Molly breathing heavy...

[ae123]

She is breathing really heavy and her gills look swollen--like the opening is wider than it should be. She is swimming a bit frantically up and down against the glass. Any ideas? She layed 20 or so fry a three days ago. She has been this way for a bit over 24 hours.

I added some gravel just before she started acting this way. The water was cloudy from the dust I had not washed off thorughly enough. May this have had an effect. The rest of the tank seems normal.

Thanks,
ae123

 

[Austin.b]

She is breathing really heavy and her gills look swollen--like the opening is wider than it should be. She is swimming a bit frantically up and down against the glass. Any ideas? She layed 20 or so fry a three days ago. She has been this way for a bit over 24 hours.

I added some gravel just before she started acting this way. The water was cloudy from the dust I had not washed off thorughly enough. May this have had an effect. The rest of the tank seems normal.

Thanks,
ae123

My Molly always does this and I've had him for a while, but since she just age birth, I've heard from ALL my friends that bred mollys, that they have died after giving birth. But don't take my word for it chances are I'm wrong

 

[jetajockey]

Swollen gills and heavy breathing are signs of ammonia poisoning, or possibly some other contaminant in the water. Test the water immediately, and if you can't, do a large (75%+) water change and see if it helps at all, even if it doesn't, it won't hurt. Is the tank cycled?

 

[Shane83]

Swollen gills and heavy breathing are signs of ammonia poisoning, or possibly some other contaminant in the water. Test the water immediately, and if you can't, do a large (75%+) water change and see if it helps at all, even if it doesn't, it won't hurt. Is the tank cycled?

And test your ph. Livebearers will often 'hit the deck' in acidic water

 

[ae123]

Thanks for your replies.

Cycled tank. Tested ammonia, nitrite just to be sure--both zero, as I expected. No change in ph--steady at 7.8 for over a month now. Just did a 50% water change with prime last night.

Perhaps the gravel dust irritated the inner gill and is causing some inflamation. Added standard dose of melafix, 5ml per 10 gallons, last night--now I may be mistaken, but she seemed to appreciate that. Her gills also appear less protrusive today--but too, my eyes and mind have been known to play tricks on me.

Dosing is supposed to occur every 24 hours. Can I safely raise the concentration of melafix more quickly in an attempt to offer more relief quicker? Say 5ml per 10 gallons twice a day?

Thanks again.

 

[ae123]

Any thoughts?

Any thoughts?

Thanks,
ae123

 

[ocminpin]

My mollies haven't died after giving birth...
I have 3 that are on their second preggo round with me...
Everyones different but it isn't usual for them to die after giving birth... No Molly would make it past a few months old if this happened...

 

[librarygirl]

I'm not sure about the meds but if she seems to be responding to it then perhaps keep it up for the full course of treatment. I wouldn't increase the dose though, particularly b/c you're not even fully sure what your'e treating and the meds themselves can be fairly strong. I'd just follow the directions on the bottle. Are you treating the whole tank or is she in quarantine? Some meds can destroy your biological filter, so if you're treating in the main tank just keep an eye on water parameters to make sure there aren't any spikes during and after treatment. I'm not sure if Melafix is known to bother the biological filter but it never hurts to keep an eye on it. I hope she gets better soon.

 

[ae123]

Melafix and beneficial bacteria--a bad mix. That never crossed my mind.

ae123

 

[Shane83]

Melafix and beneficial bacteria--a bad mix. That never crossed my mind.

ae123

Melafix will not harm your bio filter

 

[ae123]

Hear that library? And I do keep about an eye and 1/2 on my parameters. It's most everything else I'm not sure about.

 

[jetajockey]

Melafix doesn't harm biofilter but I am skeptical about what it does help.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi mollies like warmer water with plenty of oxygen in the water,also they prefer a higher P/H,and will enjoy some salt in the water,but this depends on what else you are keeping?

 

[ae123]

Thanks for replying everyone.

Three days & she is still breathing heavy. I dunno, maybe it is something related to her labor 4 days ago. I don't think I saw anything immediately following.

This is bad. I'm really not knowing what to do for her, but to be a fishmaster I'm thinking I should. Perhaps, it is irresponsible of me to even have fish whom I can not tend to properly.

At present, I only know to watch and hope she gets better.

I don't think there is anything wrong with the water. The other fish are not behaving different.

I get to go to bed this evening--I don't know if she is getting any rest or if she is up panting all night.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi any updates on your molly?

 

[ae123]

She and her mate did not make it. Both developed outer HLLD symptoms & didn't last too much longer. May have been labor, stress related, or other--not sure. It seems everyone besides is doing OK, including fry.

Unrelated, the fry are looking healthier by the day--maybe the new food and vitamin supplement.

Thanks for your inquiry.

 

[ae123]

She and her mate did not make it. Both developed outer HLLD symptoms & didn't last too much longer. May have been labor, stress related, or other--not sure. It seems everyone besides is doing OK, including fry.

Unrelated, the fry are looking healthier by the day--maybe the new food and vitamin supplement.

Thanks for your inquiry.

Spoke too soon, apparently. It seems some of the molly fry, if not a majority are displaying some sort of gill problem. What I see is a silver color that should be black on the gills(i think)and possible inflammation. Not so much the rapid breathing, not yet anyway. Does the fact that most of them are displaying similar chararacteristics indicate anything.

If it did have something to do with the old gravel, gravel I had removed from the tank about a month and a half ago and let set, in water, before rinsing it a bit with hot water and putting back in, what could be a potential problem? In hindsight, this was probably a bad idea--not rinsing this stuff more thoroughly.

I'm going to keep adding the melafix. Maybe I will need something stronger.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi sorry to hear of your loses,never nice losing fish
As for your current problem,i would add some tonic salt,if all your fish would be ok with adding it? I believe certain species do not like salt,fraid i am not sure which The gravel would have been an unlikely source of infection, especially if it had dried out? Its more likely you have some poor quality mollies. Last lot i tried to breed was a disaster and i looked for ages to find a decent pair. Good luck

 

[ae123]

Hey thanks. No, I hadn't let it dry out--it was setting in water. Not smart, but I thought since I ran hot water through it a bit, this would kill anything bad in it...When I put it in the tank the water immediately got cloudy. I let it for a day, then when the female molly started breathing heavy I vacuumed the gravel and lots of loose particles came up and out the siphon.

 

[stingrays4]

Hi always a good idea to let it dry out completely if not using it immediately. This may have been a cause of the problems but unlikely in my opinion How are the baby mollies coming along?