My Fish Is Dead

Someone please help I am so lost now. I don't know what to do. One of my mollies are dead. I am terrified. I don't know what to do.

I want to give up right now on all my fish.

I had 3 adult mollies. One male. Two female. One of the females gave birth to 13 fry.

I'm so terrified for all the rest of my fish. I don't think I'm doing anything right. Please tell me what I should do.

One fish is already dead.

I have a 20 gallon tank. Two filters and two air pumps.

I want to know what killed her. There is some green on her body.

 

First, settle down. Its a fish. It happens. No need to lose your mind.

Second, do you know any of your water parameters like the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels? PH, GH & KH? Is the tank cycled? How long have you had them? What is the water temp? Are you using city water and if so are you using a dechlorinator?

Sometimes fish die, it happens. Sometimes for apparently no reason. I have a 20L full of guppies and false juliI corys. One day one of the 10 corys were dead. Theyre 2 years old and all part of the original stocking. Everyone looked fine, acting normal, etc., and the next day one was dead. It happens in this hobbby. Sometimes you'll never know why.

 

First, settle down. Its a fish. It happens. No need to lose your mind.

Second, do you know any of your water parameters like the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels? PH, GH & KH? Is the tank cycled? How long have you had them? What is the water temp? Are you using city water and if so are you using a dechlorinator?

Sometimes fish die, it happens. Sometimes for apparently no reason. I have a 20L full of guppies and false juliI corys. One day one of the 10 corys were dead. Theyre 2 years old and all part of the original stocking. Everyone looked fine, acting normal, etc., and the next day one was dead. It happens in this hobbby. Sometimes you'll never know why.

The only test kit I have is this one. I can't check for ammonia. I did a 10% water change yesterday. And all the water I have used is treated. With Stress Coat fish and water conditioner. The ph is between 6-7. I have two filters that have not stopped since I put the tank up 10 days ago. And an air pump is inside the tank. The water temperature is 68. I did have a heater but it broke. And burnt my hand. But I've tried to ask my closest friend who has money unlike me to help me out with a heater but she hasn't had the time. And it's my fault for not having the money. I should have saved more before getting them.

Will the other fish survive? They don't look sick. But she didnt either today. I left for a night out with my husband and came back to her stuck to the filter and I can see green on her body. I don't know what to do with her. I have an old 5 gallon tank that's separate and filtered to put them in,the fry and the other two adults.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your fish dying. It sucks.

As for the rest, the best you can do is keep an eye on your parameters, make sure they're eating and then just get to know their normal behaviour.

I hope your other mollies do well and produce another litter for you soon. Don't give up. Fish are tricky...like plants. They can't tell you if they're hungry or sleepy or don't feel good like a dog or cat can. But, you're doing your research and testing and doing your best. Dont be so hard on yourself.

 

First, settle down. Its a fish. It happens. No need to lose your mind.

Second, do you know any of your water parameters like the ammonia, nitrite or nitrate levels? PH, GH & KH? Is the tank cycled? How long have you had them? What is the water temp? Are you using city water and if so are you using a dechlorinator?

Sometimes fish die, it happens. Sometimes for apparently no reason. I have a 20L full of guppies and false juliI corys. One day one of the 10 corys were dead. Theyre 2 years old and all part of the original stocking. Everyone looked fine, acting normal, etc., and the next day one was dead. It happens in this hobbby. Sometimes you'll never know why.

I only have these other products.

 

Just saw your new post. Since you can't check ammonia and your take is young, you might want to up your water changes to daily 30% until you're sure the water is cycled or until you can check your ammonia.

 

Just saw your new post. Since you can't check ammonia and your take is young, you might want to up your water changes to daily 30% until you're sure the water is cycled or until you can check your ammonia.

Okay, I'll have to do that. And see how things go. I'm so stressed but I'm going to try to make it through this. It just feels so bad when you lose even one. I only really noticed something when she had the fry. Her stomach looked like it was sort of open and loosely hanging from her body. I don't think theyre supposed to be so open as hers was. And her fins looked a little damaged. But I thought it was just after birth side effects or something. It could have had nothing to do with this though.

The others look okay right now. I hope they all make it through the rest of the cycle.

Thank you so much!

