I just got some fish from a friend and I noticed that...

[farli]

I just go some fish from a friend of mine, and they were pretty healthy, but one female molly had a bump on and around her left pectoral fin. She was hardly swimming and just laying on the bottom. I got her out of the water and put her into a lid with water so she could breathe, but i could look at her fin. I thought it was a worm, but i poked it with a needle and puss came out. I endede up haveing to take off the fin ( i work in a vets office and the fin was completely abcessed.) I gave her a salt bath and put her in a breeders net to rest. That was last night. She is still alive this morning, doing much better than last night before her "surgery." She is swimming around apperently happy. If anyone have experience with this, or any suggestions they would be greatly appriciated.

[OrionGirl]

Maintain clean water--frequent water changes, and avoid stressing her out. The salt water will help prevent a reinfection. Feed small amounts a few times a day, and she should be back on her 'fins' pretty quickly. Small abcesses aren't that unusual, but they can often reinfect if not cleaned regularly. Since the fin was removed, it probably will not grow back, but you'll want to make sure the area heals smoothly. I'd keep her isolated for at least a week as well, to prevent other fish from harrassing her while she heals and gets used to swimming minus one fin.

[beviking]

You gave her a salt bath but she is in fresh water? That's fine, but she may be better off with some salt in the water (in another tank) as suggested.

Reason: The salt will relieve some osmotic stress and she'll produce more protective slime which will flush the wound. Oh yeah, and it will help prevent reinfection.

[Nelu VLAD]

The same thing happened to some of my molly's (I had a pet shop) but most of them died. Still, I remember that two males lost some fins, but after three weeks they grew back. The salt bath is a good idea but you'll have to repeat it in order to have some results.