Stef Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Hi everyone, any idea what’s going on with this female molly? She’s been slowly deteriorating after a birth on October 10th. Only a single fry found/survived and he’s been doing great, now at 7 weeks old. The tank is a 9 gal Flex and its only inhabitants are 3 mollies (mom, dad and baby). She’s skinny, not eating great but still eating and swimming. Her gills seem hallowed out but I’m guessing this more lack of a plump belly creating this gap. The gills are not red. This morning I fed frozen brine shrimp and she ate some but also spit some out too and swimming kind of stiff. She doesn’t hang at the surface gulping air, but her mouth moves rapidly. The other two mollies look, act, eat normally. water parameters: ammonia: 0 nitrite: 0 nitrate: between 10 or 20 GH: 9 KH: 4 temp:78 I have several meds but haven’t treated with any yet. I have ParaCleanse, Maracyn, Kanaplex and Metroplex and Ich-X. Any guidance much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Have you seen any signs of parasites flashing or white stringy poop rapid breathing also she could have some internal damage from giving birth as she has been deteriorating since then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 @Colu no visible parasites, no flashing, no stringy poop. She does seem to have rapid breathing for not swimming as actively as the others. I also notice when she swims forward, her body is in a tail downward position. Kind of like an airplane taking off. Otherwise she lightly swims or swims in place near the middle and upper half of the tank in a normal horizontal way. The male isn't pestering her too much but does swim under her and occasionally nibble/nudge her underside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Since she give birth of the the 10oct has she had any more baby's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 @Colu No more babies. But a week after the one surviving fry was born, she was in a hiding spot but I could not find any other fry after that. Since that week after the single birth, she has not returned to her hiding place. Filter intake has pre-filter sponge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted November 30, 2021 Share Posted November 30, 2021 I think she has had complications when giving birth it common in livebearers something else could be going on if you can I would Qarantine add some aquarium salt 1 table spoon for 2 gallons feed her metroplex and kanaplex in food you can add both meds to the same food that will cover all bases Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted November 30, 2021 Author Share Posted November 30, 2021 @Coluthanks, will pick up some garlic guard today and set up qt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted December 2, 2021 Author Share Posted December 2, 2021 Quick update. The molly has been in qt since Tuesday 11/30. She's mostly been laying on the bottom breathing hard (sometimes on her side, sometimes upright). She's not eating the medicated food (mix of frozen daphnia, Omega flake with Focus, Garlic Guard, KanaPlex and MetroPlex). I later tried with a single frozen bloodworm that was unmedicated and she ate just one worm. I was using forceps and dangled it right in front of her mouth. Today I tried with medicated version but with frozen brine shrimp. She ate three separate brine shrimp, but then spit them out one by one. My question is should I start medicating the water and skip with the medicated food? She's in a small 2 gallon tank with a spare seasoned sponge filter from a different tank and a little heater. The water in her qt has 1 gal from her original tank and 1 gal of fresh dechlorinated water with 1 tablespoon API salt per 2 gal. I've been using turkey baster to remove uneaten food. Also, I'm not there yet, but if using clove oil to euthanize, is the general guidance to put her in a small cup with a few drops of clove oil, wait until she's anesthetized, and then add more drops of clove oil? I'm not sure how many to add to actually euthanize her. Never done this before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 Do you know how old she is? It could be old age and she is spent after having the babies. 😟 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scapexghost Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 I would double the salt dosage. I honestly doubt that anything will help at this point but it is worth a shot. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 The spitting can be indicative of internal parasites that cause wasting disease. Metroplex really wont help with that. You can try Expel-P (Levamisole) or Flubendazole, which is tougher to get a hold of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted December 3, 2021 Author Share Posted December 3, 2021 @eatyourpeas I don’t know how old she is. I got her this past July from my lfs. She only had a single fry found on Oct 10. Not sure if there were others that got eaten. The tank only has another male molly, no other tank mates. She was totally healthy up until a few weeks after birthing. Appreciate all the advice everyone. Hate when things go wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eatyourpeas Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 The reason I ask is when I got my Betta, he was all chirpy and active, then slowly started to look like his luster was fading. No sign of disease, nothing obviously wrong, but showing signs of old age. Just like you have described. He was with me for about 9 months. We don't really know how old the fishies really are by the time we get them. Your molly could have been an older one, and she had a good life with you. Even when we do everything right, we may still lose them. 🙁 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted December 3, 2021 Share Posted December 3, 2021 On 12/2/2021 at 11:10 PM, Stef said: She was totally healthy up until a few weeks after birthing. I’m sorry she is struggling. I’m not sciencey so have nothing other than observation of my own guppies to back this. Every now and then I think they like human females just have birthing complications. I have had two guppies that were born in my tanks completely healthy not old spiral downhill rapidly after birthing fo no apparent reason. It’s very sad to see. If you feel the clove oil is the right decision watch some videos and read up. Adding the oil slowly in tiny drips is what I have found appears to stress them the least. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted December 7, 2021 Author Share Posted December 7, 2021 Hi everyone, my molly is not improving. The fact that she hasn’t died makes me think whatever she has is not parasites. She’s just lingering, not eating. Laying on her side. If she tries to swim, it’s in tight circles in place. She cannot get up off the bottom. I bought “clove bud oil” that says 100% essential oil and the only ingredient is “Syzygium Aromaticum (clove) bud oil”. I’ve watched several videos on euthanasia and believe I have the right stuff. I’ve learned that clove leaf oil is not the same as clove oil. But is clove bud oil 100% clove oil? I don’t want to screw this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted December 8, 2021 Share Posted December 8, 2021 (edited) Sorry to hear she not improving you can use clove bud oil to euthanize her it just a different part of the same plant the oils extracted @Stef Edited December 8, 2021 by Colu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stef Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 The euthanasia was successful and she passed quickly. Thanks again to everyone for all your advice and support. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 it's never a nice thing to have to do at least she not at peace now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torrey Posted December 12, 2021 Share Posted December 12, 2021 On 12/9/2021 at 8:17 PM, Stef said: The euthanasia was successful and she passed quickly. Thanks again to everyone for all your advice and support. You handled all of her needs as compassionately and humanely as you possibly could. We sometimes forget that even with all the knowledge we have, nature still holds on to her mysteries. I am glad she went to live with you, instead of someone who would not have noticed anything was wrong until she passed. Try to be gentle with your self, and give yourself permission to mourn however you need. You were a good fish momma Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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