My molly is laying on the bottom of the tank? (2024)

Why is my fish sitting at the bottom of the tank?

Sitting on the Bottom: If your fish is spending lots of time at the bottom of the tank, it may be normal behavior. Many fish, like catfish, are bottom-feeders and spend their time there. Fish also often sleep at the bottom of their tank.

How do you fix swim bladder in mollies?

Treatment involves water maintenance, feeding changes, and possible antibiotics. Let the fish fast: If an enlarged stomach or intestine is thought to be the cause of a swim bladder disease, the first course of action is to not feed the fish for three days.

How do I know if my molly fish is stressed?

Strange Swimming: When fish are stressed, they often develop odd swimming patterns. If your fish is swimming frantically without going anywhere, crashing at the bottom of his tank, rubbing himself on gravel or rocks, or locking his fins at his side, he may be experiencing significant stress.

Why is my pregnant molly sitting at the bottom of the tank?

Molly fish can stay at the bottom of the tank due to swim bladder infections, ich, or pregnancy. This behaviour can also signify that your tank isn't the best environment for your fish. Staying near the bottom of the tank may be a sign that you need to perform a water change or adjust the temperature.

Why is my fish laying on the bottom but still breathing?

It's totally natural for fish to nap and relax on the bottom of their tanks. Nutritionally balanced fish would repeat this during their fast and vigorous swimming sessions. To assist your pet in sleep, you can set the brightness in your tank on an 8–10 hour cycle during the daylight hours.

Can a fish recover from swim bladder?

Fortunately, swim bladder problems can usually be cured fairly easily, as long as you spot them early enough. If you see your fish swimming upside or on its side, act quickly!

Will my fish survive swim bladder?

If your fish has a permanent swim bladder disorder, they can still live a full and happy life with some lifestyle modifications. With positively buoyant fish, some of the fish's body can spend too much time above the water's surface, making it important to keep their skin moist.

Why is my fish not moving but still alive?

If fish are experiencing acute stress (i.e., gasping up at the surface, lying on the bottom and not moving, or darting around the aquarium), you can be pretty sure that the water has been poisoned in some way. Maybe cleaning sprays got into the aquarium, or something released toxins into the water.

Why is my fish not swimming but still alive?

Constipation, enlarged organs, or infection can all cause the swim bladder to stop functioning properly. Swim bladder disorder refers to issues affecting the swim bladder, rather than a single disease. Affected fish will inappropriately float or sink.

How do you save a dying molly fish?

Add one teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. Mix the salt into the water to ensure all the granules have dissolved and then place your fish in the container of salt water. Keep your fish in the salt water for one to three minutes, and observe your fish during the salt bath.

What water temp do mollies need?

Mollies are a tropical fish that needs temperatures in the range of 75°-80°F (24°-26.7°C). A heater is an absolute necessity that will keep the water warm and hold it at a steady temperature.

What temp do mollies like?

It typically requires stable temperatures, ranging between 70 to 82 degrees Fahrenheit. The Black Molly has very specific temperature requirements, and those who reside in colder climates will require a heater to maintain stable temperatures.

How does a pregnant molly act?

Female molly fish exhibit behavior signs like increased appetite and aggressive behavior when pregnant, and physical signs like rounder bellies. When these fish are about to give birth, their appetite decreases, and they become more withdrawn. Provide adequate hiding spaces to calm your mollies during this time.

Do dead fish float or sink?

After the fish dies there is no more DO being ingested and the air in the bladder starts to dissipate, causing the fish to sink to the bottom. After a few days, the internal organs of the dead fish decompose and a gas is formed. This gas causes the fish to once again float.

Do water changes stress fish?

Large water changes that include more than 60% water change, rinsing gravel, cleaning filter media lead to a complete, massive change in the water chemistry. Fishes when put in these new conditions, lead to temperature shock, stress, loss of appetite, and then death.

Does salt help stressed fish?

Here is the answer to Rebecca's question: In many cases, adding a little salt to a freshwater aquarium can help, as it reduces the stress on the fish by assisting the fish's osmoregulation (sorry for the technical term – what it means is it makes it easier for the fish to maintain itself physiologically in the water).

Do peas help swim bladder?

Frozen or cooked peas, will blast through the impaction and reduce the pressure on the fish's swim bladder. If your fish starts floating sideways, we recommend you stop feeding them for a few days and then hand feed peas to help clear up any blockages.

Why is my fish struggling to swim up?

This can be due to overeating, overconsumption, low water temperatures, bacterial infections, parasites, or other impaired organs affecting the bladder. In these particular cases, the fish can end up with a distended belly, curved back, impaired swimming, or even death leaving them floating on top of the water.

