# Help with Black molly turning white



## furysfire

and glowing green in spots under flashlight.( His tail fin in places, under his belly in a straight line) First I noticed his pec fins were turning white from the outside edge in. Otherwise they look perfect. No other white spots. (The same day, my pleco up and died. Looked perfect. not a spot out of place. All water levels are testing perfectly.) I read about the flashlight trick for velvet, and since it doesn't look like ich, I tried it. His tail fin in places, and the line under his belly ( almost tip to tail in a straight line) has an irridescent green glow under flashlight. Today, I noticed under his "chin" seems to be going white...like his scales have faded in color, and he has a white spot on his head. Again, it doesn't look like ich and isn't cottony. Just white. None of the other fish, including another black molly have any white or discoloration, or glow green. Per suggestion of Petsmart ( i know, but i was panicked) I got some blue drops and have treating the tank for 3 days. There is no change in the molly.He acts no differently than he ever has. No scratching, flashing, no curving, no shimmy...still has good appetite. Still bugs his tankmates...other than the white and green, he seems fine. HELP. These were my sister's fish that I adopted when she moved out of state and couldn't take them. Already lost the pleco...

1. Size of aquarium (# of gallons) 29
2. Is your aquarium setup freshwater or brackish water? fresh
3. How long the aquarium has been set up? Since end of Oct '08
4. What fish and how many are in the aquarium (species are important to know) 2 male black molly, 3 neon tetra, 3 zebra danio.
5. Are there live plants in the aquarium?no
6. What temperature is the tank water currently?78
7. What make/model filter are you using? Whisper 20 power w/ Bio bags
8. Are you using a CO2 unit? forgive my ignorance here... we have airstones..?
9. Does your aquarium receive natural sunlight at any given part of the day? not directly, but that can be easily changed if need be.If any at all , just a small streak thru the blinds.
10. When did you perform your last water exchange, and how much water was changed? sunday, 20%
11. How often do you perform water changes? Ive never done a full one. I think we've done only 2 partials. It gets low on water, so I add new about once a week.
12. How often and what foods do you feed your fish? tropical flakes, and for the pleco, algae wafers. 1 tiny pinch a day, except for sunday when they fast.
13. What type of lighting are you using and how long is it kept on? standard tank light. It came with her tank. Blue i think. about 4-6 hours a day
14. What specific concerns bring you here at this time? see above
15. What are your water parameters? Test your pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. all within the safe range. Had ammonia tested at PM.
16. What test kit are you using and is it liquid or test strips? strips, 6 in 1
17. When was the last time you bought a fish and how did they behave while in the pet store tank? N/A

Sorry. I'm new to all of this. She had these fish for 1.5 years before I adopted them. This is the first issue that has come up. Your knowledge and expertise, guidance will be greatly appreciated!


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## cerianthus

Ah! I see that you are very thorough. My compliments. I wish all the hobbyist are as thorough as you, especially newto hobby. The glowing (irridescence) color on the fin of Molly are normal. 
About white colors, are they white sheen? May be nothing unless fish is showing other symptoms such as dashing, lethargic, loss of appetite, etc? if eating well with other normal behaviors, would not worry.
If have clamped tail, may have problem!!
Should invest in liquid test kit when possible because strips are not as reliable. Nonetheless better than no test kit.
Your tank is very understocked and as you probably know toping off due to evaporation is not water change.
I am not going to say exactly how often and how much but small partial water changes (20%) per week as routine maintenace will hep your tank at its optimal condition. Since no two tanks are ever alike, you should determine that as amount of livestock increases and I am sure you will do fine. LMK if molly has clamped fins!!


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## furysfire

Thank you cerianthus. I did notice just a minute ago that the larger molly now has a white "streak" on his dorsal. I swear it wasn't there when I got home 2 hours ago! Its not solid white, but not a sheen either. The larger molly does not have the green glow... Just the smaller one with the now white fins.
You say I'm understocked...how many fish should a 29 gal tank have? And, since this group have all been together for so long, I worry about introducing new fish. What would you recommend for types and #s?


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## aquakid

*Reply*

I would generally say that the green glow is normal but I would remove him to a quarrintine/hospital tank until you can get advice from an expert


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## d0r0g0

If you were still interested in stocking your aquarium, I'd recommend increasing the number of zebra danios in your aquarium to 7-10, as they are very active fish and do much better in larger groups.

If you decide to add more mollies, generally try to keep a 2 females for every one male, as the males tend to 'harras' the females quite a bit.


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## Little-Fizz

I wouldn't put anything else in that tank but maybe 2 more danios and 2 tetras. How do the two males get along?


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