Sick or pregnant? What's a good medication?

[xixi]

Hi, everyone. Thanks for taking a look, I really appreciate any advice you have for me. I'm a beginner fish enthusiast and overall all my fish looks really lively and curious. I have a couple concerns regarding my new "kids," however. I feed my fish 1-2 a day, in small amounts. Nothing they can't eat over 1 minute. All my tank info is below.

This is my main worry: my lyretail molly. I couldn't snap a good picture of her, but I attached a photo of what she looks like right now.

And there is my dwarf gourami. I just have a quick question for him - does he look healthy? When I first got him, his body was slim. Now I notice he's gotten... fatter? Is this out of stress? He eats just fine and swims around. He's a little shy, though, so he might still be settling in.


1~What type of fish is afflicted? In addition, please describe what is wrong with the fish to the best of your ability (i.e. cotton like growth, bloated, etc.).
Lyretail molly. Got her almost 2 weeks ago. Other females in her store tank were clearly pregnant, but she wasn’t. She is energetic and eats. Current symptoms: swollen belly, red poo (could be because of red flakes?), pecking at heater and air tube, brown spots, rubbing on air pump tube, flicking against surface.


2~What are your tank parameters (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, temp, pH)? Please give exact values.
I'm sorry. Unfortunately, I can’t provide information about the water because I don’t have a test kit yet, nor do I have a ride to get it tested for free at a store. (Don’t worry, though, I’m planning to do this within the week.) The water is clear, though.


3~ How large is the tank? How long has the tank been set up?
10g. ~4 wks
no live plants (yet)

4~What type of filtration are you using? Please give the name and number (i.e. Fluval 304) and amount of gph if known.
Tetra 10i filter, 10g whisper air pump, and submersible water heater

5~How many fish are in the tank? What kinds of fish are they and what are their current sizes?
6
3x cory catfish
1x dwarf gourami
1x guppy
1x lyretail molly
all 2" or under

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? How often do you do this? How much water do you remove at a time?
Last water change was today, actually. I do it weekly. Remove 30% of water.


7~How long have you had the fish? If the fish is new, how did you acclimate it/them?
Had fish for roughly 2 weeks. Floated them then introduced them within 10 min of each other. Introduced gourami 45 min later. No conflict.

8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.?
No. Just air pump.

9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
Algae wafers and Tetra tropical fish flakes.

If she’s sick, would you recommend Seachem ParaGuard or Jungle Lifeguard? Which is better in general to treat ill fish, so I can buy it for future use? I do own Melafix Antibacterial Fish Remedy, but I don’t think that what she needs. I want to make sure she's okay.

I appreciate all the help!

 

[f1shg33kz]

How long has the tank been running? If the tank is fully cycled, toxins will build up and cause the rubbing symptoms that you described. Molly looks pregnant. Livebearers like mollies and guppies can have babies for up to 6 months after mating with a male. I'd cut back on the food a bit and see if the gaurami slims down. Most fish really don't require much food.

 

[xixi]

How long has the tank been running? If the tank is fully cycled, toxins will build up and cause the rubbing symptoms that you described. Molly looks pregnant. Livebearers like mollies and guppies can have babies for up to 6 months after mating with a male. I'd cut back on the food a bit and see if the gaurami slims down. Most fish really don't require much food.

Thanks for the response!

The tank's been up for around 4 weeks, now, and the fish have been here for ~2. My molly is the only fish that rubs against objects. All my other fish appear fine. Should I try dropping in some Ammonia neutralizer? I don't want to flood the tank with chemicals. I already have a little bit of Melafix in there. :S What about the brown spots and the flicking against the surface? Is that typical preg behavior? I'm worried about parasites or something.

I don't think my gourami's been here long enough to get fatter, but
I'll definitely cut back on feeding. It's worth a shot.

