why has my black molly faded?

[prettyvacant]

one of my black mollies is fading. it seems like its turning greyish/silver. it isnt like fuzz or a bump or anything... it just seems faded. I would like to know if this is bad? is it a sign of disease or something? i vacuum my gravel and change the water once a week. everyone else is healthy. my ph is 7.2-7.4, ammonia is 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 10-20. temperature 80-82.
the fish still eats and everything, i just want to know what could be wrong. its kinda ugly :| so help please

 

[deeni0z]

mollies are brackish fish. from your data, it looks like it's not a brackish environment.

 

[prettyvacant]

yes but i know that they can still live in freshwater tanks....
my question is: is it a sign of disease?

 

[deeni0z]

although they CAN live in freshwater environments, it's not the BEST possible thing for them. your molly may be stressed from the lack of salt and has thus lost some of its coloration.

what color is your substrate? if it's a light color it might be "blending" in with it.

 

[prettyvacant]

my substrate is black.

 

[TankGirl]

I would quarrantine the fish if it is truly a black molly and not some other kind of variety that developed adult color just now. I'd use salt in the tank and be sure this is not velvet or some type of fungal process before putting him back with the others, assuming he is behaving normally.

 

[FawnN]

I would agree that mollies definitely belong in a brackish environment. They are very prone to fin rot and other diseases without the salt.

Just because they can survive in FW, does not mean they are happy and healthy.

I would suggest you get that molly in a Q-Tank and add some salt.

 

[prettyvacant]

k then....... and how long am i supposed to keep this molly in the qt with salt...?

 

[TankGirl]

Keep him there until you see what is going on. Either the fish will improve on salt and color will return, or he will get worse and you will determine that he had an illness. I am hopeful it is something that will be cured by salt.

Over the years I have kept mollies in total FW and in almost brackish, and I can say with certainty that the ones kept with salt had almost no incidence of illness or disease, compared to the FW ones that had frequent outbreaks of ich, in particular. There may be other issues at play in my case, such as the particular breeding of the mollies I received, but I know I will always "salt" my mollies.