Another strange disease.. anybody heard of this?

Okay.. here we go again. Last time it was my pleco with the funny marks and stuff, this time its my mollies.

Several of them are beginning to turn black (getting gray patches and black eyes and black lines on their fins. They are all white by the way) This has happened before, and since they came out black when they were born, I thought it was just a camouflaging thing. The ones that turned a darker colour before never had anything wrong, and eventually turned back to white.

Now, this wouldnt be a problem, but since yesterday morning when i saw the first one, 2 more have gone dark and its not just the younger ones either. Has anybody seen this happen before??

If so.. what do I do?

 

Could be ammonia burn. What are your water parameters (exact numbers, please)?

-Chelle

 

yeah I would agree on the ammonia burn, but if the parameters check out... I would say either a fungal infection or black spot disease (parasite)

 

Black spot isn't actually a parasite. It's just an odd coloration that happens in when some fish are stressed (I'm not sure if mollies are one of the fish that it occurs in). And a fungus would be fuzzy.

Could you post a pic?

-Chelle

 

I'm pretty sure black spot is a parasite... but maybe it is just in saltwater systems... which doesn't help you much... sorry

 

yep saltwater disease... just looked it up... but not all fungal infections are "fuzzy" in appearance...

 

There is a "black spot disease" that is somewhat common with parrot cichlids. Many people are under the misconception that it is a parasite or a fungal infection. But it's actually the fish changing colors because it's stressed, or in some cases, just part of the juvenile markings.

I don't recall ever encountering a true fungal infection that wasn't white/grey & fuzzy (and usually on damaged tissue).

-Chelle

 

well I know there is a parasite in saltwater fish that is called black spot disease... and it seems from this source that there is one in fresh water too... http://www.aquariumpharm.com/disease/blackspot.html oh and this one too http://saltaquarium.about.com/cs/compld ... 041701.htm
and this one
http://www.giveusahome.co.uk/fish/faq.htm
dispite all the controversy... disease is caused by stress and poor water quality when the fish's immune system is supressed, so a question I have for you is what is your water chemistry and how long have you had this tank set up, and have you added new fish to it recently, also remember that there are over 5000 freshwater diseases out there, so it could be something viral too... but I would suggest doing a water change and testing your water

 

All of the sources that are being quoted are addressing Black Spot Disease which appear as a distinct cyst or nodule on top of the skin. What Blau_the_cow is describing is a discoloration under the skin, in some cases patchy in appearance and in other cases appears as a line, which is most likely going to be caused by poor water parameters.

 

yeah we got a little off subject... I would agree that it probably is poor water conditions... like I said... do a water change. Somehow Chelle thought black spot disease wasn't a parasite...

 

In freshwater fish like parrot cichlids, it is NOT a parasite. It is simply a color change that indicates the fish is stressed. And I already stated that I don't know if mollies are like parrots in that reguard.

-Chelle

 

well at any rate it sounds as if water quality is the real issue

 

Thanks for the replys guys,

Yeah it would make sense that it was caused by poor water parameters (I know thats bad but I'm doing the best I can right now). My tank is overloaded because my molly fry keep growing (duh..) but I just got a 35 gallon, so I will transfer some of them to that once its up an running which should hopefully be soon.

While I'm on the subject, to cycle my water, Ive heard that you can take some mature filter material out of an already cycled tank and transfer it into the new one. Would this work? because its fish waste, and the point of doing a cycle with fish is to get the waste..right?

 

Actually, it will help because there's tons of bacteria on the filter media so it will seed the tank.

You could also run the new filter on one of your existing tanks for about 2 weeks then transfer it and some of the fish over to the new tank.

-Chelle

 

Bacteria does what when?

Hey, I've seen a lot floating around about bacteria being good for tank conditions, and I have this water conditioner that promotes bacteria growth... what is the deal? Is necessary for fish health? How can I check/adjust bacteria levels?

 

They're different types of bacteria. There's bacteria living in your filter that helps convert the ammonia your fish produce to nitrIte, then to nitrAte which isn't as toxic (generally referred to as beneficial bacteria). Then there's bacteria that actually causes infections that hurt/kill fish.

Just like there's bacteria involved in making cheese and there's bacteria that causes pneumonia. They're two different type of bacteria.

-Chelle