Diving fish

friendorfoe

AC Members
Mar 7, 2005
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New York
mollies rubbing in sand

My mollies have just been reintroduced to their tank. I added sand to it and rearranged the tank. The fish were probably very stressed during this process because i ran into complications and the fish had to be moved into new water immediatly. Anyways, My fish do not appear to have anything like ich but the 2 mollies keep rubbing on the sand. Is it possible they just enjoy playing in their new substrate? Also my one molly really seems to have swelled up...She is a female and may be pregnant as she was in with males at the store and i just got her a week ago. I was just wondering what everyone thought. :confused:
 
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Rubbing on substrate or decorations or plants is called flashing. It is usually indicative of external parasites. Gill flukes, Ich (which I know you already have looked for) and some others. Check the water parameters just to be sure it's not gill agitation from toxins and then keep a close eye on them to see if it calms down. In the mean time, look up gill flukes and maybe google external parasites and tropical fish to see what you get. You might find somehting to look out for.
 
My sailfin molly ''flashes'' every time we move something in the tank around. He also starts if we add a new fish. It could just be them establishing territory. But do keep an eye out for the stuff Harlock mentioned.
 
friendorfoe said:
My mollies have just been reintroduced to their tank. I added sand to it and rearranged the tank. The fish were probably very stressed during this process because i ran into complications and the fish had to be moved into new water immediatly. Anyways, My fish do not appear to have anything like ich but the 2 mollies keep rubbing on the sand. Is it possible they just enjoy playing in their new substrate? Also my one molly really seems to have swelled up...She is a female and may be pregnant as she was in with males at the store and i just got her a week ago. I was just wondering what everyone thought. :confused:
How often do you do water changes? If you havent done one in a while, i would suggesting doing one this weekend and keep it at a weekly regime.
I hope this helps.
 
I just did a tank cleaning when i put the sand in...wednesday night. I do weekly cleanings. I also do periodic water changes of 30-50% or so. The fish do not seem to be showing any signs of sickness or disease and the bloating went away over night...I am also noticing that the molly enjoys eating the sand...The is no food on top but she'll grab a mouthful...is this odd behavior?
 
friendorfoe said:
I just did a tank cleaning when i put the sand in...wednesday night. I do weekly cleanings. I also do periodic water changes of 30-50% or so. The fish do not seem to be showing any signs of sickness or disease and the bloating went away over night...I am also noticing that the molly enjoys eating the sand...The is no food on top but she'll grab a mouthful...is this odd behavior?
Not odd at all. I always explain mollies as exploring their world with their mouths. My mollies sampled everything in my tank with their mouth when I first got them. Now they seem content just to take the ocassional mouthful of sand while browsing on the plants, tank sides, etc.
 
My rainbow shark flashes sometimes even tho the water is perfecto! :confused:
 
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