Mollie with blisters??

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
If I really squint on the iPhone I'm guessing that from the pinkish bump marked in the red circle there are a couple of blisters extending back to the tail? I can see the lines of scales and maybe something around the tail but I'm hunting around where the other blisters are?

Edit - not sure on movie links. I think you can post a link in?
 
Last edited:
normally a bacterial infection will start in a certain spot and spread from there like a crawling plant. Parasites can move and crawl and will often place themselves around the body in random places. Like fish lice for example. Parasites imbed themselves under the slime coat of the fish and seem to be more sporadically placed then bacteria. Notice how the sores don't touch one another as if each sore has its own territory. These things look sort of look like they are identical in shape meaning there is more than 1 of whatever this is. Bacteria is not likely to emulate its shape of how it attacks. See how the sores look identical to each other like the same breed of parasite has gone about its business in the same way in each spot. It's like a heap of sores on the fish where something has sort of drilled into it. Like a clan of parasites marking their spot. I just get the feeling this is parasitic due to that. Look at the parasitic worm that attacks human's called ring worm. It plants itself around the body of the human host in no specific spot and they don't usually collide with one another. I'm not saying it definitely is parasitic but it just doesn't look bacterial IMO. But of course I could be wrong. I am not claiming to be correct as I'm not a fish doctor although I read a lot.

Bacterial infections often start in the gills and around the mouth also or directly on top of the back or open wounds. These sores could turn bacterial though as the flesh is exposed and skin is broken opening the fish up to bacteria and viruses and especially fungus as that will latch onto anything slightly not right.

In saying all this, there is a bacteria that could be responsible and that's the bacteria that causes haemorrhagic septicaemia. Lesions, ulcers or sores on the body, reddening at the base of the fins and the vent, loss of appetite and darkening of coloration are all symptoms. That's when the bacteria is internal and is breaking out of the body causing the leisions. The fish needs antibiotics for a long duration.


Hi, thanks for the information. Just merely curious.
 
Interesting point there ImACoolguy. I didn't know that the reason the slime coat of a fish builds up from salt is due to salt stressing them. Although no doubt it does when added very quickly in order to shock/stress the fish.

I have read statements that say salt reduces stress at relatively low levels due to making the water more buoyant therefore less osmotic pressure on the fish. (I can't state whether that is true as I don't remember where I read it) I have also read that high concentrations of salt can strip the layer of slime coat on the fish making the parasites/bacteria literally fall off and explode due to not having the necessary pressure (gravity) to even stay in one piece. Imagine if you sent a human into space where there is no gravity. Even our skin couldn't keep us in one piece and we would literally start turn inside out as our bodies are not accustomed to that level of gravity.

Depending on what you are trying to do determines whether you do a highly concentrated salt dip or a low dosed salt bath. I'd probably do both as a quick high concentrated dip is going to strip the parasites off giving immediate relief. Particularly with a molly as they are brackish. A Molly could easily withstand anywhere between 20 minutes to 2 hours in a 3% salt solution (actual seawater). The benefits would be very beneficial for this fish in particular.

20 Tablespoons per 10 litres gives you that concentration if you are not near the sea. And the post above gives the low dose amount. Molly's could live with this amount happily.


I can't verify the salt concentration but long term aquarium salt has proven to weaken the immune system (exactly the opposite in a short term dosing) because you have stressed it for so long.

Keep in mind that salt used for medicating and the salt used to create brackish and marine tanks differ. Hence why fish like mollies, guppies, gobies etc can live just fine in brackish(and some marine).


Caleb
 
Back
Top Bottom