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your fish...they really are more than just something to look at, they become part of our lives and it isn't easy when one of them passes. You do the best you can for them but sometimes it isn't enough

10 days and a dead fish...It sounds like your tank wasn't cycled before you introduced the fish. You say you can't test for Ammonia, is there a Petco or PetSmart that can run an ammonia test for you for free? maybe a small fish shop willing to help? We really need to know reading and yes you do have test strips but these can give false readings. Funds are short... Been there, so what the next step? Water change is suggested which should help, but sometimes you have ammonia in your tap water and without a product like Prime to detox Ammonia/nitrite for a short time it can be hard to protect our fish from such things, especially in a new tank without a cycle. If you can spare 10$ I'd recommend getting a small bottle of seachem prime and a bottle of tetra safe start.

 

I'm so sorry to hear about your fish...they really are more than just something to look at, they become part of our lives and it isn't easy when one of them passes. You do the best you can for them but sometimes it isn't enough

10 days and a dead fish...It sounds like your tank wasn't cycled before you introduced the fish. You say you can't test for Ammonia, is there a Petco or PetSmart that can run an ammonia test for you for free? maybe a small fish shop willing to help? We really need to know reading and yes you do have test strips but these can give false readings. Funds are short... Been there, so what the next step? Water change is suggested which should help, but sometimes you have ammonia in your tap water and without a product like Prime to detox Ammonia/nitrite for a short time it can be hard to protect our fish from such things, especially in a new tank without a cycle. If you can spare 10$ I'd recommend getting a small bottle of seachem prime and a bottle of tetra safe start.

Thanks so much, your suggestions really help. I'm going to have to get those. Its been recommended alot. The closest pet store is petsmart and it's two hours away. I'll have to try to get an ammonia test kit. My friends might help out. Thank you!

 

I see you mentioned stuff about the mother mollie looking rough after the birth, I have seen a few times that males will harass and attack a female whilst she is giving birth to the fry. It could be that she dies from the stress of this happening and/or got hurt by a male during all this. Don't take it too hard on yourself, sometimes things like this happen for no reason. Sounds like you care about them though and want to do your best so that's Great!

 

Honestly if you are going to get any kit, save for the API master test kit. In the long run it will save you money and it tests for Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, and high range pH . Cheaper online if you decide that way and depending on how often you test can last you over a year. There are many good posts about TSS if you read up it is really easy to cycle your tank in about 14 days. Any questions at all feel free to ask.

 

I don’t really have anything helpful to say. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for your loss. I lost a fish yesterday to ich, and it is a very helpless feeling. All we can do is research and do the best we can with the available tools. This forum can be very helpful in providing those tools. Much love and light to you and your fishies.

 

When ever a fish dies with me I take out the dead fish and do a water change.

 

Since you started the tank ten days ago, I agree that there's probably some ammonia involved. Even if the other fish look okay now, water changes will help with that. If you're on city water you'll need a conditioner that removes chloramines and chlorine. I think your strip only checks for chlorine, but most water companies use chloramine nowadays.

Mollies do best in hard alkaline water at 7.5 - 8.0 pH and a bit on the warm side, like 80 F. Your strip shows very hard water, which is good, but it usually goes hand-in-hand with a higher pH. If using the pH Down product, don't. It's unnecessary and may cause a sudden swing which can be lethal. Don't want to pile on too much information, but something to keep in mind. Good luck.

 

Since you started the tank ten days ago, I agree that there's probably some ammonia involved. Even if the other fish look okay now, water changes will help with that. If you're on city water you'll need a conditioner that removes chloramines and chlorine. I think your strip only checks for chlorine, but most water companies use chloramine nowadays.

Mollies do best in hard alkaline water at 7.5 - 8.0 pH and a bit on the warm side, like 80 F. Your strip shows very hard water, which is good, but it usually goes hand-in-hand with a higher pH. If using the pH Down product, don't. It's unnecessary and may cause a sudden swing which can be lethal. Don't want to pile on too much information, but something to keep in mind. Good luck.

Thank you so much! I didn't use any of the products besides the Dechlorinator. Thank you for sharing, I need all the information I can get. All of it helps.

I got ammonia tablets today. And a water clarifier. I also finally got a heater today and a gravel vacuum. I was told I shouldn't leave the male with the female. And so I ended up getting two females today. One is a black molly and one is a dalmation molly.

I treated the water for ammonia. And as of right now they are all looking okay. The black molly has been cleaning the tank up looking for the algae which I didn't know they do until I looked it up.

If anything changes with the tank levels I will ask more questions. Everyone has been so helpful and kind. Thank you!

 

I don’t really have anything helpful to say. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for your loss. I lost a fish yesterday to ich, and it is a very helpless feeling. All we can do is research and do the best we can with the available tools. This forum can be very helpful in providing those tools. Much love and light to you and your fishies.

Thank you! I'm sorry for your loss as well.