sick molly

Question
I have a molly and for the past couple of weeks she's been swimming upside down flipping and twirling around and laying at the bottom of the tank. She's barely eating and she has a white patch on the top of her head and when she's not doing that she stays to the top of the tank like she's trying to get air I don't know what's wrong but one of my male mollies just died a few days ago. Is it that what ever is going on with her effecting my other fish?

Answer
LaShawn,

Remove the sick fish and place her in your hospital tank. This way you can treat her and not have to worry about the other fish in the tank. I am thinking that she is suffering from Columnaris.

Treatment:

Change water
Vacuum gravel
Add aquarium salt
Treat with copper sulfate or antibiotic
Discontinue carbon filtration during treatment

I would start with the antibiotic before treating with the copper. Copper is a bit tricky to use and you can harm the fish instead of help. I would also add an air stone. The antibiotic will sometimes cause the oxygen level to go down.


Prevention:

Always quarantine new fish for two weeks
Maintain high water quality
Provide fish with a nutritionally balanced diet
Disinfect nets and other equipment before using

I hope this has helped and if you have any more questions don't hesitate to ask.