lost a molly

Falina

when i came in from work tonight alice, my pregnant molly had passed away. she was pregnant. she looked normal except her top fin looked a bit shredded but this was not the case this morning as i had a good check at them all this morning as i recently added a new fish. i think perhaps she injured it, or more likely it happened after she passed away and had been rubbed against the wood by the current or something

water paramenters are amonia 0, nitrite 0.8 mg/l, nitrate 20 mg/l and ph 7. i dont know where this nitrite has come from, i check pretty much weekly and it has been stable at 0 for a while until 2 days ago when i tested and got these reults. also, the only thing different was that last night i added nutrafin plant food at the stated dose for my tank but this says it is safe for fish.

any ideas what might have ended her life? should i worry that my other fish will have the same fate? all my other fish are doing well at the moment but like i said, so was alice this morning so im worried for them

as for the nitrite, i did a 30% water change right away to reduce it

thanks

Trishfish

Maybe you missed ammonia going up a bit with the addition of your new fish and now you're seeing nitrite.

I'm so sorry about your molly.

Falina

its possible, but it was only the one fish that i added and it does seem odd that everyone else was fine. also would amonia appear, get to a high enough level to kill a fish, and disapear all in 24 hours? im just puzzled because everyone else was fine.

is it possible for a fish to die just of old age? ive no way of telling what age she was, but she was certainly fully grown

thanks trishfish

Amphitrite

Julie, how long had you had the molly for, and have you ever kept them before with any success?

The reason I ask, it that the water is very soft in Glasgow and surrounding areas - I, nor anyone I know, has ever had any success in keeping them.

Trishfish

If it was only one fish you added I doubt the ammonia would have climbed that high. Maybe your fish was older and couldn't handle it. Or maybe pregnant fish are less tolerant of poor water conditions. Again, I'm sorry.

Lupin

I find this one very much possible. I virtually forgot that almost all places of Scotland have very soft water.

Falina

i have had them for about 4 weeks. my other 3 are very healthy and appear to be thriving but perhaps i havent had them long enough to tell if they will thrive long-term?

i think she was the oldest one so perhaps that could have had something to do with it. i have no idea what age she actually was but she was the only one i had that was fullly grown.

as for the soft water, if this is true, how do pet stores manage to keep them? is it just because they are shipped in from other places and only stay in the pet store for a short time?

what should i do if its the water and how can i tell? i dont want to keep them here if its going to kill them, but would returning them do any good as theyd only be rehomed somewhere else with the same water?

is it only a matter of time before my other 3 die? i really hope not.

thanks for your help everyone

Amphitrite

Sorry, I can't really be of much more help Julie. Some people harden their water - but I didn't want to go down that road, so now I stick with fish that thrive well in the water conditions that I have.

I suppose a lot of the LFS either have the mollys for a short time, or perhaps because they are raised in softer water they are more tolerant

I never tried again after I lost the first two that I got. I think they lasted a few weeks, and seemed fine - but both went within a few days of each other. None of the other fish in the tank were affected at the time - but they all like soft water.

For a detailed water report, you call up the West Of Scotland Water Authority who I think will send you information. I'll pm you the details.

You could also try calling the shop where you got them, and ask if they treat the water at all.

Hope that helps

Falina

im not keen on treating the water tbh as my other fish are doing well and ive read that the synodontis like soft water and i have 3 of them.

thanks for the information for the water board.

when alice had her last batch of fry, there were about 30 of them and all died within a few days for what seemed like no reason at all so perhaps it was the softeness of the water that killed them. at least this would explain it.

i have 4 molly fry just now from a different fish. my 3 black mollies seem to be doing really well. alice was sort of blondish, so shes obviously a different type. ill leep my fingers crossed that the black ones will be a bit more tolerant. i know color will make no difference, but it shows at least that theyre from different strains so may be a bit more tolerant.

is it all livebearers that like hard water or just mollies? i also have a swordtail and was wondering if i should be worried about him as well? also, i like that the livebearers breed so easily, and that the fry are easier to care for so if i did loose the other mollies (which i hope i really dont) would i be able to get platties or swordtails perhaps?

thanks again for your help

Amphitrite

I've had a couple of platys for over a year with no problems at all, and I used to keep and breed zebra danios. As for swordtails, I'm not sure - perhaps somebody else could help you out on that one. :)