Please Help! I have a 20 gallon Aquarium with 6 fish....pH is 7.0.....Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates are Zero...The water is great. 5 of my fish are thriving and really healthy. But one of the, is swimming vertical..my female dalmatian molly. I was thinking she might be pregnant..her stomach is large and is sort of boxed out at the bottom....However, I don't think that being pregnant would cause her to swim vertical! Her feces look white and stringy...can someone please help me save her?! It would mean the world...I know it sounds weird, but this is my favorite fish and I am really attached to her...she swims right up to your face when you look at the tank...:P I really want to help her in any way possible. Thank you!
2007-10-31 16:41:54 · 5 answers · asked by Blair C. 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
It doesn't sound pregnancy related to me either. Common causes of this are a problem with her swim bladder - the gas filled organ that helps her maintain her position in the water.
A few things can cause there to be a problem, and the easiest one to treat is constipation (yes, fish get this too). If she'll eat, give her a piece of a cooked green pea with the skin removed. The fiber will help her pass anything in her digestive system. If there's a blockage, some food may be fermenting and producing gasses.
If that doesn't help within two days, she may have an internal infection, which can be treated by feeding her a medicated food (store bought) or soaking her food in a broad-spectrum antibiotic, then giving it to her. You may want to go straight to this, since the white feces would also indicate an infection.
2007-10-31 17:02:13 · answer #1 · answered by copperhead 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Oh sorry to hear bout that....my fish always come talk to me when I walk up to their tank aswell....I would do a water change....sounds like the water's fine but a 25% change never hurts. The white stringy things could be a parasite so I would treat he whole tank for parasites. I used tohave molly's and I remember when I first introduced them to the tank a couple of them swam around like that for the first couple of days but then they were fine and I had them for years. It could be how they display stress. She might be stressing and in trouble with her imminent birth. Maybe you should get her into one of those breeding tanks so she feels safer.....but again the white stringy faeces is a worry.....I would def treat the tank.
2007-10-31 17:08:10 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
It has a swim bladder disease. A pretty common disease. Put it in an hospital tank. That should help.
2007-11-01 01:36:19 · answer #3 · answered by Chad, M.D. 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
maybe your fish has a swim blatter infection
2007-10-31 18:27:31 · answer #4 · answered by jessica 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋
Turn your tank 90 degrees, unto its side...that should fix it
2007-10-31 20:36:34 · answer #5 · answered by Dog 4 · 1⤊ 6⤋