Molly Fish is one of the most popular fish to keep in aquariums. They come in various colors and patterns, making them an exciting addition to any tank. However, like many other pet owners have found out the hard way, Molly Fish can also get fungus on their body that needs treatment. So how do you treat fungus in Molly Fish?
The answer is not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Fungal infections usually occur with high organic matter levels, such as uneaten food or dead plant leaves. In addition, the fungus usually attacks the surface of the gills and mouth of the fish, so they have breathing difficulties. So, it would be best if you treated them as soon as possible.
Many different medications are available to help clear up your fish’s fungal infection, but you will need first to find one that matches their parasite sensitivity level.
In this article, we will talk about Molly fish. First, we’ll cover what causes fungal infection and how to avoid it if possible, but more importantly, we will discuss the fungal infection and how to treat fungus in Molly fish.
What Are Fungal Diseases In Molly Fish?
Fungal diseases occur when fungs infect the fish. Usually, fungi are present everywhere in nature. Some fungi can cause infection to animals, including human beings and other pets, while some affect either pets or humans.
Since Molly fish live in water, all their life and fungi can quickly develop on wet surfaces. As a result, these fish are prone to fungal infection. Fungal infections affect your Molly fish’s gills, scales, and skin. As a result, your friend will lose its charm, energy, and color.
However, if detected early, you can treat these diseases with anti-fungal medications. But, if you do not treat the infection in time, it could lead to other illnesses like bacterial or parasitic infection and cause the death of your fish.
When a fungal attack happens, the most important thing you should do is separate your Mollies from any other species. Usually, fungus spores are present on all fish’ skin, scales, and fins. So it is pretty easy for an infection to spread from one species to another without proper precautions. Thus, the condition can worsen due to cross-contamination by fungus spores present on the surface of other fishes.
What Are The Common Fungal Diseases In Molly Fish?
Fungal infection in Molly fish is a common problem that some pet fish owners face. Typically, fungal infection is a broad term that refers to the fungal spores or yeast that naturally grows in water. They can affect any fish regardless of their size, age and species. The fungus eats on dead tissue, which causes skin ulcers where bacteria grow, creating an environment for more fungus to develop.
Common fungal diseases in Molly Fish include mouth rot, fin rot, tail rot, Ichthyophoniasis, Saprolegniosis, and cotton wool disease.
What Are The Signs Of Fungal Infection In Molly Fish?
Several signs can indicate a fish is suffering from a fungal infection in Molly Fish. Some of the common symptoms include:
- spots or patches on skin or fins
- ulcers near the mouth, fins, or any other areas of the body
- swelling around wounds caused by infections
- cloudy eyes or skin
- white, fuzzy growths on the fish’s skin.
- injury to affected area like head which causes bulging eyes and loss of vision
What Are The Causes Of Fungus In Molly Fish?
Fungus is a plant-like organism that lives on the skin of your Molly and grows when exposed to water. The fungus will need high humidity, warm temperatures (75 F/24 C), and food sources such as dead or decaying organic matter. So, the common causes of fungus in Molly fish are:
Stress
Molly Fish, or tropical fish, are very sensitive to changes in their environment. Therefore, adding new fish to the tank without quarantining them first or changing the aquarium setup will make your fish anxious. And thus, it could lead to fungus growth as a reaction of his body to that stressor.
Fungal spores are present on every surface. If your Molly experiences some shock (such as overcrowding or a change to its habitat), it will increase their susceptibility to infections.’
Overcrowding
Fungus in Molly fish is a sign of stress and overcrowding. Fungal spores are everywhere. If you don’t have enough filtration in your tank, Molly will contact polluted surroundings for a more extended period. Besides this, an overcrowded tank produces more waste, and thus, your fish will be more susceptible to fungal infection.
Overfeeding
Fungus thrives on uneaten food particles that can collect under rocks or filter intakes over time. Although, Mollies are omnivorous and eat everything. You will often find more leftover foods in the tank if you are not careful about their feeding schedule.
These foods provide nutrition to the fungus spores to grow. As a result, fungal growth increases and infects your mOlly fish.
