Molly has developed red strip

[Sissy]

I brought a male and female peaches and cream molly at the spring auction.  Cream (female) was to have her fry so I moved her to a five gallon tank.  After she had her fry, I moved her back into the the 55 tank.  Peaches wouldn't leave her alone so I bought two female mollies.  After four days one has developed fin rot and the other has cotton mouth.  I have moved them out of the 55 gallon tank.  In the mean time Peaches (male molly) has developed a red line on his right side.  It is a few millimeters beyond the pectoral fin and continues to the pelvic fin.   He is not acting any different than normal.  Does anyone know what this could be?  All other community fish appear to be fine.

[armthehomeless]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

I really don't know much about fish diseases. Hopefully someone can help you out. The only thing that comes to mind would be Septicemia (sp?). You may want to look up some pictures of the disease and compare them to your fish. Good luck.

[guppymax]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Change 30% of the water first. I think you need to treat everyone with tetracycline ASAP. It takes several days of treatment. Follow the directions on the medication. Read this:

http://www.flippersandfins.net/flexibacter.htm

max

[Sissy]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Thanks Max, I'll start it right away.

[guppymax]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Don't forget armthehomeless. He was basically right, he saw your post sooner and he had the courage to speak.

max

[PhishPhreek]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Mollies are plague rats  

[guppymax]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Now, Now, What is wrong with the white ones you got from me? I think it is true that some mollies strains have the ability to mount an immune response to diseases prevalent in our water bred out of them.

max

[Sissy]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Max,  I have been to two pet stores to get the tetracycline but they do not have it.  I was going to start them out on Maracyn and Maracyn-Two (mentioned in the article as alternative).  Do you think that will work?  If not, tomorrow I will call around to a few stores for tetracyline.  

I got 12 of Max's black / dalmatian molly's at the auction.  Sorry to say I lost two but gained twenty + frys.  This brings up another question I have for you.  I had four in one tank (three female and one male).  They have been prolific and to my amazement are watching out for the young.  One female is very protective and chases the other adults away from the young (not all are hers).  I think she killed one adult because it was fine in the weeks leading up to the death.  Should I remove the other adults from the tank?

In the second tank larger tank I have the other mollies.  They were prolific also but than their young started to disappear.  I am assuming they are eating them since I do not see any dead little bodies.  Not sure why the different experience between two groups of mollies.  Could it be that I am not be feeding the last tank enough? Could this cause them to eat the young.  What is your experience with your mollies?

[guppymax]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

I get better results with tetracycline but you need to get started so I would start with the Maracyn I and II. I have heard that Kanamycin (Kanacyn) works better than the others but I have never had any or been able to get it when I needed it.

Eating the babies can be harmful to the adults. If the water is soft it makes the pH swing low which can lead to deaths. Black stools is a clue that this is happening. The parents are likely eating the fry and some fish seem to be ( genetically ) more prone to this than others. To keep the most fish alive seperate the fry from the parents. Plants real or plastic  create hiding places so more fry survive without being separated. Males can be very aggressive and kill other males or even run a female to death. Hiding places is good for this too.

You should not feed your fish more than they can eat in five minutes. If you feed often and keep the water hot they grow faster and die sooner.

These dalmatian molly's and some of the other molly's that I have seem to be very hardy and aggresive compared to other strains I have had in the past.

max

[ken/mark]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Sissy,

Good luck with treating your mollies; Max has more experience with helping a fish get better then we do.  I would recommend adding some salt to the water if you have not already.  It usually helps our mollies when if one looks under the weather.  

The peaches and cream probably came from us.  Some males can get aggressive to other males and females.  We had a tank full of male mollies this winter and all was going well for a couple of months then we noticed all the males chasing one male and courting him.  We finally had to move him to another tank.  We still love the mollies becuase for the most part they leave their young alone and don't eat them.  We have not locked in the peaches & cream mollies so that they breed true so you will get a variety of colors from the offspring.

Let us know if you have any other questions.  later, ken

[ken/mark]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

Hello sissy maybe you should join the Houston livebearers association at http://maxsmi.100webspace.net/phpBB2/index.php hopefully some people there can help you out further or you can just chat.
by mark

[Sissy]

Re: Molly has developed red strip

I was wondering about Cream's frys.  Most have very dark tails.  I thought Max's mollies got to her first but than realized with the gestation period it did not happen.   Since about half of my fishes are livebearers I will join the Livebears Association.

Thanks, Silvia