Whats wrong with my molly?

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moose1960

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2 days ago my wife noticed the lone black molly swimming along the bottom scratching itself. Yesterday and today he is curled up like he is chasing his tail(almost as if he got sucked around the filter). He cant straighten up and is in an upside down position(like an upside down U).
Any ideas. I have moved him to a q tank yesterday but havent got a clue what to do?
He looks in rough shape but is still breathing.
I am thinking of putting him out of his misery, not sure what to do?
Any help please.
ps all other fish are ok.
 

Pufferpunk

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Usually scratching means parasites, probably ich. I would treat for that. Are there any white specks on the fish's body? If it does have ich you need to treat the whole tank. It's kind of like a dog with fleas... they jump off the dog to reproduce & then jump back on. The parasites live in the water. I assume that if you are posting in this site that the molly is already in BW? Raising the temp to 87-89 will help speed up the life of the parasite & get it off the fish faster. I hope you can save it, but by the way it's acting, I'm afraid it might be a goner. :(
 

moose1960

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No not ich. I have had that before and it really shows up on the black Mollys, He is still curled up which is why I was wondering if anyone else has had this. Unless he got sucked against the filter and finally broke free and is in this position cause of it. If I net him he does straighten out but as soon as he is free he curls up again.I looked him over good and cannot see anything external.
 

JamesBenjamin

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I had a swordtail that did that, he and another sword used to fight all the time. his fin got torn pretty bad, and he could only turn left. sharply.

so he keep 'chasing his tail' to the left.

how to fix it? i dont know, but i thought i'd reply anyway.
 

Sharyl C

Mola and Me
Here are my 2 theories:

1) possibly he became so weak (for unknown reasons) that he got stuck against the filter causing the curling to his body

2) something internal has caused his spine to curve.

Does he look really thin? how is his breathing? How big/old is this fish?

I agree with Puffer punk that it is most likely too late to cure this mollie, but whatever info you can get from him, may be helpful in determining if you other fish are at risk?
 

moose1960

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Unfortunately after about 5 days I decided to freeze him. I just couldnt stand to see him in that condition. He just floated on top of water in some plants till I would move him then he swam down but still in the curled position. He was about 8 months old in my tank. he was also the last of the black mollys. I never did have luck with black ones. Either ich took them or something else.
Thanks for the replies.
 
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