Molly laying on bottom of tank

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GOBLOX001001

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Jan 31, 2010
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The other day i bought a dalmatian lyretail molly for my nephew.
He as a 10 gallon tank that currently has 1 leopard guppy and another molly of some kind.
His water parameters were fine, can't remember what they were exactly but they were perfect.
The new molly seemed fine at first but the next day it was just laying on the bottom of the tank. After I saw that, I moved it to a 5 gallon container with a filter, heater, and air stone. I added some aquarium salt to the container thinking it might just be over stressed. It will come up for food and swim around sometimes but mostly stays on the bottom of the tank. It looks fine except it keeps its dorsal fin down.
I was just hoping someone here could give me an idea of what to do.

Thanks in advance.
 

cellodaisy

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Jan 11, 2009
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How long have you had the new molly? How did you acclimate it to the new tank? Did you notice any aggression between the fish? Can you retest the water? "Perfect" readings would be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, which seems like it would be easy to remember, so I'm guessing they weren't quite perfect.
 

GOBLOX001001

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Jan 31, 2010
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? "Perfect" readings would be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, which seems like it would be easy to remember, so I'm guessing they weren't quite perfect.
good point. ammonia was 0ppm and so was nitrite. nitrate was around 10 ppm. i can't test the water again. i did a 50% water change after moving the other fish to one of my other tanks.

There were no signs of aggression. He has only had the fish since Monday.
 

cellodaisy

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Well... I guess I'd just keep up with frequent water changes to keep the water as pristine as possible. If you don't see any other symptoms, it could just be the stress of moving to a new tank. Hopefully some of the more experienced members will chime in.
 

bradlgt21

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May 9, 2009
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It could just be stress. Some fish get afraid of the new lights and movement and settings and just hide on the bottom. They will get used to it over time.

Another possibility is he has something wrong, it could even be internal parasites and you wouldn't know unless you observed him for a period of time. Hence why so many of us use QT tanks. You moved him to a 5 gallon with heater, filter, and air stone. Thats where he should have gone when you got him home. When your new into this stuff you learn from situations like this. Luckily your stock isn't big in case they all get sick. Next time put him in that tank by himself for a few weeks to make sure he is healthy, whenever you get a new fish your risking the health of your current residents if you don't esure the new fish is 100% healthy by keeping him by himself for a month. I know it's hard but the wait will save the lives of all your current fish if something goes wrong.
 

GOBLOX001001

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i usually quarantine my fish. i had to give up that 5 gallon qt which i was gonna use for my new shrimp.

The fish is now slightly on its side. so i'm not sure what that means exactly. It will still swim if it needs, so it isnt dead i'm still just unsure of the situation.
 

bradlgt21

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I was going to suggest swim bladder disease but laying on it's side is pretty much just dying regadless of what is wrong. The tank you put him in did it have used filter media? If it's a filter you just grabbed out of a drawer or bucket and set up then it wouldnt' be cycled. He might be getting high levels of ammonia right now.
 

Ianne

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May 22, 2009
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I would like to give the guess maybe its pregnant :D
but i would say its more of an adjustment thing usually as time goes on and hiding places make it feel comfortable but molly dont usually hide lol
 

J double R

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Jan 13, 2007
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How long have you had the new molly? How did you acclimate it to the new tank? Did you notice any aggression between the fish? Can you retest the water? "Perfect" readings would be 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0 nitrate, which seems like it would be easy to remember, so I'm guessing they weren't quite perfect.

0-0-0 would present an issue, as unless there is a heavy plant stock, it would be indicative of a lack of denitrifying bacteria.
 
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