heart-broken molly?

[greytgrey]

I had a black molly die last week. Now I only have one molly left. Two months ago both my male mollies died. Then I had 2 females. Now I only have one.

Since my other molly died my fish has been sitting at the bottom most of the time. She barely swims. she eats though. She shows no signs of illness and my water is ok. Today though she is swimming more but I was wondering...is she heartbroken that she lost her friend?

 

[An t-iasg]

Well, we don't know for sure, but the molly could be heartbroken. I had 2 male bettas, each in their own tank, but they could see each other from the corners of the tanks. When one died, the other acted "sad".

What did the other mollies die from? It could be that the remaining molly is coming down with whatever they had. How old is this molly? Livebearers in general live for only a few years. There are many exceptions, of course, but if this molly is 2-3 years old, it may be her time

What are your exact water parameters? Post them when you can. Do you put any aquarium salt in the water?

Some fish do better in groups. You could get a few more mollies (if you want more) and watch them in QT for a week or so. If the remaining molly is not showing any signs of illness, you could add her to the others. If I were adding one fish to a new group, I would put the one fish in a "condo" on the side of the tank to become acclimated to the others for a day or two.

 

[greytgrey]

My two males died fom OVER-feeding. Was gone for a week and had someone take care of them..NOT a good idea! MY femele..dont know why she died. She looked really skinny and looked as though her stomach and back were disinegrating. SHe acted normal until her death though. My water is good. Tested it here and at Petsmart. The only thing is the Nitrates. They are like 40.

I WANT to get more fish but...we might be moving in the next few months so we can't get any. I really want to take my current fish with me but I can't

 

[An t-iasg]

Sorry to hear about the male mollies. I just went on vacation a few weeks ago and I went to the pharmacy and they sold me some of the small,empty pill containers. I measured out food and plant fertilizer into the pill containers and then labeled them for each day, so there was really no chance for any overfeeding/overfertilizing.

A skinny, sunken stomach could indicate parasites. Do you remember seeing any white poop? That is a sign of parasites also, but it doesn't always appear. Sorry to hear about the fish. I hope the other molly gets better. If you notice the same symptoms with her, you can try a medicated food: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=12788&N=2004+113521

or a medicine that dissolves in the water: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4756&N=2004+113521

 

[flamingonhot]

they prolly arent heart broken since theyre not a long term mate kind of fish,it might just be alittle shocked since it had other fish with it and all of a sudden they were gone...give it some time and itll be ok. some short term mate fish will be sometimes heartbrokenish like gupies but ive never really seen this,usually they are like ok hes gone wheres the next one lol.

 

[Zagz]

If you have one molly even though you are moving, it won't hurt to get another molly. That way your fish will have some company in the tank. I'd do it. But then again I am a suck.