Re: Ich gone; now fungus?

FishNoob wrote:
In article <gR1Nf.61675$PL5.59140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>, pt.altum@xxxxxxxxx says...

Is it mostly your mollies getting sick? Your water may be too soft for them. Mollies seem to like either hard or slightly salty water. Plants will tolerate 1 tsp/5 gallons of salt (0.02%) and sometimes even that much helps mollies stay well.


The mollies are where we notice the ich and the fungus, since most of them are black, but there are also danios and neon tetras in the tank, and I assume they are also affected - and not easily treated with salt. Yes, the water is soft; I wonder if that's part of the problem. What could I do about that?

If you don't see spots on the danios and tetras, don't assume they're affected. Many fish become immune to ich after they've been exposed to it once. Mollies in soft water are particularly susceptible to parasites like ich and velvet and don't seem to develop immunity as easily.

Putting the mollies in salted quarantine serves another purpose. If your other fish are immune, any parasites in the main tank will die off in a couple of weeks while the mollies are out of the tank. You could add a formalin remedy to the main tank if you're concerned but I think you'll only stress the fish.

As I said above, I think a bit of aquarium salt will help your mollies stay well. Some people also copper as a preventative, but you can't keep snails or shrimp very easily. "Shimmy blocks" contain gypsum to harden the water and copper. IIRC, Molly Bright is also a copper preparation with a bit of salt. Be careful with the copper - it's hard on tetras and more toxic in water with low kH.

I wish I had soft water - I've got good molly water here but my favorite dwarf cichlids and cardinals hate it. You might consider platies if you want more livebearers. They are more tolerant of soft water than mollies.

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