Does Epsom salt help swim bladder?

Despite its name, Epsom salt doesn't contain sodium. Magnesium is a mineral that is important for many systems of the human body — especially the nerves and muscles. It's also beneficial to aquarium fish suffering from maladies such as dropsy, constipation, and swim bladder disorder.

Can overfeeding cause swim bladder disease?

However, the most common causes for this disorder are overfeeding and/or feeding a poor diet lacking in fiber, which sometimes cause gas in the gastrointestinal tract and can lead to severe constipation that would cause the abdomen to swell, preventing the swim bladder from functioning properly (Mayer and Donnelly, ...

What does swim bladder look like?

What does a swimbladder look like? A swim bladder can best be described as a thin sausage skin inflated with air. It is a very delicate organ which runs centrally through the core of the fish. The length of it depends upon the species of fish.

Does swim bladder hurt fish?

When the bladder gets too large it can extend into the intestines causing an intestinal blockage, which can kill the fish. Freshwater fish are usually subject to this problem when they are kept in an aquarium for too long and too little water is changed.

Does popping the swim bladder hurt fish?

At times you may see a membrane protruding from the fish's mouth, which is actually the upper stomach and esophagus. The swim bladder isn't attached to the trachea, so popping or deflating this would negatively affect the fish.”

Is swim bladder in fish expensive?

The dried swim bladder, or maw, can fetch a price of between $20,000 and $80,000 per kilogram on the black market. Demand for maw stems from its use as an opulent business or wedding gift in China, as well as its value as an investment.

Why is my fish acting dead?

Poor water quality can also cause lethargic, listless behavior. The symptoms are usually due to improper temperatures or overfeeding, however. Gasping for air at the top of the tank can point to poor water quality. Test your water in this case and consider an aerator for your aquarium.

Why does my fish look dead all the time?

The salinity of the water (for saltwater aquariums), pH levels, filtration efficiency, and other quality issues must be maintained within ideal levels, or any one of them could be responsible for dead fish.

How do I know if my molly is dying?

A dying molly fish shows signs such as lack of appetite, popeye, swollen gills, lethargic behavior, a change in coloration, clamped fins, white specks on its skin, fins falling off, strange behavior such as sitting at the bottom, etc.

How do you put a dying fish to sleep?

Clove Oil (contains eugenol)

Clove oil is a sedative which at high doses, can be used to euthanase small fish. Unlike veterinary anaesthetics, clove oil is readily available from most chemists. Around 0.4ml of clove oil per litre of aquarium water is sufficient to cause death in exposed fish.

Is there a way to revive a dying fish?

To revive a dead fish, the most common method is to submerge it in a bowl of iced cold water. This will cause the fish to go into shock and (hopefully) come back to life.

How do I add oxygen to my fish tank?

Increasing water movement is the quickest way to increase oxygen (O2) levels in a fish tank, as it allows more O2 to dissolve and carbon dioxide (CO2) to be released. This can be easily done using an air pump, performing large water changes, manually stirring the water, or placing a fan near the aquarium.

Why does my fish look lifeless?

A few reasons include stress, incorrect tank setup, overfeeding, diseases, and much more. To a beginner, it could look like your fish died for no reason whatsoever.

Can fish recover from lack of oxygen?

As a response to hypoxia, some fish are able to remodel their gills to increase respiratory surface area, with some species such as goldfish doubling their lamellar surface areas in as little as 8 hours.

How do I know if my fish needs more oxygen?

Signs of Low Oxygen

They will swim less vigorously and even eat less often. As oxygen levels drop further, the fish will begin to show labored breathing and more rapid gill movements as they desperately attempt to get enough oxygen from the water by passing more water over their gills.

How can I increase oxygen in my fish tank without a pump?

You can add oxygen to your tank by slowly pouring water into it from some height above. The water will pick up air en route as well as drive oxygen into the tank water. How much oxygen is added depends on how high above the tank you pour the water and how many times you repeat this procedure.

Will swim bladder correct itself?

Depending on the cause, swim bladder disorders may be temporary or permanent. If your fish has a permanent swim bladder disorder, they can still live a full and happy life with some lifestyle modifications.

What is the dead fish position?

A sexual partner who lies flat and unresponsive during sex .

Is My fish dead or Sleeping?

It's pretty easy to tell when fish are sleeping: they lie motionless, often at the bottom or near the surface of the water. They are slow to respond to things going on around them, or may not respond at all (see some sleeping catfish here). If you watch their gills, you'll notice they're breathing very slowly.

Can a dead fish poison the water?

Remove. Any dead fish should be removed, as its body will quickly rot in the warm, bacteria-laden water. A corpse will pollute water, risking the health of other fish in the tank.