christian_cowgirlGSR
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Hello all! I could use some advice on my Dalmation Molly. She is about 3 years old. This morning, I noticed that she was wobbling as she swam. She was always upright, but she wasn't using her side fins and would wobble as she swam (kinda like a top wobbles before it falls over). This afternoon, I found her laying on the bottom of the tank, a behavior that is VERY unusual for her. Except for the odd behavior, I see nothing visibly wrong with her. Also in the tank are 3 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 3 Zebra danios, and one apple snail, all of which look fine and are acting normal. For plants, I have Saggitaria subulata, anubias barter var nana, java moss, nymphae stellata, and and some assorted aponogeton bulbs.
When I noticed her strange behavior, I tested the water (I use the Quick Dip strips from Wal-mart). The results are:
Nitrates: 20ppm (this is normal - I have NEVER had these strips say 0 nitrates)
Nitrites: 0ppm
Alkalinity: between 120 and 180
pH: between 7.2 and 7.8.
For those of you who may wonder, the tank has been set up since October 2011. I cycled the tank using filter and gravel from an established tank. And slowly added fish once the tank had cycled.
I have been battling a problem with planaria since I set up the tank and recently realized that it could be caused by too much light, so I downgraded from 1 15W bulb and one 10W flourescent bulb to 2 (15W) bulbs. 2-3 days ago, I vacuumed the gravel and did a 30-40% water change. I also changed the filter media. My husband and I moved recently (about a month ago), so I had to move my fish tank, but moving the tank went well, and I didn't lose any fish as a result of the move.
Do you think she's just getting old or do you think there's something I can do for her? If so, what can I do?
When I noticed her strange behavior, I tested the water (I use the Quick Dip strips from Wal-mart). The results are:
Nitrates: 20ppm (this is normal - I have NEVER had these strips say 0 nitrates)
Nitrites: 0ppm
Alkalinity: between 120 and 180
pH: between 7.2 and 7.8.
For those of you who may wonder, the tank has been set up since October 2011. I cycled the tank using filter and gravel from an established tank. And slowly added fish once the tank had cycled.
I have been battling a problem with planaria since I set up the tank and recently realized that it could be caused by too much light, so I downgraded from 1 15W bulb and one 10W flourescent bulb to 2 (15W) bulbs. 2-3 days ago, I vacuumed the gravel and did a 30-40% water change. I also changed the filter media. My husband and I moved recently (about a month ago), so I had to move my fish tank, but moving the tank went well, and I didn't lose any fish as a result of the move.
Do you think she's just getting old or do you think there's something I can do for her? If so, what can I do?