Why Do My Dalmatian Mollies Have Orange Spots?

Are you wondering why your dalmatian mollies have orange spots? Is it normal for dalmatian mollies to have orange spots?

In this article, I will cover everything related to dalmatian mollies having orange spots.

Why Do My Dalmatian Mollies Have Orange Spots? Dalmatian mollies have orange spots on their skin because they are hybrids of mollies. Besides genetics, dalmatian mollies can have orange spots due to unsuitable water conditions or pregnancy.

Now that you know why your dalmatian mollies have orange spots, you might be thinking, what are the orange spots? Let’s find out!

What are the Orange Spots?

The orange spots on the skin of dalmatian mollies could indicate different things. Let’s look at the three major possibilities.

1. Toxic Levels of Ammonia

The orange spots could indicate the damage caused due to toxic levels of ammonia in the water tank. Dalmatian mollies produce ammonia as a waste product.

If you let ammonia accumulate in the water tank, your mollies can develop ammonia poisoning.

As a result of ammonia poisoning, your molly’s skin, gills, eyes, and fins are chemically burnt, leading to the development of orange spots or discolouration.

Therefore, it is recommended to keep the ammonia levels at 0ppm.

2. Coloured Scales

The orange spots could also be the coloured scales of your dalmatian mollies. Since dalmatian mollies are hybrid species, it’s normal for them to have different coloured scales, including yellow, orange, black, and white.

3. Pregnant

If there is a sudden development of orange spots on your female dalmatian molly, it could be a sign of pregnancy.

It’s possible that your female molly mated with an orange male molly because of which they have orange spots. Many dalmatian mollies’ owners have reported the same.

Are They Ill? Do They Have a Disease?

Although the orange spots are not caused due to any illness or disease, they could be life-threatening if formed due to toxic levels of ammonia in the water. Ammonia levels of 1ppm can cause the death of your dalmatian molly.

Moreover, ammonia poisoning can also make your dalmatian molly sick. It usually takes two to three days for dalmatian mollies to show the symptoms of ammonia poisoning.

Ammonia poisoning might result in loss of appetite, cloudy eyes, pale skin, and uneasy or rapid breathing in dalmatian mollies.

Therefore, it’s essential to protect your dalmatian mollies from ammonia poisoning. You should know the necessary actions that you must take in order to save your dalmatian mollies from ammonia poisoning.

Let’s see what you can do to save your mollies in the next section.

What Should I Do?

Below are some measures that you can take to prevent orange spots in dalmatian mollies caused due to toxic levels of ammonia.

1. Check Water Condition

Firstly, you need to check the water condition of the tank in which you keep your dalmatian molly. You can use an ammonia test kit or test strips to see if the ammonia levels have increased. Ideally, ammonia levels should be 0ppm.

Also, the preferred water temperature for dalmatian mollies is 68-82 Fahrenheit. Moreover, the pH level of the water should be 7 to 8. Make sure you maintain the optimum water conditions for your dalmatian mollies.

2. Use Ammonia Filter Pads

You might consider using ammonia filter pads for your mollies’ water tank. Ammonia filter pads are dense pads used to remove ammonia and other harmful chemicals from water.

Ammonia filter pads keep the water crystal clear and reduce the risk of ammonia poisoning in dalmatian mollies.

3. Use Biological Filters

Biological filters or biofilters break down the ammonia present in the water keeping your dalmatian mollies safe.

4. Change Water Frequently

To ensure the purity of water and avoid the accumulation of ammonia, try changing the tank water frequently.

Ideally, you should change 10% of the water every day and replace it with fresh water. Besides, you can decide to change 25-50% of the water once or twice a week for better safety.

Final Thought

You might observe orange spots on the skin of your dalmatian mollies. The orange spots could occur due to three main reasons: increased ammonia levels, coloured scales, and pregnancy.

There is a problem if your mollies develop orange spots due to increased levels of ammonia in the water.

Increased ammonia levels can result in ammonia poisoning in dalmatian mollies. Besides the orange spots, you will notice that your mollies are getting pale and lacking appetite.

It’s the time when you need to be cautious and take the necessary steps to save your mollies.

This article is a great place to get started if you are clueless about how to treat the water having toxic levels of ammonia.

Do go through the given steps and take appropriate actions to keep your mollies safe and healthy.