sick Balloon Molly

Question
Hi. I found my balloon molly yesterday struggling in the tank. It's like she's trying to keep herself from flipping over. She's not her happy self. My tank was not cleaned in the last month, I hadn't topped up the water in a few weeks and it's getting alot of black hairy algae on the plants. Is it to late for her? I sure hope not, she's such a ray of sunshine in my tank. I've had her for about 10 months with no problems.

Answer
well... you need to clean the tank and keep up on water changes.  Fish tanks are not natural settings... they are artificial in that they require someone to maintain them... unlike in the wild where nature regulates and changes conditions through run-off, etc.  She probably has a swim bladder issue... so I would start with a good tank cleaning, water change of at least 30%, add some aquarium salt and if she is still eating I would offer her some brine shrimp.... If you have a breeder net you can isolate her in so that she doesn't have to struggle against the current of the tank.  dave