Baloon molly

Question
i have a balloon molly who i think is pregnant but she has started really struggling to breath and keeps swimming upside down she is the only one in the tank behaving like this so i have separated just incase she has a disease i just wondered if you had any idea what could be wrong with her ? x

Answer
Hi Rose
If she's upside down, then she's suffering from a swim bladder problem.  There's numerous causes for it, from genetics(common in fish shaped like that), internal bacterial/parasites, poor water quality, constipation, etc.  
I would first suggest checking your water quality and make sure the ammonia and nitrites are at 0 ppm, and nitrates under 20 ppm.  When nitrates are high, some fish can develop swim bladder problems.  A lot of times just correcting the water quality problems, will cure the swim bladder problems as well.  So, do a water change to start, and see if that helps.  If so, then you know that's most likely the culprit, and in the future stick to a good partial water change schedule to keep the water quality good.

If that doesn't work, try feeding all the fish the inside of a pea.  This works pretty good with constipation issues.  Feed only the inside of a pea to the fish for 3 days in a row.  If this helps, then incorporate this into their diet once or twice a week, and also feed a more varied diet.

Those are the two main treatments for swim bladder problems.  If those don't work, you could try a medicated food-both antibacterial and antiparasite foods, since it's nearly impossible to tell which it may be.  But, these can be difficult, especially if the fish can't/won't eat, and some of them are a bit large, and some fish just don't like the taste of them.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Christy