In December, a friend of mine was moving and asked me to take his fish. He had what turned out to be a male black molly living in an extremely dirty 1 gallon tank(!!!), with no heater and no salt. He was feeling it tropical fish granules. I had never owned a fish so I started reading everything I could to try and improve the little guy's life. I bought a much larger tank, new filter, heater, and took serious care in cycling it over the course of 6 weeks before I put him in it. Everything has been good for the last 2 months he has been in the tank. I do 30-40% PWCs every week or so, and add 1tbsp of aquarium salt per 5 gallons everytime I do a change.
The last couple of days, he has stopped eating and started acting lethargic. Yesterday night he settled to the bottom of the tank on his side or upside down and wont get back up. He is still breathing and starts moving his fins when I come up to the tank. He's had some white patches on his belly but I think they've been there since I got him. they've never changed size and it doesnt seem like the salt sprinkle looking Ich photos I've seen.
Water quality results:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
ph 7.5
hard water
temp 80
food spirulina flakes
Is he just getting old? I'm not exactly sure how old he is. Do you think he has a bacterial or fungal infection and if so, what medicine should I get? Is he already too gone for treatment at this point? If so, how can I put him out of his misery safely without hunting down some clove oil?
Thanks for all your help!
The last couple of days, he has stopped eating and started acting lethargic. Yesterday night he settled to the bottom of the tank on his side or upside down and wont get back up. He is still breathing and starts moving his fins when I come up to the tank. He's had some white patches on his belly but I think they've been there since I got him. they've never changed size and it doesnt seem like the salt sprinkle looking Ich photos I've seen.
Water quality results:
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 5
ph 7.5
hard water
temp 80
food spirulina flakes
Is he just getting old? I'm not exactly sure how old he is. Do you think he has a bacterial or fungal infection and if so, what medicine should I get? Is he already too gone for treatment at this point? If so, how can I put him out of his misery safely without hunting down some clove oil?
Thanks for all your help!
