fish getting smaller

[jon]

I have a molly at the moment and it seems to be getting smaller even though it eating fine could this be sickness?? all water tests are good

[KittyKat]

what do you mean by smaller? do you mean thinner?

[gearoid]

ur eye sight could be going lol It could be a number of things. How long have u had the fish. Fish TB could be just one of the things, fish eats well and swims around fine but is getting tinner and tinner. But need more info to be sure of what it could be. might need vitamin and food change.

[jon]

Its hard to exsplain but from the middle or his back seems to have kind of shrunk he is swimmung a little strange like he's looks like hes swimming but going no where just in the same spot.i had a swordtail aswell that had the same thing but hes spine started to bend but he died.the mollie is one of my fry its about 3 months old

[janette]

can you send some pics in ?? it does sound like TB like gearoid said

[karen]

If you post some pictures that would be great.Do you think maybe your fish was born with it and maybe you didnt notice and was your swordtail bought from a lfs or did you breed it yourself?

[jon]

I got the swordtail from a pet shop.that baby molly died yesterday what should i do now will i treat the other fish for tb and what medication will i use??

[janette]

Swelling and scale protrusion, unexplained weight loss, skeletal deformity,(curvature of the spine) skin defects, loss of scales, skin discoloration, eye protrusion, fin rot, loss of appetite, clamped fins, lethargic.Affected fishes can become shy and nervous and may go off their food. In the later stages they will appear thin. Loss of colour, . with all the symptoms,its very difficult!!
Please note: Humans are susceptible to this illness. but not always, Please handle fish items with care, wear clean gloves, and wash hands thoroughly if you suspect your fish may have TB. IMO antibiotics ,have been known to cure this!in the early stages but it is one of the hardest ones to deal with, i think tetra do an antibiotic best to ask at your local lfs ...or vet ? the symptoms of TB are above ,if your not sure get someone to look at the fish who knows more about this dreadfull disease.

[martin]

Do you not need to strip your tank down after tb??

[janette]

Hi Martin if it was my tank then i would strip it! and clean with a mild solution of bleach ,or potassium permanganate, but at the end of the day ,fish can carry TB with hardly any outward signs, and people often mistake it for neon tetra disease, as some of the symptoms are similar IMO, but then both of these diseases are very difficult to cure. if i was in this situation id get a vets opinion first before doing anything drastic.

[karen]

I would have to agree with janette on that.jon is there a vet there that you can go too?

[jon]

I didnt go to a vet but i do think it was tb a couple of other mollies from the same batch got it to so i stripped down the tank and threw out the everything that was in the tank and gave it a good clean.i do plan to set it up again so im wondering is their any precautions i should take before setting it back up again??

[janette]

Hi Jon sorry to hear what happened ... as long as you have either used bleach or potassium permanganate, it should be OK mate !! make sure you rinse it well before starting again

[anthony]

What is the gh of your tank.
It sounds like calcium defiency to me. Do not use pp unless you know what you are doing.
Pp is carcinogenic. You must use gloves and a mask.
The dosage is 2mg/l and dose for 4 hours. Hydrogen peroxide can be used to nutralise pp.
Personally I would not do it but if you need any info just reply to this post.
You cannot be sure its TB without having a proper veterinarys post mortem,.

[janette]

I think we have a mix up on potassiums ...here i think Anthony your talking about bichromate,or bromate they are the lethal ones as well as others.Even then they are used in cold and flu treatments!! there are lots different types of potassium...we eat potassium every day its in food!!! without it we would be dead !! Potassium permanganate[ KMnO4] is a drug that has an antiseptic and astringent effect, its useful in the treatment of dermatitis ,skin inflammation. and is not carcinogenic,... cancer related .. My dad used it for years on his bad feet ,and he is still going strong ..thank god I would never dream of putting something on here that i did not read, or look up on first! especially if it could harm someone !! If you had quite a bit of it,in your system then it would do you harm as with most chemicals!! but then you can not get the strong stuff from a chemist, If it is mixed with another chemical then and only then ..it becomes lethal..exothermic. Here is one of many links about the permanganate edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA027 ... Hydrogen peroxide , can also be a lethal liquid if not used right. I use this in hairdressing ,in its true form can do a lot of damage straight away,but the common type is a 3% strength solution available from most chemist it has a good oxidizing agent ,and antibacterial,and anti fungal properties good for egg hatching , as it turns in to oxygen afterwards... as with most chemicals too much will harm !!! at the end of the day its not to treat the fish but the tank>