MollyMomma

So I started up with live plants about 1.5 years ago. It's been quite the learning experience. I started out with a large bottle of Flourish from my local petco. It turned a clear color and kept leaking/bubbling out the top & making a mess so I returned it. And purchased the Flourish starter pack which contains Excel, Flourish, Iron. I opened the Flourish & it was dark brown/green color- which I thought was off-- because my 1st bottle was a clear or light green color. I moved on to MarcusFishtanks Fertiluzer pump in January. After 4 months of using it I have seen some good results BUT the liquid has become like coagulated, I'm not sure if its sugars in it lumping up OR if its mold and/or fungus. But there are some gnarly looking chunks all through it. Will Easy green become choppy like this other one? I was thinking of purchasing it, but I'm afraid of buying a 4th fertilizer to experience it get chunky on me. Currently I am just using sachem root tabs and small doses of liquid ferts until I figure out what's floating in my bottle. Thanks in advance!

I saw this post in an Email from Aquarium-Coop's beneath their articles. This is AMAZING!! Congratulations! I've been keeping Otto's for about 1 year now and they have not bred. I don't expect them to because I've read how hard it can be. Buy they are very cute, one of my favorite fish. Keep us updated!

Well I Fed them this morning & she seemed fine, went to work, came home and she was dead 😞 Could this just have been a natural progression over time? I did have her for over 1 year.

Hello, I've kept Mollies for several years, but for a long time it was just a small tank with 1-2 fish. About 1.5 years ago I started up a 20g Tall; Right now the stocking is: 1 Balloon Belly. 2 Short fin mollies. 2 older fry. Newborn fry in a mesh box. 1- 1 year old Female BN pleco about 3 in long. I just thinned out the population to my LFS. (Lots of fry!) My concern is my Balloon belly. She's been in the 20g since the beginning. Over time she has lost some color & her balloon shape, her "belly" kind of looks flat, the only time is "balloons" is when she is carrying fry, she us very small. & only produces 2 fry every 3-4 months. But her color & shape loss has happened gradually over the past 8 months- not all at once. So I'm just wondering if it's normal to happen over time or if it's something else? The longest I've ever had 1 molly live was for almost 3 years. He was black/gold & I did not see him losing color.

Thank you, I think it was bacterial Septicemia with a secondary fungal infection. I read up on it & did some research, it says Nitrofurazone like in API-FURAN 2, would treat it. But my other Cory looks a lot better, there is one poorly looking Cory left from the order- but the barbells are regrowing, so i stopped using MARACYN, I added Indian Almond leaf, and 50% WC every other day, seems to be helping. I still cannot get the Maracyn froth on the aquarium surface to go away, I contacted fritz, they said continue WC & patience, and to turn down air stones/sponges if it is really bad. So hopefully the other Cory continues to improve!

It got really bad his whole side turned red & he had a huge fungus ball there, I checked on him Tuesday at 2:00am he was alive, peeked in tank at 7:00am while I was getting my daughter ready for school.. And he was dead.

I found this topic on Red Splotch Disease: it looks similar to my Cory. https://aquariumscience.org/index.php/11-11-red-skin-blotches/

I can't take a clear photo of the fuzzy raised area sorry, I tried. He is still resting in the coconut hut. You mentioned it might take a while for an improvement, I'm worried that he might just not make it through the treatment. Yes I have Ich-X I purchased the smaller bottle- just to have on hand when I QT new fish.

I added 2cd Dose of MARACYN last night. Today is Day 3. Woke up & no fish died this morning. But the Cory who's Anal fin had eroded- well now his other fins are doing this too. On one side it looks Blood Red & is fuzzy white. Is it fin rot or something?

Hi, I am new to this forum, but just wanted to share; I had this exact Question. I noticed Petco uses a blue solution But Petsmart has a green one. I don't use bleach, it's harsh on my lungs. I did some googling & it seems a lot of people use peroxide. I tried it- soaked, then rinsed the next day, and was happy with the results! I also found a product called "Jungle Net Soak" it's seems to be a Diluted methylene Blue Product, I ordered it just recently but it also seems to work!

Okay, thank you. This is the first time I have ever really had to use medications & they make me nervous.

This is the 2cd one: whose whiskers are also short, Hes pale, but looking skinny, his body shape is concerning: Im not sure why some photos are uploading upside down?

This one is the pale cory, also shorter barbells, pale, but his Anal fin looked shredded yesterday, today the fin is missing:

Aw that's too bad. I know ottos can be hard to acclimate- but it seems once they are- they can be pretty Hardy. I have 3 older ottos i've had for several months. Let me see if I can get a better photo of the other 2 corydora s in question.

He was 1 of 3 I ordered online. They didn't arrive in very good condition. 1 Otto died right off. The 2cd had a white dot on snout- then died with a fuzzy white infection on snout. The 3rd had symptoms of fin clamping. He ate his food fine, seemed responsive, his coloring was a bit odd- it was yellowy green instead of dark green like the other ottos. He looked okay when I checked on him last night, besides the occasional fin/tail clamping. But was dead next to sponge filter this morning.

I used MARACYN on my 29g for the first time yesterday & the exact sand thing happened! Lots of fine bubbles- like a froth on the top of the tank. I have mine on a gang valve, so I can increase or decrease air pressure, I had to turn them way down. Must just be part of the medications.

