're going too fast for them and need to add fresh water again and slow down the saltwater additions.   Marina

Makin' 'em go Salty - Thanks..
>thank you Marina and I will try it and also yes I can say all that in one breath
>>Wow, you've got me gasping for breath here.. ;)  Have fun!  Lots of species actually do better in a brackish/salt environment.  Marina

"Big lip" on mollies (12/24/03)
<Hi! Ananda here tonight...>
I just started up an aquarium and two of the mollies that I started with have gotten a "big" upper lip that stops them from eating.  One has died and I am trying to save the other.
The upper lip looks really thick and turned up.  
Thanks for any help.
<This is not something I've seen before, but there are a couple of things I suspect. One, if the tank was not cycled before the mollies were added, the ammonia and nitrite from the cycle probably hastened the fish's demise. The other possibility is some sort of infection or parasite  that the mollies had before you got them. You might try Kanacyn or Spectrogram, but without more information about this, it's difficult to diagnose. --Ananda>

Guppy tail mollies: fertile?
Hi Ananda,
<Hi again!>
Wow!  Where do you live?
<Chicago area.>
I haven't seen any snow for several years and I miss it!   Consider yourself lucky (if you can stand the extra work it creates!)
<The snow here is minimal compared to what I grew up with in northeastern Minnesota!>
I'm really writing to answer the question about the two female Mollie's ages.  They were fully matured when I purchased them so I don't really know their true age.  I got them at Pet Smart, so maybe that would give you some idea of their ages.  They look like they came from the same parents because they both have extra long tails (not lyre tails).  Maybe that can tell you something about their genealogy too.  I was attracted to them because of their unusually long tails, almost like male guppies!   
<I bet you have the so-called "guppy tail mollies". I've seen those only once, and they were quite expensive. I've been trying to find out more about the genetics of them, but they're so new on the market, it seems no one is talking about that yet. As yours are both balloon-bellied and guppy-tailed, it's possible they're sterile -- I know the balloon-bellied mollies are highly inbred, and I suspect the same is true of the guppy-tailed.>
One of the females is also having "the shimmies."  Is that because of the parasites?  
<Could be. Usually, thought, when I see my mollies shimmy, I take that as a sign their tank needs some more salt. I have ridiculously hard water, so I can keep the mollies in a freshwater tank, but I've seen that a few individuals are prone to shimmying or pop-eye unless they are in a brackish tank. I imagine you might see that sort of thing more frequently in the highly-bred varieties you have.>
What causes the parasites to come from "nowhere" like that.  I mean, I didn't buy new fish with ich on them or at least I didn't notice any.
<That last bit is the key -- you didn't notice it, but it was quite possibly there. Ich has multiple stages in its life cycle, one of which is invisible. And here's a question -- did you let any of the water from the fish store into your tanks? If you did, that's definitely something to avoid in the future.>
Thanks again, Leslie
<You're quite welcome! --Ananda>

Spiraling Mollies (12/18/03)
<Hi! Ananda here, with more mollies than I can count upstairs...(fry, anyone?)>
About a month ago one of our white Sailfin mollies began spiraling in the tank.
<Uh-oh. Sounds like whirling disease.>
This  particular one was about 3 months old, and had no obvious indication of injury or diseases. The water chemistry was all within proper ranges (Ammonia 0; Nitrite 0; Nitrate <20), and the only subject in the 29 gal. tank to act this way, out of about a dozen tankmates, all mollies. I tried a quarantine tank treatment with Nitrofurazone, but after two days of endless spiraling, I euthanized the poor thing. This evening, another molly started the same behavior; this time it's out of my 55 gal. tank, and it's a black/gold hybrid, again about 3 months old. I haven't found these symptoms listed in a search of your site, and don't know quite what to think. Could this be some sort of parasite problem?
<It's caused by a Myxosporidian parasite (Myxosoma cerebralis). It's more of a problem with trout and salmon in the western states, but it does hit livebearers on occasion. I've had two mollies get this. Unfortunately, it's not treatable; there's a fair bit of research being done on this disease, but as yet, it's always fatal. Sorry. Do read up on euthanizing fish with clove oil if you are using another euthanization method. Check both the WWM site and the forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk for more info.>
I've had a couple swords and platys that had swim bladder trouble in the past, but they didn't act this way; constantly corkscrewing through the water, stopping only if they get wedged somewhere.
<Yep, that's whirling disease.>
I've got about a dozen month old babies that I was going to move from their quarantine tank, but don't want to release them into an environment that may be unhealthy.
<The mollies that I had did not transmit the disease to the other fish in the tank, but I am not certain how this parasite spreads. You might want to tear down the tank and disinfect stuff to be on the safe side.>
Any thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Jess
<Wish I had better news for you. --Ananda>

