ive searched and read a few topics and looked at a few of the links for disease websites but i dont have a clear answer.

Im just about positive its swim bladder related. One of our creamcicle lyre tail mollies is having trouble swimming around, it just sits on the bottom of the tank until it gets enough energy to wobble around the tank, then goes back to the bottom.

It is in a 55gal tank with 14 other small community fish , none of the others are showing any problems. My questions are how do i go about treating the mollie? Do i quarantine it? what do i treat it with?

Please help soon.

First, let me mention quarantine. If you're not sure what's going on, it's never a bad idea to quarantine your fish. Better safe than sorry. Anyway, swim bladder... Well, as I recall swim bladder problems anren't usually fatal for fish and not even a disease. I think what usually happens is that the fish has either gourged itself silly (which puts pressure on the swim bladder) or gotten constipated. (Which does the same thing.) The cure: I'd fast your fish for a few days. (Don't worry, he won't starve. He can go for over a week without food and be fine.) That may do the trick all by itself. Then start feeding him... in fact, start feeding all your fish some veggies along with their regular diet. Green Peas (skin the peas) are practically magic for things like this along with cucumber, spinach, lettuce... Careful you don't over feed. Fishies are kinda like piggies. If it's there, it's history. I feed my fish two or three times a week and no more then they can eat in about ten minutes. Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

The fish died yesterday. I quarantined it and went to the pet store to get some medication and when i got back it was dead.

I'm sorry for your loss. It's always hard when you lose a friend.

I feed my fish one every 6 days and everyone I know is commenting on how healthy they are. :blink:

I don't even run the filter.. haven't since November.


Swim bladder problems are quite the nuisance. So hard to cure, and yet so common. The fish deity must be mad at the fish..

Yeah, swim bladders suck. Too bad they need them. I haven't had a problem with one in years but I remember how sad it was. Poor little fishies. Not much you can do. That's one of the reasons I throw peas in once a week. Keeps 'em "Regular" and they LOVE them things. Now about your 6 day feeding plan. 6 days huh. And you don't run your filter. Really... Hmmm, so how do you keep your water moving? Undergravel filter or some kind of pump? What about plants? Tell me more. At first I kinda thought :omg: but after thinking about it, it might work. Well, I guess it does work. For you anyway. Who knows, maybe you've on to something. In fact, the more I think about it the more I like it. Less food, less mess. Cleaner/clearer water. Sounds like it all equals healthier fish. Should do a lot to help keep algae in check too. (does it?) Tell me more. How long have you been feeding every 6 days? How's the algae? Have you tested your water lately? What were the readings? etc.

I am sorry that I missed this thread, and quite sorry for your loss.

Swim bladder issues are typically quite serious. They are usually a sign of another problem. Probably the most common is constipation. However, for future reference, many internal diseases or conditions will put pressure on the swim bladder. Occasionally this issue is the swim bladder itself, though more commonly it is a secondary issue.

More like I got lazy with the fish tank, algea was bad, fish were healthy. Very healthy.

I don't recommend trying what I did, but I do recommend trying a natural biological cycle with some tank. May be a 10 gallon with some small fish. The filter became unnecessary once the cycle started, I guess. I redid the tank, though. So it's no longer the perfect biological cycle.

Yeah, I know how it goes and algae... Don't you hate that stuff. :cuss: I think a biological cycle's a great idea but I'm not to sure if I could get it going in my 45. My fish eat the plants faster than I can put them in. Good idea on a 10g. Been wanting to start another tank anyway. Have to do some research on bio tank how to's though. :)