molly swimming sideways

A

andyjh

AC Members
Feb 18, 2009
574
3
18
Massachusetts
I have two male black mollies in my 55 gallon, and I noticed that one of them doing some sideways swimming. Not all the time, but occasionally looking like a boat that took on some water and is listing to one side. I see it as it approaches a plant leaf to nibble on it. Swim bladder or any other thoughts?
Thanks,
Andy
 
I may be swim bladder or just a weird fish. Dont hold me to any of this. I recommend googleing it.LOL
 
Update: Continuing to exhibit these strange behaviors. Saw him lying on his side at the bottom of the tank...only gills moving. Then popped up, swam around the tank pecking at plant leaves and acting pretty normally. This has been going on for weeks. Also seems to be eating fine. Every morning I expect him to be a "floater", but it hasn't happened.
 
Is there light coming from outside the tank? My fish do this at night after "their" light is off but the room light is on. They direct the tops of their bodies towards what seems like the sun.
 
Actually, I observed this during regular lighting period in the tank with no strong outside lighting at all. I thought I'd find him gone this morning but he's just swimming around normally. I've never seen anything like this.
 
have you made any drastic changes to the tank lately... I.E. big water change, new substrate or filter media??
 
Nothing new. Regular 20% water changes weekly. Tank's been set up for just over a year now and I've had the black molly for about 6 months. No other fish acting strangely and no fish losses at all.
 
hmmm. has it done this b4? maybe it has a parasite or disease. Ask you Local Fish Store.
 
Fishfriend1 said:
hmmm. has it done this b4? maybe it has a parasite or disease. Ask you Local Fish Store.
Click to expand...

That was a wonderful idea. I packed up the fish in a tupperware tub and brought him to my LFS. Store owner looked at him and said he's definitely lethargic and looking a little thin. He asked the question that led to treatment: "Do you have salt in your water?...." I answered NO, as I have a planted tank and was led to believe that they could do just as well in pure freshwater as they would with some salt. He advised me to put them in a separate tank with aquarium salt in the water. I noticed an almost IMMEDIATE improvement in the fish's condition, with no sideways swimming or resting at the bottom of the tank. Please note that these fish were in the freshwater tank for over 6 months, showing no ill effects from the lack of salt. The LFS guy basically felt that that the long-term lack of salt had finally taken it's toll. Seeing the improvement I'm inclined to believe this and will now set up the salted 10 gal. as a molly only tank.
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Andy
 
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