# Molly with a fat lip and fast gills. Can he make it?



## homegirl2180 (Jul 6, 2007)

Pertinent information

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) --46 gallons
2. Is your aquarium set up freshwater or saltwater? --freshwater
3. How long the aquarium has been setup --since july 4th, fish were added on the 9th
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) --three lyretail mollies, one black molly, two male guppies, three female guppies, and an albino cory catfish
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium? --various fake plants, anacharis and moneywort
6. What make/model filter are you using? Emperor 400
7. Are you using a CO2 unit? I don't know what that is...
8. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? It is in a large upstairs room with several windows but it is in a corner so there isnt any direct sunlight.
9. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? I am breaking in the tank so I havent changed the water yet.
10.How often and what foods do you feed your fish? I feed a small pinch of flake food once a day and a variety wafer once a day for my catfish.
11.Is your aquarium light incandescent or fluorescent and how often is it kept on? It is florescent and is kept on during the day but not at night.
12.What specific concerns bring you here at this time? Water temperature, and one of my lyretail mollies has an injured mouth and quick moving gills. He is lying on his side on the bottom of the quarantine tank. 
13. Water are your water test results for: 
pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I took a water sample to the local petsmart (as of now I only have at home ph tests) and they said everything looked good but that my ammonia and nitrates were between .0 and .5 but that is to be expected during breakin. 


OK! hopefully that helped. My white molly is the "tank bully" I checked on him at 2 o'clock and came back at 6 to find him on the tank bottom. Gills moving like mad. He looked very stressed. He would swim around for a bit and then rest on the bottom. When he does swim it seems pretty normal. His mouth however, well, it looks like he got a fat lip. My boyfriend says it looks like someone decided to fight back for a change. I had posted earlier that I am in a situation where the room the tank is in is not air conditioned, so I was afraid he wasnt getting enough oxygen. I moved him to a quarantine tank and moved him downstairs so he can be in water that is in the upper seventies. The tank is a one gallon betta tank with air filter. He seems to be responding well to the air bubbles and I put some melafix in his tank to start healing up his mouth. I am afraid he won't make it through the night. 

Any insight would be great. One of my smaller cory catfishes was also attacked and he didn't make it. All of his fins and tail were gone. I was horrified. It just seems so brutal. I dont know if it was this white molly or not. I want to think it was and that he injured his mouth against plants and gravel when he was repeatedly diving for my catfish. Sad but it seems likely. 

This is my first aquarium and I want so much to do this right.


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## fish_4_all (Nov 13, 2006)

It could be an aggresive fish but it could be ammonia, nitrites or any number of other conditions snce the tank is so new. First off, do a water change as soon as possible. Second, add an airstone running full bore in the large tank. This will "help" with any gill damage that has happened from ammonia or nitrites. The water change will also help get them clean water. Might even try what is called a "shimy block" from the LFS to help the fish settle. Also make sure to add the appropriate amount of dechlorinator with slime coat to the water for the entire tank, not just the new amount unless oyu are using Prime in which case you only need to add enough to cover the amount of the water change but more shouldn;t hurt. 

The fish you quarantined will need fresh water and a steady temp. It osunds like an infection or fungus that has come from fighting. It could make it but I can't say for sure. They are not the best fish to cycle with. ammonia at .5ppm is death to fish eventually so try to keep the levels as low as you can without chaging too much water daily. Nitrites are even worse and shold be kept as low as posible also. 

Don't let the LFS fool you with bad advice, please ask here before adding fish and for better advice than you should recieve from them. They more give some good advice but letting you start a tank with those fish to cycle it was a bad move by them so I don't know if I would trust them.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

*Re: Molly with a fat lip and fast <span style=*



homegirl2180 said:


> 7. Are you using a CO2 unit? I don't know what that is...


CO2 unit is used only in tanks where plants are grown. It will be your choice whether you want a nice planted tank or not. Some plants can still grow well without the CO2 unit.


> 13. Water are your water test results for:
> pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate? I took a water sample to the local petsmart (as of now I only have at home ph tests) and they said everything looked good but that my ammonia and nitrates were between .0 and .5 but that is to be expected during breakin.


Best to buy your very own test kit. API liquid test kit is best recommended. Check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH regularly.


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## assualt911 (Jul 15, 2007)

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i dont think it will, my molly, Zebra Danio (dont know what it is) just died  saime thing happened. i have to get it out now. im sad, had it for a while, my first fish as well out of 17 (maybe less)


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## homegirl2180 (Jul 6, 2007)

Thanks a bunch! Assualt, I appreciate the sympathy. We're in good hands here at fish forum though! We'll both keep at it, ok?

I am going to return the fish and use that money to go toward an air pump and a tank divider. The air upstairs is set to 80 degrees constantly now. That will have to do until I can get some more air in the tank and maybe a dehumidifier. 

I think a tank divider would help isolate my fish and maybe put the mollies on the side of the tank farthest from the filter since you said they aren't that great of a cycling fish and I don't have another tank nor do I have the money to invest in another tank in the near future. 

You guys are so great! I was very distraught but your responses are so encouraging. I'm going to do a water change and go have a word with the pet store people (don't worry I'll be polite).


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