Poor Water Quality
Fungus and other diseases can occur due to a lack of clean, well-oxygenated water with low nitrates (<20 ppm) and ammonia (0ppm). Fungal infections are more common when nitrate concentrations exceed 40 ppm.
Moreover, fungus prefers to live in a warmer and polluted environment. Thus, when you fail to clean your Molly fish’s tank regularly, they will be higher chances of fungal growth and infection.
Inadequate Filtration
Filtration should provide at least one turnover per hour. Otherwise, dissolved wastes accumulate to toxic levels due to insufficient biological filtration. Furthermore, the essential bacteria die off during periods and thus increase the water temperature and degrades water quality conditions.
Lack of proper filtration favors fungus growth and spread, leading to fungal infections.
Temperature fluctuations
Temperature changes within acceptable limits result in minimal stress on fish. However, rapid or extreme temperature changes can cause shock and disease.
Fungus in Molly fish is expected when the temperature rises above 68 degrees Fahrenheit. Frequent fluctuation in the tank temperature assists the fungal growth. Thus your fish will suffer from fungal disease.
How To Treat Fungus In Molly Fish?
Mollies are one of the most common aquarium fish. They come from the same family as platyfish, guppies, and swordtails. So they have similar care needs to their cousins in terms of water temperature and quality requirements.
Fungal infections can affect any species, but mollies are more common, especially those inside glass tanks or bowls rather than outside ponds. Unlike tanks, there is plenty of fresh air circulation with oxygen-rich water currents in the ponds.
However, the best way to treat fungus in Molly fish are:
Give Good Food
Fungal infections get worse when there is a lack of nutritious food and vitamins. If you notice that your Molly is losing weight even though they seem to be eating enough, this could indicate a more severe problem like fungal infection or secondary infection.
So, it would be best to give them high-quality foods containing plenty of essential nutrients. This will reduce the chances of developing fungus and provides energy to fuel their immune system. As a result, good food will improve the condition of infected Mollies and help them fight against infection.
Add Salt
Fungus in Molly fish will heal if you add salt to the aquarium. Fungal infections usually do not thrive when there is less oxygen and more carbon dioxide. So adding salt creates a better environment for your Molly’s immune system and natural defenses to do their job.
Improve Oxygenation And Water Quality
The fungus can get a hold of your fish, especially if they are living in dirty water. Fungal spores love to develop and spread where lots of dirt or food falls on the bottom.
So it is better not to overfeed them. You should wait for about 30 minutes before feeding these fish again. In this way, you will not overfeed your Molly. Along with this, it is important to clean your fish tank regularly. So, you must change 50% of tank water at least once a week and clean the tank thoroughly once a month.
In addition, proper water circulation and oxygen can also help to remove fungus from the tank. You can regularly use high-quality filters, air pumps, air stones, and even vacuums to circulate fresh and clean water in the tank.
Increase The Temperature Of Their Tank
Mollies will go great if you increase the temperature of your tank by two degrees if you notice some signs of illness in the tank. Since Mollies are tropical fish, they prefer warmer temperatures to recover from infections and heal.
Besides this, fungal growth drops when the tank’s temperature is higher than 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus, increasing the temperature can assist in both enhancing Mollies’ immunity and inhibiting fungal growth.
Perform Large Water Changes To Reduce Fungal Spore Levels In The Tank
Fungus spores will be present everywhere even if your tank is clean, but they are more within dirty water.
You should perform significant water changes every day. If you are using tap water, it is better to treat it with a conditioner. It removes chlorine, chloramine, ammonia, and heavy metals from the source. Otherwise, this could increase the levels of fungus in your tank.
Use A Fungicide Treatment
There are multiple treatments available at pet stores to cure Molly Fishes suffering from fungal infections such as methylene blue or malachite green. These treatments can kill off any fungi growing on the skin and help other fishes recover faster.
These types of medication usually work by attacking the fungus spores directly rather than just breaking up the fish’s slime coat like other medications. However, it is important to remember not to treat Fungus in Molly Fish if their fins are still healing. If you do so, it results in a bacterial infection on top of everything else. Consequently, it will only prolong treatment time and make things worse for your pet.
