Damselfish stranded in quarantine

[Big G]

Most Damsels are pretty tough, aggressive critters. More than likely it is the cause of the fin nips.

 

[Humblefish]

Most Damsels are pretty tough, aggressive critters. More than likely it is the cause of the fin nips.

^^ This is very possible; I would isolate the mollies to an acclimation box or otherwise separate them from the damsel. They only need to share water, not come into direct contact with one another.

 

[Carla2]

You think it's the damsel? I read springer's damselfish is one of the mellowest kinds (though it's still damselfish) and this one never attacked the two neon gobies except that he did charge at them after seeing each other for the first time ... but that was it. And it'd be hard for the damsel to bite at every fin. None of the mollies' fins are left untattered, even ventral fins. The mollies are about twice the size of the damsel and the larger molly does charge back at the damsel when challenged.

I've been watching them for hours but no charging since the time they woke up. Still it'd be possible the damsel behaves when I'm in the room and bites them when I'm not ...

So I should just separate them, no need to treat them yet?

 

[Big G]

Ah, Springer's. I have 3 of the little guys. Do you have some egg crate? Works great in Qt's, sumps, etc. to separate fish until they, hopefully, get used to each other.

 

[Carla2]

You've got them too ;Happy Love their metallic colors ... I have a lot of egg crate that didn't become tank tops, so I'll use it to separate these fish. I really should, because if the mollies die later (though I'm hoping it doesn't happen) I'll need to rule out as many causes as I can to find what disease did it.

Thanks for your advice! Hopefully they'll get better.

 

[Carla2]

I put black mollies in my quarantine to see if the tank has marine velvet. I've been observing them and it's been almost three weeks ... no sign of velvet.
The two mollies are eating well. They had frayed fins immediately after being introduced to the tank. Their tattered tails are getting better but the progress seems very slow. Their other fins have healed up nicely.

Should I wait for three more weeks (six weeks in total in the quarantine) to declare them free of velvet?

 

[Humblefish]

@Carla2 If you aren't seeing velvet after 3 weeks, your DT is good to go.

 

[Carla2]

They'll be out of QT very soon!
Thank you Humblefish, for suggesting black mollies! In addition to testing the presence of velvet I've been enjoying watching them. They are wigglier than clownfish!

 

[Carla2]

I acclimated four black mollies to saltwater about a month ago and into my quarantine they went. Two of them died during the first night. The other two survived but all of their fins were tattered badly.
After 31 days their fins have mostly healed, but the smaller molly still has a frayed tail. I thought I'd keep them in the quarantine until the tail looks good, then ... a few days ago a brand-new rip appeared on the larger molly's dorsal fin along its rays. They do chase each other during mealtimes and it's possible they had bitten each other while I wasn't looking. I thought they were females but it turned out they were both male.

There is no visible sign of infection on either fin. No whitish growth or redness (though I doubt if I'd see any redness even when it appears because the mollies are pitch-black).
By the way, in the other compartment of the quarantine I have a springer's damselfish. The fish has always looked healthy. All the fish are eating well.
Ich and velvet are ruled out at this point. I don't think there are any flukes either, though I'm not absolutely sure.

Is it possible some kind of illness is hampering the recovery of the smaller molly's tail? Or ... maybe the smaller molly's tail will never heal completely?

Should I treat them with meds, leave them without meds in the quarantine until their fins heal, or just transfer them to the display? If medication is necessary I have MetroPlex, KanaPlex, Furan-2 and Melafix for possible fin treatment.

Thanks!

 

[Humblefish]

You can treat with antibiotics to help heal the tattered fins, but separating the two males will probably achieve the same results.

 

[Carla2]

Thanks Humblefish! I'll try separating the two mollies. It's sad when none of them likes each other Hopefully they will do better in a bigger tank.

 

[Humblefish]

Thanks Humblefish! I'll try separating the two mollies. It's sad when none of them likes each other Hopefully they will do better in a bigger tank.

Best thing for livebearers is one male and the rest females:

 

[Carla2]

I took their tattered gonopodiums for very tattered anal fins ... that's why I thought they were females
Unfortunately I think the ones I lost were females. I'm wondering if female (or pregnant) mollies acclimate more poorly to saltwater, but so far I've found no one saying that. And this could be just a coincidence.

Two days ago I found one of the mollies while he was very interested in the other's belly. He wouldn't attack but he kept staring at it from below for a long time while the other molly tried to get away. Almost like a male guppy staring at a female belly. Maybe he thought the other molly was a girl by mistake ...

Keeping multiple mollies in reef tanks could be hard in a way I never expected! Freshwater people seem to say that they reproduce fast when kept in a good ratio and environment, which means your reef tank might eventually turn into a molly tank ... guess you bombard everyone you know with your baby mollies, or ... convert your tank to a lionfish tank ... ;Mask

I think I'll try them in my display and/or refugium nevertheless

 

[Carla2]

A final update

I had two black mollies and a springer's damselfish in the quarantine, and the smaller molly had a tattered tail for weeks. I separated all the fish and waited for a couple of weeks. The tattered tail didn't get worse, and it didn't exactly look like fin rot, but it didn't get better either. So I tried KanaPlex and after a week the tail was complete again!

Now the mollies have been in my display system for about two weeks. The larger molly has been cleaning my refugium for now. A rogue peppermint shrimp lives in the refugium, and the molly and the shrimp squabble over food They charge at each other but there has been no real fighting, so I suppose this is fine ...

The smaller molly has been in the display, but I don't know if he is enjoying it. The other fish ignore him completely and he is almost always swimming around the return, where the flow is strongest. He might be smelling the other molly in the refugium. Hopefully he decides to swim around more!

Thanks again for your advice!