CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

my tank is in a sad state. the water is slightly cloudy, and my largest, healthiest black mollie's scales are popping up in a few places. This doesn't look like any ich i've ever seen, but its as if her scales are turning white at the edges and pulling up or something.

I'm really tired of the water being so off... and i don't know if i should just bucket out a little of the water their in and start over? I almost think it would be easier and save the fish more stress...

Any help with this would be muchly appreciated... I would hate to lose my favourite fish!

It sounds like dropsy, the scales look like a pine cone.
IF it is dropsy, (which is really a term for many diffrent types of internal infections, where the fish begins to lose the ability to remove excess water obsorbed due to osmosis), then the best advice I can give is treat the fish with a general medication for internal infections. Change the water, at this point do a 50% water change, do another in about 12 hours.
I would like to know, the current tank size, number of fish, your water test results, and also, the colour of the "cloudyness", ie white, green, brown? Post back as soon as you can.

I've got a 10gal with 2 black mollies 3 guppies 3 corycats 1 chinese algae eater and 1 pleco. The cloudyness is a light brown, and it really isn't all that cloudy. There are lots and lots of bubbles at the top, though.

IMO the tank is overstocked, depending upon the fish's sizes. IE if its not over stocked now, it will be soon. Water quality is most definatly an issue. Do the 50% water change, brown water is more of a sign of poor water quality, also, since you didn't post your water quality test's, do you check them, ie ammonia, nitrite, nitrate?
What type of filtration do you use?
Fish can only be healthy, if there enviroment is healthy.

Yeah, I've been thinking the tank is overstocked... my pleco is getting bigger by the day, but the other fish have plenty of room and lots of hiding places. I have a 30gal in my attic, but I don't have a surface big enough to set it up on in my room. If I can figure out a way to get it set up, I will most definately transfer them to that one.

As for now I'm going to do the 50% water change and tomorrow go pick up some test kits to check out the water quality. I've never checked it (yeah, I'm too cheap to buy the test strips) but I'm sure its awful... *sigh*

So I did the water change tonite and the water is 99% clearer. The fish seem more active, although the supposed "dropsy" on the one mollie doesn't seem to have changed at all. Tomorrow I head to the store to pick up some medication for that. Everybody seems happy (and hungry!) other than that.

If you only get one test kit, make sure its for ammonia. Otherwise get kits for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, you don't really need to test for ph or GH/KH etc right now.

hey if you don't have a stand use a table or a dresser if you have the room on one of those for your 30 gal. i used my two dressers for my two ten gallons when i did't have a stand.

That's where I've got my 10gal right now... on top of my bookcase. I'm headed up into the attic to check out the 30gal... my mom said she doesn't think it holds water any more *cries*!!

I did a large water change the other night as posted, and I am now treating the dropsy with Maracyn2 and picked up a bottle of CopperSafe just in case. I'm taking a water sample over to my LFS when they are open and I have free time (I'm a busy girl!)

If the tank leaks, most likly its a quick fix, (if the glass isn't broken) it just needs to be re sealed with silicon. Any 100% pure clear silicon will work, (most will say aquarium safe on them). Get it from a hardware store, half the price for the same item at your local LFS.