What Are Do And Don’ts To Treat Fungus In Molly FishIt would help if youoconsidereder certain things while you are treating fungal infections in Molly fish. So, the things you must do and the things to avoid are as follows:
The Dos
The first thing you should do is get rid of all the water from your molly tank or bowl. Use a turkey baster and an empty bucket for this step. Remove as much water as possible without harming any fish inside.
You can use paper towels or cotton swabs to clean the insides of tanks after siphoning out the water; wipe down everything, including glass walls/sides, plants, gravel surfaces, etc. Ensure no leftover traces of fungus spores on the covers because they could pop up again when humidity levels rise later.
Next, fill your aquarium with distilled water or non-chlorinated fresh tap water. Fungus spores cannot survive in a high oxygen environment, so keeping the tank well ventilated is important to prevent its return. Oxygenated flowing water will help keep your Molly healthy, and they also need it to breathe at the surface of their tanks. So, always leave some space for air between the top of the aquarium’s water level.
You can use anti-fungal medications like Melafix Fish Treatment if necessary. But only after consulting with your local pet store specialist may the dosage differ depending on your Molly’s size and age. In addition, fungal infections can be contagious, so make sure to keep them in a separate quarantine tank, especially when treated with medicine.
The Don’ts
Never use anti-fungus medications if you don’t know how much of it is safe for your fish because there is always a chance that they could ingest too much, which can lead to other complications like organ damage or even death.
Make sure not to overfeed your Molly during treatment. Fungus spores thrive in moist conditions (no feeding inside tanks), and excess food will only contaminate water quality further below.
Never add fresh tap water directly into aquariums without/treating it first since chlorine and other harmful chemicals can be lethal to any fish living inside glass tanks and bowls. Also, the fungus spreads quickly, so avoid touching your Molly’s skin or fins while cleaning the tank because you might spread fungus spores onto them instead!
Finally, treat all plants with anti-fungal medications before adding them into a newly cleaned aquarium to prevent fungus from spreading through soil/dirt, which could trigger an outbreak that is difficult to stop once it starts.
How To Prevent Fungus In Molly Fish?
Fungus in Molly fish spreads if they have injuries. This is because the injured part of the body tends to develop fungus very quickly than healthy fish. Once a fish in your aquarium has a fungal infection, the infection spreads to all the fish. Thus, the treatment of fungal infection becomes more challenging in this case.
So, some of the ways to prevent fungus in Molly fish are:
- Keep the aquarium clean. Make sure you are cleaning the tank regularly. Remove the uneaten foods and leftovers from the tank 30 minutes after feeding your fish.
- Give healthy and nutritious food. Malnutrition is a leading cause of fungal infection in Mollies. So make sure you’re feeding your molly fish the right kind of food to keep them healthy.
- Make sure there’s enough space for all Molly Fish in the aquarium. Ensure the aquarium is big enough for all the Molly Fish.
- Avoid bullies in the tank. Ensure the tank is stress-free. Only add the non-aggressive tankmates. Moreover, it is better to analyze the behavior of newly added fish for a few days before introducing it to the main tank.
- Maintain a stable pH balance. The fungus growth occurs when there is too much ammonia. So it would be best if you didn’t let this build up by testing your water regularly to ensure it has not changed from the initial levels.
- Maintain a stable temperature in the aquarium around 72 F or 23 C. This is best for Molly fish and prevents fungus from growing too quickly.
- Keep new molly fish separate until you are confident that they are healthy. Fungal infections can pass on to other molly fish. So it would help if you quarantined new arrivals until you were sure they were healthy and fungus-free.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Fungus infections in Molly fish are common and occur due to various reasons. Fungal treatment for mollies is difficult but possible. You need to follow ideal prevention practices such as quarantine for new species, regular water changes, etc.
A good quality diet will also help keep your fish healthy and disease-free; it can prevent many diseases from occurring in the first place. Fungal treatment for mollies is possible, but it isn’t going to be easy, and you will have to dedicate your time if you want this fish healthy once again!
Hopefully, this article helped you better understand Fungal treatment for mollies and how to treat Fungus in Molly fish.
Thanks!