[Jelimafish]

I had successfully bred Oscars for a few years before moving into my first apartment and no one wants a 2 ton aquarium above their head so I had to abandon my hobby. My daughter just turned 2 and she loves fish so I got out one of my 30 gallon tanks and a heater and the best filter I had for that tank and set it up. About a week later I introduced 8 mollies from my local pet store. For the first 2 weeks everything was fine they all were ravenous eaters and seemed to work well as community fish, no nipping or chasing. The past week has been a complete downhill spiral. Every night I notice one or two of the fish hiding in the cave or in the plants, not coming out to eat and acting very spooked if another fish swims by and in the morning they are dead. They are showing no sign of sickness and other then hiding before their demise they aren't acting strange. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[henningc]

Well, it sound like your tank may not be cycled completely and the weaker fish are slowly dying off. Also, what are your water perameters? Mollys need salt and lower temps than many tropicals. If the temp is over 75, back it down. It seems the higher the temp the faster issues become critical. You said that there were no other signs of disease. Make sure they are not shimmying side to side, or that their gut area just in front of the anal fin is not collapsed. Shimmys are slime based infections and sunken guts are typically poor husbantry likely way before you ever laid eyes on them. Also where did you buy them?