male molly with weird behavior

Question
I have a black lire tail male sailfin molly and he is acting very strange!! He is hanging out at the bottom and flip flopping around with the occasional spin about with his mouth touching his tail!! he has done this before but got better after a few days of hydrogen peroxide (a cap of it in the over flow of a 45 gallon tank) and some baking soda infusions (1 cup of 2 parts water 1 part pure baking soda which i use as a cure all at times). This time it is the same but different he is doing the same as he did when i got him and yet this time he has strange white spots and a silvery tent to his other scales, it doesn't look like ich or velvet (my fish have had both and been cured of it!!) the spots have a grainy look they are not round but odd shaped like tiny particles of gravel were sprinkled on him!! Do you know what this is? I have been told he may have a type of freshwater fish cancer and at this stage he should be put down!! I want a second opinion because he is not just a fish but a part of the family!! If he does get put down his little wife molly is pregnant so he will live on through the fry if they survive!! What is your take on this?

Answer
Hi Helema
I just saw your question in the question pool, it's been a few days since you posted, so hopefully the fish is still alive.

It sounds like it may be a parasite or protozoan infection.  Kind of hard to say though for sure.  It could be the parasites(which are microscopic) and can cause small ulcers, which can cause a fungal or bacterial infection to occur as a secondary infection.  I would try treating with Quick Cure and some salt in the tank(1 tablespoon for every 5 US gallons), that takes care of a lot of parasites.  But be careful if you have any sensitive or scaleless fish like loaches, tetras, cory cats in the tank, they don't do very well with those medicines or salt.  Also be sure to do frequent water changes to help keep the water quality good.

Hope that helps and good luck!

Christy