molly fry trouble!

[kellyyoungmoney]

i started off with 8 dalmatian molly fry and have been losing fry sporadically ever since. but i have 6 for a good while and then all of a sudden i lost 2 in one night and 1 the next morning(they were born about a month and half ago) and i lost one last night and noticed that the largest one has a bum fin and now has a bubble like formation down near its anal/abdomen area. and my fish have had black poop instead of the normal orange like their food. could it be parasites? and whatever it is, could it be contagious to my betta sorority in the tank?

[MSG]

Mollyfishies like a little salt in their agua. They're brackish fish. I never used aquarium salt so they eventually got sick and died. No more mollies for me.

I may get some platies though because the little orange fry are cute & they don't require salt. Don't think it's parasites though. Could be a nutrient issue.

What were you feeding them?

[kellyyoungmoney]

yeah i knew about the brackish water thing AFTER the guy at petsmart sold me the mollies :/ and then they had babies... but anyway, they are being fed Tetra Color Tropical Granules. and i saw the one with the weird thing on its abdomen pooping and its poop was orange as normal. it just has a weird growth down there and a bum fin.

[Fabian]

Might be tumor.

[kellyyoungmoney]

it looks like a tumor, but it doesnt seem to be affecting him in any way so i guess i wont worry too much.

[MSG]

Enjoy them while they last, unless you get them their own dedicated brackish tank and add a little salt with every water change, I have a feeling you'll lose them one @ a time like I lost mine.

Live bearers like guppies, mollies and platies are always chock full of genetic defects.

That's why I try to buy mine at a store where the employees let me choose, I dislike looking at humpback fish or ones with crooked spines.

The more I look at the senior members and the elite breeders on this forum, it makes me even more picky with fish.

[kellyyoungmoney]

yeah, i figured they wouldnt do as well in the freshwater, but im holding on to them regardless! but i chose the best looking fish i could, but i guess you just never know!