"Cross-breeding" mollies? (12/16/03)
I have a pot bellied molly male in a 10 gal tank with two large female "regular" mollies.  Can they interbreed?  
<Yup.>
I've heard both that they can't and that they can.  I'm very curious to know the facts.    
<Biologically, they are either the same or very similar species, depending on which "regular" mollies you have. I suspect the reason you've heard they can't is that the pot-bellied (aka balloon-bellied) molly females may have trouble carrying fry sired by a standard molly, possibly resulting in the death of the female. I have heard reports of this, but, since I prefer the standard mollies, have never seen it.>
My little balloon molly is really cute.  He's jet black and I love to watch him.  I'd enjoy seeing him breed with a black female balloon molly, but haven't seen one at all.  Looked for quite awhile.  Can you help?  (I'm mainly interested in the inter-breeding question).
<To find a female balloon molly, do check the web and look for more fish stores near you. You might also look for fish clubs -- if there is a freshwater fish club in your area, perhaps someone there has molly fry they do not wish to keep. Speaking of which -- what are your plans for all the molly fry you are likely to end up with? This is something you should figure out *now*, before you find yourself swamped with hundreds of fry...which, with two females, could happen in only a few months. Do please drop on by the forums at http://wetwebfotos.com/talk and the balloon molly fans will be thrilled! --Ananda>

Molly twisting in the water? (12/01/03)
I have just bought a female molly and she is now twisting in the water. Can you explain why?
<Hmmm. We've just had a discussion on this on the forums. Please read here: http://wetwebfotos.com/talk/thread.jsp?forum=31&thread=14537  ...If the behavior described there does not match what you're seeing, please do post or write back and we'll do some more research. --Ananda>

Upside-down Molly
I have a Molly which has been with the tank since it was cycled 15 months ago. Nothing has changed recently with tank parameters.
<What are your readings for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH?>
(120lts, live plants and ferns, around 30 mostly small fish.  External filtration and a powerhead on gravel filter)  Recently she has struggled to submerge herself, and has spent quite some time inverted.
<Sounds like she's constipated/gassy, or has sustained damage to her swimbladder.>
As my two male guppies have been pestering her, I've removed her to a small (3ltr) tank, keeping it shaded and aerated. (not ideal)  
<Perhaps not ideal, but certainly far better to keep her separate than to have the other fish pestering her.  Definitely keep her separate until she recovers.>
I suspect it's likely just air in abdomen, as I have no other mollies in tank (no males for at least 8mths.)  
<I'd recommend adding Epsom salt at a rate o f one tablespoon per ten gallons (uh, that comes down to about one-third of a teaspoon for her 3 liter [0.79 gallon] tank) and try feeding her foods of high roughage content, like a bit of frozen (thawed) pea (remove the shell) or daphnia, to help her pass any blockage.>
I have had a problem with excess algae (the black hairy stuff) which is now being controlled by a "Cleanwater" pouch in the filter. Could she be eating the algae?  
<It's possible, but that shouldn't be a problem, algae is a good fish food.>
She looks just as she normally does. (too darn fat!)  
<Hopefully she's just blocked up.>
Would appreciate any insight.  Dave
<Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Upside-down Molly, Continued
I have many tetras, hence pH @ 6.5 (Waterlife buffers), ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates could be better but have always been between 20 & 30 ppm.
<Could be better, could be worse.  Adding some hardy vascular plants (or more, if you have plants already) will help with both the nitrate issue and the algae issue.>
Water is 10% changed weekly due to this. Working on phosphate control (algae) hoping nitrates will fall too!
<Plants are your friends in the algae battle.>
I soften our very hard water with JBL Aquatrop.
<I'm afraid I'm not familiar with this or other products you've mentioned; I assume this is a regional difference.>
These figures are all as they have been for many months. I have no other "unexpected" deaths in several months.  Thanks for the advise on the Epsom salts. Have already been feeding blood worm and daphnia as it inspires her a little. (I'll find some peas for her)
<I'd skip the bloodworms for now, and do please be *very* sparing in feeding her.>
Thanks for your time,  Dave
<Sure thing.  Hopefully this is a simple case of constipation.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Upside-down Molly II
Just an update:
Molly (Pixie) has been in hospital tank for 10 days now. She has got proficient at swimming inverted, and still has reasonable spirit.  
<Ahh, always a good sign!>
Have been watching for any evacuations (constipation) but have seen none.  
<Is she pooing at all?>
Her diet is now daphnia and peas, and is swimming in your prescribed dose of Epsom salts.  
<Good - you can re-dose the Epsom salt after water change.>
Any new ideas welcomed.
<Well, I'd keep her going as is for now; if in a few weeks she has not improved, I'd suspect that she sustained some injury to her swim bladder, and may not be able to recover.  As long as she's eating and does not seem to be suffering, she should be able to live a decent (albeit upside-down) life.  I do hope all goes well for you and her.  -Sabrina>
Best wishes,  Dave

