From: dphantom@triton.unm.edu (darlene an  92sep02 lawry)
Subject: Re: Orange Sailfin Mollies
Date: Sun, 03 Jan 93 01:19:34 GMT
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque
Distribution: rec

In article <JOHNP.93Jan1182455@silver.lcs.mit.edu> johnp@silver.lcs.mit.edu (John Palaima) writes:
>Anyways My orange sailfin mollies (2 out of three) exibit this strange, head tick (as in back and fourth) any ideas what causes it.. 
>also it seems my clown loach is losing his orange color again and the darn heater cant keep a steady temprature so ill hafta buy a new one... any recommendations

Sounds like they might be "shimmying" (sp?)...I don't have my disease book
handy off-hand, but if I remember right, it can be caused by infections
or low temperatures.  Live-bearers tend to exhibit this symptom when somethng
is wrong more than other fish...where it looks like they're swimming in place.
If you need more help, e-mail me.

And, while I'm at it, I've got my own problem...I've got an iridescent shark
(sorry, dunno scientific name, but it's a white and blue catfish) with an
eye problem.  This is the second occurance (or at least similar occurance).
The first attacked my other iridescent shark, and it appeared to just be a
case of popeye.  I did water changes (no test kits), and fed him "good"
food (frozen and live)...but after about a week and a half, the swelling
only seemed to be worse.  So I tried adding salt (no, not table), gradually 
bringing it up to as high as 2-3 tsp/gallon (which is quite high for 
fresh water catfish).  It brought the swelling down, but it never did go
away.  Finally, several weeks later, it died...with a red swelling under 
the eye region...I figured it was either a ruptured blood vessel, or some
other internal factor.  It had never exhibited any other symptoms other
than the popeye the entire time (color, appetite, skin, behavior were all
typical of a very happy fish).

But now, a few months later, my other iridescent shark developed mild
popeye as well...but this time, I've noticed a white film on the top
side of his eyes, where the swelling seems to be.  It doesn't look like
fungus really, but it does look more like it's on the surface than in 
the eye itself.  Again, water change, thorough tank cleaning just in
case, and this time I treated the tank with a generic anti-fungal/bacteria
medication.  But the swelling seems to be getting a little worse, if anything,
and the film seems to now be covering part of the lens.  It's not a thick
film, but more like a cloudiness.  Again, also making sure it's receiving
a more varied diet than usual.

Tank:

20 gallon
approx 78 degrees F
undergravel filter
feed: mostly flake and dried krill
dim lighting most of the time

Fish in tank:      
The iridescent shark (only one left)
small kribinsis
white cloud
small angel fish
bristle nose catfish (the kind that look like a small pleco)

Again, the shark looks and acts completely healthy.

I've considered the following:

Nurtitional problems (namely lack of vitamin B2):  would account for the
cloudy eyes, but since the color and behavior is fine, I'm not convinced.

Water quality problems:  would account for the popeye, but again, no other
symptoms, and this particular kind of catfish tends to go off its food if
the water isn't good, which it hasn't done at all, so...

Eye Fluke:  would account for the popeye and the cloudy lens.  However, it's
a rare parasite due to it's complex life cycle...which, considering my
tank has no snails, I can't even fathom an infection, much less a repeat
infection.  The fish have/had been in the tank for several months, therefore
I don't think an infestation is likely, with the exception of the kribinsis.
Which hasn't had any eye fluke symptoms whatsoever.

Popeye:  then what's the cloudiness on/above the eye?

Fungal/bacterial infection:  it seems to be localized to the eye region,
and the only thing it might come close to would be "sliminess of the
skin" appearance-wise, but he doesn't seem stressed in the least.

If anyone has a clue, please e-mail me (I may or may not catch it here).

Thanks.
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