my black mollie is sick

Question
i have 3 mollies,2 tetras, and a chinese algae eater.all the fish have been together a while now,but my black mollie"miss mollie",is acting weird.Her gills are moving fast like shes not getting enough air and she starts floating straight up and down in the water for a few seconds then swims away.I put more air in the tank hoping she would get better, but its not working.I dont want her to die.how can I help her?

Answer
Hi Jessica;

Make a 25% water change today and another one tomorrow. Be sure the new water is the same temperature as the old water and use a water conditioner too. Mollies require very clean water to thrive. After these first two initial water changes, do them once a week and vacuum the gravel every 2 or 3 weeks. Weekly 25% changes are just a basic maintenance schedule for any tank, but especially for mollies. It was a common believe that mollies need salt in their water, but they actually don't. The same electrolytes and trace minerals are found in fresh clean water. Water changes also remove the toxin 'nitrate'. It is the end result of biological filtration and must be removed by weekly water changes or it builds up to harmful levels over time.

Mollies also need veggies in their diet. They like bits of spirulina algae, romaine lettuce, cooked and peeled peas, cooked shredded carrots, cucumber slices and squash slices. Just rinse and drop them in. Your other fish will like them too.

I hope she feels better soon.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins