New fish person... don't laugh at my descriptions!

[annielauri]

Tank 20 gal. 4 mollies, 4 platy, 2 cory.
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate approx 20, ph 8.2 - 8.4
New things in tank - driftwood that had been soaking in pet store, and I boiled it for about 2 hours before putting it in on Sat.
No new fish

Ok, one of my mollies is swimming around like she has a sore neck??? I thought she may be constipated, so I put some algae wafers and some cuke in for them to munch on. Don't have any peas on hand. She pooed a tiny bit and is swimming around a little more, but still is holding herself funny (crooked) and has been lying down a lot tonight. Any ideas? Everyone else is taking big healthy poos since I added the veggies.

Oh, and I cleaned the tank, vacuumed, rinsed the filter in tank water and did a 50% water change on Sat.

 

[SeanMurphy]

The pH is pretty high, is it not? I'm not sure if that's contributing to your problems, but it might in the future. You could test your tap water to see what the pH is at that point, and then you'd know if it's something in the tank or just your source.

 

[annielauri]

It is my tap water. That comes out to right around 8. I bought the driftwood in hopes of naturally lowering the PH. I don't want to use a ton of chemicals if I can help it.

 

[DepotFish]

The ph is fine. Mollies and platies love a high ph. The cories aren't necessarily compatible, but so long as they are acclimated, they will thrive in that ph. How long have you had the fish? If its tilted on its side I'd guess it probably has an internal infection of some sort. Bacterial or parasitic. Its pretty hard to treat internal problems in a little fish, especially if she's already laying at the bottom and swimming tilted. In all honesty, I'd have euthanized her already, but you can try to seperate her and treat her with antibacterial meds.

 

[Zagz]

Your ph is fine,a stable ph is better than trying to acheivea perfect ph. Is she bloated at all? Scales sticking out at all?

 

[FishOCD]

The "sore neck" description caught my eye. Are you saying it looks like she is bent, sort of fish scoliosis? I have had recurrent problems over the years with fish tuberculosis in mollies, platies and zebra danios. The affected fish look "S" shaped. All these fish eventually die, sorry to say. Immediate QT is advisable, however I've never found it to be particularly contagious to other healthy fish. If this describes your fish, WEAR GLOVES when you service the tank as fish TB can give you an infection if you have a cut on your hands.

 

[annielauri]

RIP Tonto. I know that isn't a very girlie name but it fit her. She was a silver Molly. She started to look better yesterday, but when I got home today, she was swimming in a total "S" shape and her gills looked dark. She was also gasping and I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want her to suffer. Now I feel like a horrible fish mom and a fish slayer to boot. The only good thing was that it was quick and hopefully less painful than dying a slow death from whatever she had.

 

[rich311k]

I am sorry for your loss. You did what you could and then you put her out of pain, do not blame yourself, sometimes these things happen.

 

[locorosa]

Sorry for your loss. Erie description of her symptoms...I researched and it does sound alot like fish TB.

Here's hoping you have a peaceful day.