Not very buoyant molly

Elaine T wrote:

Nikki Casali wrote:

After having got over a problem in which all of my white mollies were
too buoyant, I now have the complete opposite problem with one of
those mollies. This particular molly has no buoyancy whatsoever and
has to battle gravity to reach the water surface. She has lost her
well rounded figure to the point that she looks underfed, although she
is eating whatever is given to her. It's as if the swimming bladder
has been damaged during the period of her being over buoyant.

I presume nothing can "fix" the problem. I've never been able to cure
internal physical problems before. At the moment she can do nothing
but rest on the substrate when she's worn out of swimming.

Nikki

I'd try quarantine and feeding anti-parasitic food.

OK, just purchased a 26 litre quarantine tank. I'm quite sure
anti-parasitic food isn't available in the UK. I've dosed some
anti-bacterial medication for now. I haven't spotted any anti-internal
parasite medication either. I presume it would have to go through the mouth.

Also bring the
Q-tank up to 1 tbsp/gallon salt (0.3%) over a few days.

I've added 1/2 gm per litre or 0.05%. I need 10x more! Let me check.
That would be 3 gm per litre required?

I think I'd need a bubble stream too.

It will kill
any external parasites, and make her much more comfortable. You've got
a good chance if she's eating.


Yes, she snapped up a couple of large flakes this morning.

Nikki

Nikki Casali wrote:
Elaine T wrote:

Nikki Casali wrote:

After having got over a problem in which all of my white mollies were
too buoyant, I now have the complete opposite problem with one of
those mollies. This particular molly has no buoyancy whatsoever and
has to battle gravity to reach the water surface. She has lost her
well rounded figure to the point that she looks underfed, although
she is eating whatever is given to her. It's as if the swimming
bladder has been damaged during the period of her being over buoyant.

I presume nothing can "fix" the problem. I've never been able to cure
internal physical problems before. At the moment she can do nothing
but rest on the substrate when she's worn out of swimming.

Nikki

I'd try quarantine and feeding anti-parasitic food.


OK, just purchased a 26 litre quarantine tank. I'm quite sure
anti-parasitic food isn't available in the UK. I've dosed some
anti-bacterial medication for now. I haven't spotted any anti-internal
parasite medication either. I presume it would have to go through the
mouth.

Also bring the

Q-tank up to 1 tbsp/gallon salt (0.3%) over a few days.


I've added 1/2 gm per litre or 0.05%. I need 10x more! Let me check.
That would be 3 gm per litre required?

I think I'd need a bubble stream too.

It will kill

any external parasites, and make her much more comfortable. You've
got a good chance if she's eating.


Yes, she snapped up a couple of large flakes this morning.

Nikki

Yes, 3 gm/l. You'll have to add it slowly. Also acclimate back to FW,
but you can't beat salt for a sick molly.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

The sinking molly has been in the quarantine tank with 3ppt of salt for
a couple of days now. The medication I've used so far hasn't improved
her sinking condition. But she's become hyperactive and can't stop
begging for food. She looks on the skinny side, but that could be to do
with her swimming bladder not functioning properly.

I think I'll return her to the main tank in a week or so, whether she
floats or sinks.

Nikki

Nikki Casali wrote:
The sinking molly has been in the quarantine tank with 3ppt of salt for
a couple of days now. The medication I've used so far hasn't improved
her sinking condition. But she's become hyperactive and can't stop
begging for food. She looks on the skinny side, but that could be to do
with her swimming bladder not functioning properly.

I think I'll return her to the main tank in a week or so, whether she
floats or sinks.

Nikki

The increased activity and hunger is a good sign! I'd keep up with the
medicated food and supplement with algae flakes or blanched veggies.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

Elaine T wrote:
Nikki Casali wrote:

The sinking molly has been in the quarantine tank with 3ppt of salt
for a couple of days now. The medication I've used so far hasn't
improved her sinking condition. But she's become hyperactive and can't
stop begging for food. She looks on the skinny side, but that could be
to do with her swimming bladder not functioning properly.

I think I'll return her to the main tank in a week or so, whether she
floats or sinks.

Nikki

The increased activity and hunger is a good sign! I'd keep up with the
medicated food and supplement with algae flakes or blanched veggies.


There is no medicated food in the UK unless it is prescribed. I tried
some Hexamita cure for parasites the first few days with no improvement.
Nothing else has been dosed apart from salt. The water hasn't even been
changed.

I gave the molly a good look over today. And what do you know! The molly
has regained the ability to control its swimming bladder. I first
thought, all that turbulence from the filter and bubble stream must be
giving the fish an apparent ability to float. So I turned off
everything, but she still floated, mid-tank, without batting a fin.
What's that, a spontaneous self repair?

Anyway, she's still on the thin side. I'll give her an extra helping of
flakes, see if that improves her weight. I'll continue with her in the
QT tank for another couple of weeks.

Nikki

Nikki Casali wrote:
Elaine T wrote:

Nikki Casali wrote:

The sinking molly has been in the quarantine tank with 3ppt of salt
for a couple of days now. The medication I've used so far hasn't
improved her sinking condition. But she's become hyperactive and
can't stop begging for food. She looks on the skinny side, but that
could be to do with her swimming bladder not functioning properly.

I think I'll return her to the main tank in a week or so, whether she
floats or sinks.

Nikki

The increased activity and hunger is a good sign! I'd keep up with
the medicated food and supplement with algae flakes or blanched veggies.


There is no medicated food in the UK unless it is prescribed. I tried
some Hexamita cure for parasites the first few days with no improvement.
Nothing else has been dosed apart from salt. The water hasn't even been
changed.

Oops. I must have misread your last post.

I gave the molly a good look over today. And what do you know! The molly
has regained the ability to control its swimming bladder. I first
thought, all that turbulence from the filter and bubble stream must be
giving the fish an apparent ability to float. So I turned off
everything, but she still floated, mid-tank, without batting a fin.
What's that, a spontaneous self repair?

Yep. The salt takes any stress off of her kidneys, strengthens her
immune system, and kills off external parasites. By feeding her alone,
you've made sure that she's eating appropriate amounts of food.
Overeating can make it hard for a fish to empty or fill the swim bladder
and she may have been getting more of her share in the community.

Anyway, she's still on the thin side. I'll give her an extra helping of
flakes, see if that improves her weight. I'll continue with her in the
QT tank for another couple of weeks.

Nikki

Hope the swim bladder stays fixed!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com