I dosed yesterday with maracyn before work. Came home, checked on fish. They seemed okay. Woke up this morning & the 1 sickish-looking Otto had died. I have some tiny crypts & Java fern plantlets in a little suction cup box- to grow out, and all the roots are covered in white fuzzy stuff. Had to turn my sponge filter & air stone pressure down, because after adding maracyn I had froth type bubbles on the surface. Is this normal? The froth & white plant roots. Only plants up top were effected none down bottom.

Okay, good to know, thanks!

Thanks, for everything! I hope I can save them.

Do I still have carbon filters? As in are my carbon still in the filter? I have a large HOB Aqueon Filter, but it's modified. I added sponges, floss, intake sponge, and 2 carbon pad inserts. I have not removed them yet. But if I start MARACYN treatment I will. I try to keep water quality best I can, the parameters stay pretty stable, no crazy fluctuations. He was at a hatchery, shipped to me, in QT for a month, then added to the 29g tank. This 29g I started in November & very slowly added fish, only a few at a time. I do have 2 boxes of Maracyn. Can I do a WC before starting it? It says 1 packet per 10g. 3 packets? Or less because its 29g & not 30g.

Hey, I talked to another well known member about this (on Fishlore) they said it may be stress causing these symptoms, gave me advice on not administering meds JUST yet, said to do WC every other day, add some more plants offering hiding & cover for the cories, and adjust my lighting, to wait on the meds & observe to see if they improve. This morning I noticed 1/3 new cories looks better- is coloring up, growing larger, and schooling with the elder cories. The other two new ones look bad. One had a hard time eating, after closer inspection, it seems the barbells have been injured or eroded, very pale, thin- probably from lack of food. The 3rd has some sort of infection. Its a fuzzy white growth on the underside. Pale still. But more active than the other sick Cory. What would be advisable to do Now with these new symptoms? Should I treat for a bacterial infection? I have not started the parasite meds yet. I will include photos of each of the sick cories.

Thank you. I have the smaller packet of Paraclense - because when I use meds, I normally remove the fish & use meds in a 5 gal. But in this case there's too many fish for 5gal. The ammonia would skyrocket. So I will start treatment today. & also order more for the 2week treatment then. Thank you fir the reply. I'll have to reread instructions. I know i usually have to remove carbon, but can I leave my plants in there while dosing? I don't want to kill any plants by mistake.

Thank you for the Reply. On hand i have: FRITZ maracyn 8ct Fritz Paraclense 10Ct API Aquarium Salt 2 boxes Jungle Fungus Clear Fizz Tabs API Furan-2 10 packets Lifeguard all in one (unsafe for scalesss fish) Seachem KanaPlex 5g Seachem Metroplex 5g Panacur-C (for hydra) Microbe-Lift Herbtana & Artemis (herbal remedies petco sold me on buying) Will any of these work and are also okay to dose ALL fish in tank?

Hi there. I have a few tanks, back in November I started up a new 29g planted tank. I moved 3 ottos from my 10g to the 29g. Then added 3 false julii from my 20g to the 29g, along with 4 molly fry (temporarily to grow out). I wanted to primarily dedicate this tank as a "Catfish Tank." The tank looked a bit lonely. The beginning of January I ordered: 1 Baby Female Super Red BN Pleco. 3 Ottocinculus. 4 more False Julii Corydoras. 1 Otto & 1 Cory died right away - first fish deaths I had in over a year. The 2cd Otto developed fungus & also died. I have 1 Otto & 3 cories left from my online order. I Quarantined them for 3.7 weeks with no signs of disease. I added them to the 29g. Now im starting to get concerned. They have been in the 29g for almost 1 month and have not colored up. The 3 newer cories huddle together in a back corner, sometimes with clamped fins, I also see them rubbing against decorations and rocks - which is normally a sign of stress right? The 3 older cories are 2 females 1 male, one has a deformity she was born with on her side, but I've had them for 1 year almost since they were babies, they eat healthy, play, swim, very active, sift through sand, or clean plants, I feed them a healthy varied diet. They are very dark in color, I was trying to get a couple photos for comparisons. When the older cories are next to the newer- the color difference is HUGE. The older ones keep trying to coax the newer ones out to swim & play, the newer ones will join for a moment & then go right back to hiding. Also the 1 newer Otto left has been tail clamping. I added lots of plants, used sand, and made this tank as Corydora Friendly as I could. I can't see any fungus or white spots, could there be something bacterial or parasitic wrong with them that I cannot physically see? Entire Stocking of Tank: 1 Baby BN Pleco 4 Ottocinculus (3 older -1 new) 6 False Julii Corydoras (3 old - 3 new) 4 molly fry Various Plants & 20 Bladder Snails Ammonia: 0ppm Nitrates: under 20ppm Nitrite: 0ppm Chlorine: 0ppm. GH:200-300ppm. Alkalinity(KH) 60ppm PH: 7.6-7.8 (plant fluctuations) Temp 76°-78° The last 2 photos of are my older Cories for color comparison.

Thanks, that was my first thought- but I've never had to deal with swim bladder so I'm a little in the dark. Let me try a photo. its like he is stuck in a vertical position, and spinning sometimes, tonight He's curled up in the water sprite. He is part of my breeding pair, so im quite fond of him. I did a WC today & took out 6 gallons. Then added 7 new. Did filter maintenance & im not sure if it even helped him. I will research swim bladder more ty