molly stock

[mollyboy13]

I put a similar posting on the BW site, but thought I'd ask freshwaters as well.
The problem is molly stock. A year ago I put together a 55 gallon tank for mollies and rainbows, with 2 tsps of aquarium salt per gallon. The mollies from different sources (mail from Florida, independent fish store, chain store), all except two wild form sphenops died from hollow belly or causes unknown. The dead, except for one wifd form sphenops, were hybrids: dalmatian lyre tails, gold, coral and balloons.
I've switched to a barb/rainbow tank, but still have dreams of geting a viable molly tank together. Any thoughts?

 

[Harlock]

Mollies seem prone to internal parasites. Before the hollow belly, did you ever see white, stringy or mucousy poop from these fish? If so, a gutload of parasites might have been the problem. Often, these parasites pass eggs in the fishes poop which other fish ingest and so the cycle goes on. I wasn't aware of a treatment for fish until recently when someone poasted this link which talks about the use of Flagyl (generic name is metronidazole) to treat internal parasites in fish. I was familiar with Flagyl, as we used to use it in the reptile shop in which I worked years ago as part of a "shotgun" treatment for new specimens we either bought or collected. In reptiles it is not at all uncommon to treat for a variety of issues as a prophylactic measure, but many people dislike doing this to fish. The person who wrote the article says they did use it that way, however. I am still undecided if I would use it that way myself, as I have several fish that show no signs at all of parasites, but personally, I will not hesitate to use this treatment on any fish I have that begins to show signs in the future. I hope that helps.

 

[mollyboy13]

Thanks Harlock. I did not see anything in the feces. Actually I've used flagyl on myself when I had dysentary in the Third World.