Question
Molly
Hello! I have two male mollies in a ten gallon aquarium. I have had one large one named Napoleon for over a year, and recently I have started to worry about him being bloated. I've seen him lying at the bottom of tank at times, sometimes slightly on his side. He moves and swims when the glass is tapped, and is eating well. He is still frequently active. I'm concerned though that his behavior may be the start of a swim bladder infection. I have been away at college, and my parents have been looking after them. The fish are fasted once a week (I used to feed them peas on the fasting day but my mother has just been simply fasting them) and have a weekly 25% water change. I warn my mother not to overfeed, but because of Napoleon's aggressive behavior during feeding time towards my other molly, I'm afraid she feeds too much so the other molly gets enough food. They are fed twice a day, and when I feed it is enough that they can consume in 1-2 minutes. I attached an image (hopefully it works) of Napoleon. Does he look bloated? He seems much rounder than my other molly, but I'm not sure what to look for. If he is, what can I do to make him healthier? I have a tank divider I can use for feeding if Napoleon needs to be fasted. Thank you so much for your time!
AnswerHi Hannah;
Actually Napoleon looks just fine to me. He may be a type of molly known as "balloon". Their bodies have a more rounded appearance, sometimes so extreme that the head is very small looking and they look like they are very bloated. Do an internet search on Balloon Mollies and look at some images. They look a bit weird sometimes. Yours just isn't as extreme a specimen. ;-)
Male mollies are very territorial so you may need to separate them just at feeding time if Napoleon is getting too much. Or, I have had to net fish for a couple of minutes to let others eat. Just use a very soft fish net and hold him in it until the other fish gets his fill. Let Mr. Napoleon loose and then feed him, unless he will eat while he is in the net. You could give it a try.
Mollies really need veggies, so keep giving him the peas. Twice a week or more is very good. They should also have tiny bits of spinach, cooked carrots, cooked green beans, cucumber and/or spirulina algae 3 times a week. You can get spirulina at the fish store in the frozen food section, or sometimes in dried form. Veggies can be left in the tank for a few hours to nibble on. Just rinse and drop them right in. Unlike prepared foods, they don't rot quickly and mollies are nibblers anyway. It may keep Mr. N busy enough to have a little piece of his own and the other fish can have one too.
Good luck!
At Your Service;
Chris Robbins
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