Normal or sick?

[fishtankfish]

I have two balloon bellied mollies in my ten gallon. I also have two babies of the same type. One of my babies (who is a couple months old now) has some bright red spots on him. Is this normal markings or something to worry about? The other fish dont have any spots. They seem normal, maybe a little listless.

 

[Guest]

Sounds like a bacterial infection to me. I would isolate the fish & treat with antibiotic that works against gram negative & positive bacteria. Good luck!

 

[urville]

is this velvet? never had it my tanks.

 

[TankGirl]

Probably not velvet, which is also known as "gold spot disease" but it could be some kind of koi coloration (Lance?) or wounds from a parasitic infestation. Are the fish flashing?

 

[fishtankfish]

what does flashing mean?

 

[deeni0z]

i think it's when they rub up against surfaces to "scratch" their infections off.

 

[TankGirl]

Right - they'll scratch themselves quickly against decorations and gravel.

 

[fishtankfish]

i can't say i've seen that.

 

[Menagerie]

Try looking through these sites:
http://www.aquatronicsonline.com/hobbyist/hobbyist3.htm
http://www.aqualink.com/disease/sdisease.html#ich
http://fish.mongabay.com/diseases.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/AqBizSubWebIndex/fishdisho.htm
http://www.fishpondinfo.com/health.htm