pregnant fish acting odd?

Question

I have two pregnant golddust mollies which i have separated from the rest of the fish in a 10 gallon tank, along with swordtail fry. Both of these fish are very pregnant, but I noticed they have begun to act kind of weird. They stay still and sort of wag their bodies side to side, but don't move anywhere. Also, I've noticed one of them swimming to the plants real fast and hitting them, looking almost as if she has an itch she is trying to scratch. I'm not sure if/what is wrong, but the fry seem fine so I figured there wasn't anything wrong with the water. What do you think?

Answer 1

The description of the molly sounds fairly normal for pregnant molly. I'd guess they are close to term. The stationary wag could also be shimmy, and indicates stress. (Bad water, soft water, illness.. The hitting the plants could be her chasing the fry.

If she is itching this is often an early sign of ich, or velvet. Carefully examine the fish. Are there any white salt grain like dots.(ich) Under a flashlight do you see a red/gold mist on their scales. (velvet) Both are treated the same way, and can be quickly lethal. If all you have in the tank is molly, swordtail, guppy, and platty I'd ramp up the level salt in the tank. Start with 1 teaspoon per hour until you get 10-20 teaspoons of salt in the tank. Be sure to disolve it in a cup of tank water 1st.

PS- You can just use table salt. Aquarium salt exists to charge you lots of money for salt. Iodine is good for fish, and people. Plus there is lots of cheap non-iodine salt in the super market.

Answer 2

Check both the temperature (76-82 is good) and make sure you have some salt in the tank (2 tablespoons in this case). Mollies like the extra salt whereas the swords don't care. The scratching does sound like a parasite to me. Look closely for white spots (ick) and use a flashlight to look closely for a gold or rusty shiine of their scales (velvet disease) If you see either you will need to treat asap as either will be hard on the babies when they are born. Treatments for both are available at any decent pet store or aquarium shop.

Answer 3

Im no expert on the weird behavior of pregnant fish but to me that would be a sign of a pending infection with something. On the other hand maybe, like pregnant humans, when their skin stretches it itches. It would be best to call a local reputable pet or fish store and inquire about this ramming of your plants.

Answer 4

I have two answers.
1, your fish are very pregnant, so they probably are tired and want to laze around, just like any other pregnant animal. So the stay still. They twitch from side to side so that they won't sink.
2, Since fish don't have skin like other mammals do, I find it personally unlikely that when their skin stretches it itches, so after the babies are born, I'd ask the people at PetSmart if she has ich, which is a parasite on their skin that you medicate with drops.

Answer 5

When i was a bit younger i used to have fish right, n the shark ones always jump out of the tank n we'd get home n there'd be some big dead fish lying on the carpet. I think they used to get flung out through the filter

Answer 6

maximum vets do not breed dogs, so as that they don't understand firsthand. you ought to opt to have study up on the topic formerly. Panting, restlessness, lack of urge for nutrition, nesting, scratching, shivering, drop in temperature. you ought to opt to were taking her temperature each 12 hours. at the same time as it drops heavily, you ought to opt to be particular domestic dogs interior of 24 hours, if not then take her to the vet.

Answer 7

i'm pretty sure that fish don't get pregnant. the female fish lays eggs and the male fish squrits seman on the eggs.

Answer 8

I think they will be fine fish get moody just like us .