Mollies and Melaleuca . . . Well, Melaleuca in General

[Twoapennything]

My betta Hemlock's fin have looked a little strange for the past week or so, so I decided to treat him in the tank with Bettafix, which is essentially Melafix at one quarter the strength. I dosed appropriately, according to the directions. Within an hour one of my baby mollies had died

The active ingredient in both Bettafix and Melafix is melaleuca. Are certain fish just very sensitive to melaleuca? I feel badly, because my little molly was perfectly healthy before I dosed the Bettafix. I didn't think it would be a problem because I've dosed Melafix several times in a community tank without any fish deaths.

I'm going to do a PWC now, just to be safe. The cories and the rest of the molly fry are a bit lethargic.

 

[mattrox]

I wouldn't have thought that the medication would have caused the death. I have heard of cases where malawi cichlids holding eggs/young in their mouth have been treated with no bad side effects.

Perharps what caused the betta to be ill has overcome you lil Molly. A week is quite a long time if an illness has taken hold when considering the size of the baby fish. If it had been infected internally then it would be hard to see any signs of illness.