Whats going on??

[Ollymoran]

Hi,

I have a 100litre tank and I have 3 mollies in it. My black and white one acts a bit strange sometimes and am wondering what's up. He is in a pattern of barrel- rolling round the tank, but only for a while. We would see him doing it say from lunch time onwards, then the very next day he would Stop and be completely fine. 3 or 4 weeks would pass and it would happen again! Wait till the morning and he would be completely ok again. This has happened 3 or 4 times now where it's stopped for 3 or so weeks and I have read about infections Etc but surely if he had that he would not stop and be normal for a long time in between. All the other fish are absolutely fine. What's going on?

 

[henningc]

I hate to say it but the fish is not fine and his remaining alive is just testament to your tank stability. I would say if he does it again, considering the time length of the occurance, he should be put down. Seeing that you have read up on the subject, you could treat him in a QT tank, but I would question if you can clear what ever it is at this point.

 

[Ollymoran]

I was thinking that in the back of my mind but don't really wanna put it down as the kids will go mental at me. Will keep a close eye on it and see what happens. It couldn't possibly be trapped air could it? Or anything to do with he's eating? I know it's a long shot but he is eating fine from what I've seen.

 

[Tuck]

I was thinking that in the back of my mind but don't really wanna put it down as the kids will go mental at me. Will keep a close eye on it and see what happens. It couldn't possibly be trapped air could it? Or anything to do with he's eating? I know it's a long shot but he is eating fine from what I've seen.

Tell the kids he's gone to heaven, and let them pick a new Molly,

 

[librarygirl]

How long as the tank been set up? Is it cycled? What's yuor water change schedule? What are the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? What do you feed and how often? What dechlorinator are you using? Are you adding anything to the tank (chemicals for plants, salt, etc)? It could be a lot of things; bladder issues from overfeeding is one that comes to mind. Try fasting all of the fish one day per week and the next day give them a soft, deshelled, cooked pea (I use the frozen ones, just microwave it for a minute or two and pop the shell off,then mush it up and feed it to them) -- peas help digestion.

It could also be whirling disease. Again it could be a lot of things but start with the easiest: check the tank's parameters and try the pea thing and see if that helps.

 

[Fishfur]

If it was whirling disease, which is not too likely, the fish would be dead by now. But the sad fact is, some of the things it might have don't have a cure, which means they have the same treatment recommendation; Euthanasia, plus careful disposal of the dead fish. Don't flush it, don't bury it where it might contaminate ground water. Incineration is the best option if possible.

Live and even frozen tubifex worms can carry a number of diseases, including whirling disease, but whirling most often affects trout and other salmonids. But it's being seen more often in ornamental fish.

Some other possibiliites may be something such as poisoning ( chlorine due to forgotten dechlorinator,, something got into the tank, maybe a child put something into it ? This happens more often than you might think. If you ever had any blue green 'algae' which is actually cyanobacteria, maybe neurotoxins from that could be the cause. But it's not very likely.

Another might be lack of vitamin B6, which can affect the nervous system, which may cause erratic swimming. Easily treated if that is the case, but it's odd it's only one fish.

Some strains of columnaris might cause odd swimming, but by now the fish would be long dead. Some of them are so virulent fish die inside 24 hours before showing any symptoms of illness.

Another nasty is VNN, Viral nervous necrosis, aka betanodavirus; affects the nervous system as well, resulting in erratic swimming, spinning, & death. But your fish isn't dead.

Last idea, osmoregulatory shock, from a lack of or excessive amounts of minerals in water along with some ph extremes. Again, erratic swimming, then death. Not likely again, it would affect all fish.

Some of these could only be diagnosed with a necropsy and lab tests, and there aren't any cures.

Since this fish has been doing this for some time, whatever it is is clearly not immediately fatal, but that it is still happening is not a good sign at all.

Children have to learn about death at some point. I know it's hard to explain but it's part of life and fish especially don't live forever. I know my parents never told us our first cat was killed by a car.. they told us he ran away instead, and buried him in the side garden.

I spent years wondering where he was and if he was ok. I'd have been very sad to learn he died, but it would have saved me a lot of worry later on.