Molly dead and bloated...help!

[myriam]

I have no clue what happened. My fishies were perfectly fine this morning, all looking and eating well.

We came home this afternoon and my daughter tells me that one of the mollies is floating at the top of the tank. Ack.

And she was right, the molly who is the mother of all my little fry was definitely doing the backstroke. The thing I can't figure out is why is looks so strange--she is completely bloated and huge. I do not see anything odd on her, no spots or patches or anything. Just a big body--she looks like a puffer.

Is this a sign of some disease or something? I'm going to check my water parameters now, too. All the other fish seem fine.

The only thing different is I've added my newly treated piece of driftwood, which I did two days ago. Could this have something to do with it?

Well, I'd better go get my net...

 

[William]

I don't know if its for fish after death..

but did her scales poke out like a pineapple? If so it could have been dropsy, which is not a diases itself, but a sympton of any number of problems.

 

[Allivymar]

Aw honey I'm sorry.

I have to admit I'm stumped. I can't imagine what would have caused the fish to bloat up so quickly; even if it was a result of being dead for a period of time, a lot MORE time usually passes before that happens.

 

[myriam]

I have never heard of dropsy--what is it? I did notice that her scales on her belly were more prominent looking, like they had light outlines on them--she was a pretty black, velvety molly so that part looked different. I wouldn't say they were poking out, though. I think she was also pregnant and probably would have dropped fry in another 3 weeks.

Yeah, Alli, it was weird how bloated she looked. I've had fish die before, and usually they are either floating or on the gravel, but never puffed up like that.

 

[Allivymar]

Dropsy is not a disease in and of itself, but a sign of problems elsewhere. Basically the kidneys are shutting down, and fluid is building up in the body cavity.

Were her belly scales more prominent before she keeled? If so, its quite likely she did have dropsy, although its near impossible to identify why at this point. If not, then it was a result of the bloating after (obviously LOL). Theres more info here if you're interested: http://www.fishpalace.org/Disease.html#Dropsy

 

[christerrell2k3]

damn man, sorry to hear it... if anyone can help you figure it out, this is the right place to come to.

 

[myriam]

Well my water tested fine and all the other fish are still totally happy and healthy. So maybe that poor molly just had some weird thing going on, poor gal.

I'm going do my water change tonight anyhow, which will give me a little more peace of mind.

 

[Allivymar]

Definitely; any time I've had a death in a tank, I immediately water change just in case.