Pregnant Molly and White blob

Question
Hello Karen. I have two questions about mollies. I have three mollies now but one is separated because shes pregnant (we think) and she keep flipping herself upside down while swimming and also pointing her nose straight up. I've changed her water at least 3 times for 10 days and kept putting a little bit more salt too. why does she do that?

Also one of the other two mollies has this white blob lodged behind her fin and she can only move it a little bit. Is this a starting illness or do their scales come off?  Please help me out. Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Jonathon,
To answer your first question, sounds like your molly may be having swim bladder problems. The swim bladder being an organ that helps control the fishes equilibrium. And many things can interfere with the swim bladder's normal function...primarily a problem with the fish's diet. Overfeeding, not enough variety, not enough fiber can create an issue such as constipation or swelling in the fish's digestive system which puts pressure on the swim bladder. It is very possible the fact that she is pregnant that the pregnancy will create a bigger problem for her in that area even more so than normal.

The best thing to do (besides frequent water changes as you have done already) is try to feed her a little less of her normal food. And if it is pellets, presoak them before feeding. If feeding flakes, sink them underwater so they are waterlogged. Definitely try incooporating plenty of vegetable matter in her diet, especially since mollies are primarily herbivorous fish. Algae wafers, mashed green peas, romaine lettuce, zucchini, and spirulina algae flakes are all excellent ways to provide the much needed vegetable matter mollies and many other species really need for a well-balanced diet.

For the molly with the white blob. I've encountered this with fish before, often it is an injury site that heals with time and clean water. Its too difficult to properly diagnose any illness at this point so simply keep a close eye on it and make sure it doesn't change or start looking fuzzy and/or spreading on the fish which very likely would indicate a fungus infection, which then -- in that case,I'd recommend treating with Jungle Brand "Fungus Clear"

I do hope all goes well! Best of luck!
Karen~