black mollie problems?

Question

I never have any problems with any of my fish except my black mollies, they keep ick and they end up dying even with months of treatment. Its only the black mollies, if any of my other fish get ick it always goes away with treatment and my mollies die. HELP! I lost another one this morning.

Answer 1

Mollies get ich more quickly than other fish due to the fact that they are originally brackish and full salt water fish. Their slime coats are not really designed to handle the freshwater parasites. Salt water ich is not the same parasite and mollies can ward it off easlier.

If you are keeping mollies only, I would suggest getting sea salt and increasing the sea salt in the tank to a brackish water level. You will find your mollies will not get freshwater ich, and have more fry each time.

You will need to get a hydrometer and increase the sea salt slowly to around 1.005.

I have yet to have my mollies get ich living in my salt and brackish water tanks. I will not keep them in fresh water for this reason.

Answer 2

Mollies do seem to be more sensitive to ich than some other fishes for some unknown reason. Luckily they not only can tolerate salt, they like and need higher salt concentrations in a tank. Depending on exactly what other fish you have in the tank, increasing the salt to about 1 tablespoon per gallon should help significantly with the ich problem. You could also try a salt dip at about 2.5 tablespoons per gallon. Place the most affected fish in the dip one at a time for about 5 minutes then return them to the tank. If they show signs of serious stress ( and mollies shouldn't) you can remove them to the original tank sooner. Do this daily as you also treat the tank. It will reduce the amount of ich in the tank and on the affected fish.

MM

Answer 3

Mollies are not an easy fish to raise.Try a slightly higher temperature in your aquarium. Maybe add some coral gravel to raise the calcium and hardness. Salt might also help their immune systems. It's odd that they are so sensitive in captivity,I've seen so called"Liberty Mollies" living in the gutters in Belize City where a high wind or high tide puts full strength Marine water where minutes before there was plain,clear, rain water flowing. Not exactly a tender kind of environment for a supposedly sensitive fish. Perhaps the solution would be a separate tank for the Mollies,one with more "brackish water" conditions. That would be hard water with varying salinity,and higher temps(around 80 degrees F.). I don't understand why pet stores sell Mollies as "beginner" fish,their care is definitely a cut above beginner. I'm sorry that I can't provide a definitive answer, I believe that it's a complex question.-----Good luck----PeeTee

Answer 4

Black mollies are brackish water fish. They can need about 1 rounded tablespoon of aquarium salt per 5 gallons, unless you have scaleless fish present as well.
This will improve their general health, plus freshwater ich doesn't thrive in brackish water. Also many cases of ich are due to low temperature. Black mollies need to be around 78 degrees. If you keep water 70-72, most likely you will get ich.
Finally, ich is present in all fish tanks. The question is are the fish healthy enough to defend themselves from it? The key to fish health is water changes and good food. I rarely get winter colds because I eat well and exercise, and wash my hands a lot. A healthy lifestyle is good for everyone.
Some people confuse marine ich with freshwater ich and have convinced themselves salt doesn't work for freshwater fish. I wouldn't listen to such those people and I expect them to thumbs down me.

Answer 5

What different fish are interior the tank? What length is the tank? different fish can produce a extensive quantity of ammonia and kill fish. i stumbled in this out as my pal placed goldfish and Koi interior the comparable pond. The goldfish killed the koi. have you ever performed a water exchange, and if so what variety of what are you making use of? while you're making use of faucet water, examine that. I merely stumbled on a pair of fry some weeks in the past and placed them in a internet, so as that they are doing nicely nevertheless. besides the incontrovertible fact that enable me understand what is going on and if i will grant greater solutions.

Answer 6

They are prone to get ich since they are brackish water fish.
Treat the entire tank for ich with the proper meds

Answer 7

Try to find a less stressful medication for your ich. Quick Cure is to stressful for delicate fish. check with your local pet store.

Answer 8

well my friend had the same problem .the best thing u can do is not get black Molly's.i have heard that they ar prone 2 dieing in any way .try and avoid buying them.x

Answer 9

use a treatment that is ok for more delicate fish.

also, you need to treat your tank for ich for two weeks straight, or it will just come back (because its a parasite and thats how long its lifecycle is).
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