- Sailfin Mollie to Saltwater -
Anthony et al while Bob is away,
First off mates, this site, as I have told Bob before, is truly amazing and a help to both the animals in our care and those of us lucky enough to enjoy a small slice of the underwater world in our homes. My question is what would the crew recommend the process to take Sailfin mollies from lightly brackish (1.010 or thereabouts) to full NSW, I've got some 1 months olds from a breeding tank that I would like to move to a nano reef that has been set up for a year or so (refugia=pods =coral growth, thanks to WWM for that).  I am going to place about three of the gold x silver Sailfin crosses in my small QT tank, how much salinity move per day and over what period might make this move successful. <A couple of thousandths a day - say from 1.000 to 1.002, and perhaps even slower if you want to be extra careful.> I figure that 2-3 weeks might be a good transition time and a good QT (figure it would lower chance of stress-induced ich from the change). <Well... freshwater ich and saltwater ich are two different protozoans so you wouldn't have to worry about introducing one to the other. The change to saltwater will kill the freshwater ich.>  Once again thanks to all that WWM does,
An appreciative friend,
Joe
<Cheers, J -- >

Mollies W/Ich 11/04/03 
<Hi, Pufferpunk here> 
First, let me say WOW! what a great web-site. I have learned so much since finding your site. Thank you! 
<Thanks for the compliment!> 
My question is, how old do baby mollies need to be before you can treat them for ich? The fry are about 1 week and 3 days. There are 13 of them in a 5 gallon tank. I removed them from the main tank because I noticed ich on the mother and 1 guppy. In the main tank are 1 molly (used to be 2, another female lost her after birth), 3 guppies (1 male, 2 female).   So far my method in the fry tank has been to keep the water temp at 80 F.  Keep the tank lights off and put in 1 Tablespoon of salt. That seemed to help, most of the white spots are gone, but a couple of the fry still have 1 or 2 spots. 
<I personally don't use any meds for the treatment of ich. I would think newborn fish would not fair well w/any kind of meds. Here is the info I have printed on ich at my puffer website. The same goes for any fish.  If some morning you get up and it looks like someone has salted the body, fins, and gills of your fish, you are looking at "Ich", sometimes called ick, or white spot disease. "Ich" is a protozoan parasite with the scientific name of Ichthyophthirius multifilius. It is the largest of the ciliated protozoans. It is easily introduced into your tank by new fish or equipment or plants that have been moved from one tank to another. A quarantine tank is the best way to prevent introducing this parasite into your display tank. If you see ich on your fish they should be treated immediately. In heavily stocked tanks it can cause massive death rates within a very short period of time. Some symptoms before white spots appear may include flashing, clamped fins, weakness, loss of appetite, and decreased activity. In the case of heavy gill infestations, you may not see evidence of white spots, but may find your fish breathing heavily at the surface of your tank. Secondary bacterial and respiration difficulties may result, so keep an eye out for complications in addition to the ich infection.   The best way to prevent ich, as I stated above, is to quarantine all incoming fish. A minimum of three weeks in quarantine (in my opinion) is the best way to go. When kept at 76 to 83 degrees, incoming fish that have been exposed to ich may show symptoms within the first 3 days. However, at cooler temperatures, ich outbreaks may take longer to show up because of its lengthened life cycle. Water temperature has a tremendous effect on how fast the life cycle of ich is completed. At water temperatures of 75 to 79 degrees F, the life cycle is completed in about 48 to 72 hours. In water temperatures below 75, it takes much longer for the parasite to complete its life cycle. 
LIFE CYCLE: There are three phases to the life cycle of this protozoan. Ich is susceptible to treatment at only one stage of its life cycle, so knowing the life cycle is important. 
ADULT PHASE: the parasite attaches itself under the mucus layer of the skin or gills, causing irritation and the appearance of small white spots. As the parasite matures, it feeds on blood and skin cells. After some time, the parasite breaks through the mucus layer and falls to the bottom of the aquarium. 
CYST PHASE: after falling to the bottom of the aquarium, the adult cyst bursts and divides into numerous daughter cells called tomites. 
FREE SWIMMING PHASE: after the cyst phase, the free swimming tomites search for a host. If a host fish is not found within 2 to 3 days, the parasite dies. Once a host is found the whole cycle begins again. These three phases take about 28 days at 70 degrees F but only 3 days at 80 degrees F. For this reason it is recommended that the aquarium water be raised to between 80-86 degrees F. for the