 

[f1shg33kz]

4 weeks isn't long enough to complete the cycle process. There's a good chance that you've got elevated ammonia or nitrite. For detoxifying ammonia, I really suggest Prime. It's a de-chlorinator, ammonia detox and nitrite detox all in one. It's also gentle on fish. I always add it to bags of fish that I ship to help maintain water quality while the fish are in transport. Getting a water sample tested would help a lot.

 

[xixi]

update

So today I took a water sample to Petco. They didn't provide me with exact numbers, but my water isn't a problem. They said it's normal and the only thing is that my water is a little hard, but not to the extent of worrying over.

My lyretail has developed ich and I see it has spread to my gourami. I'm becoming increasingly agitated. I ordered Seachem Paraguard via Amazon and did a water change. I can't wait for the Paraguard to come in because I don't want the infections to get worse, so I bought Tetra's Lifeguard.

I really, really feel uncomfortable using this because I worry about my cory catfish. The tablets are slow releasing and I dropped them in around an hour apart from each other so it wouldn't overwhelm the tank. A reviewer on Amazon said their catfish were just fine, but I'm afraid to continue even though the tank needs a lot of help.

Any ideas?

 

[f1shg33kz]

Ich is really easy to get rid of. I've never had to use chemicals to treat it. Just raising your water temperature gets rid of it. What is your current temp? Very slowly raise the temperature of the tank (I like to take a couple days to raise it) to 84-86 F. Should clear up the Ich in a 1-2 weeks with no need for chemicals.

As for the water test, you have to specifically ask for numbers. What is fine to one person may be completely unacceptable to another. The fact that they mentioned hardness, something that really doesn't factor in to the health of the vast majority of fish, indicates that you may not be getting accurate info. I've worked at petco and seen employees really drop the ball. If Ammonia or Nitrite are above 0, then the tank is not cycled and everything is not ok.

Sorry for the rant, I've seen first hand the mistakes that some pet stores can make.

Hopefully your fish will all pull through for you.

 

[f1shg33kz]

I forgot to mention that an air stone is important when raising temperatures. The warmer water gets, the less oxygen saturated it becomes. If you've already got an air stone then you'll fine.

 

[xixi]

Ich is really easy to get rid of. I've never had to use chemicals to treat it. Just raising your water temperature gets rid of it. What is your current temp? Very slowly raise the temperature of the tank (I like to take a couple days to raise it) to 84-86 F. Should clear up the Ich in a 1-2 weeks with no need for chemicals.

As for the water test, you have to specifically ask for numbers. What is fine to one person may be completely unacceptable to another. The fact that they mentioned hardness, something that really doesn't factor in to the health of the vast majority of fish, indicates that you may not be getting accurate info. I've worked at petco and seen employees really drop the ball. If Ammonia or Nitrite are above 0, then the tank is not cycled and everything is not ok.

Sorry for the rant, I've seen first hand the mistakes that some pet stores can make.

Hopefully your fish will all pull through for you.

Thank you! I was worried that Petco would have made a mistake, but it's really hard for me to hitch a ride to my LFS because they're a farther drive.

My heater is at a preset temp - I can't change it, unfortunately. Right now my thermometer reads at 75 degrees. It's a hooded tank with a light, though, so heat gets trapped in there. I have an airstone in there and so far my catfish haven't reacted adversely to the medication. My air pump is always working, but I turned off my filter for the medication.

I'm thinking about giving my gourami and lyretail another salt dip today. If they stress out I'll take them out right away. I just hope this Tetra Lifeguard medicine won't hurt my fish.

 

[f1shg33kz]

With a pre-set heater, medication is your best bet. 75 is a little low, probably why the fish have Ich. Personally, I don't think a salt dip is necessary. I'd give the meds in the tank some time to work before you go to that.

How long are you leaving your filter off? Without the filter running your tank will build up toxins. Also, the beneficial bacteria in the filter will die off. Did you turn the filter off because you were worried about the carbon in your filter pad? You can cut a hole in your filter pad and work all the carbon out if you want to try that.

Hope this helps.