MyFishkies

Maybe I'm paranoid after the death of my male Molly, but one of my females is just sitting at the bottom, the other has been swimming in circles up and down the glass for 20 minutes. Then after a while they both swim around like normal, then return to this. Is this normal?

Time

I don't think so. I think it can be stress from water conditions. When I aquascaed my betta and guppy weren't doing so well. Try NOV Aqua+, it seems to work.

heather84

I would keep a close eye on it, but I have several mollies and sometimes mine seem to do this for a short period of time, hours or even a day or so. Then they are fine again.

I never really figured out why mine do it because nothing has ever come from it my best guess is they are just tired, not feeling well, or........bored? LOL

aquarist48

Good morning MyFish. Are you readings in check for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates, pH? Anytime your fish are acting strange it's a good idea to check.
Best of luck and I hope they are going to be alright!
Ken

MyFishkies

My readings were a little high but they're leveling out. I've been doing daily water changes. Unfortunately the female Molly died sometime this morning. She seemed okay at 8:30 but when I came home at noon she was dead.

I think I deserve the idiot fishkeeper of the year award...I just moved two weeks ago and it never occurred before today: the male died the day after I painted my kitchen and yesterday I painted the room the aquarium is in. I should have researched before, but I looked online today after finding the second Molly, and sure enough I found lots of articles saying fish will die from paint fumes. I feel terrible, and pretty stupid.

aquarist48

Hello MyFishkies...so sorry to hear about your fish loss. I really don't think you're stupid nor a bad fishkeeper! Can you tell us your exact readings? Is or was your ammonia high as any amount of ammonia can be fatal to your fish.

I don't know what kind of paint you used. Was it water based or oil based? I just painted most of the insides of my house and I've done it many times over the years with no problems to my fish. I always use a water based primer and water based paint. I could be wrong here but oil based paints could cause problems fume wise if it's not properly ventilated. So if you used water based paint I would be more inclined to believe ammonia was the culprit.
Again, I'm sorry for your loss. I hope the rest of your fish are going to be ok. Don't be too hard on yourself!
Ken