# Why do my dalmatian mollies keep dying??!!



## TaylerHill

A few weeks ago we bought two dalmatian mollies that were both females. They came with a baby too. After about a week both adult mollies died in the same night, but the baby was perfectly fine. So then we went this last weekend and bought two more adult mollies, this time a male and female. The second day we had them the female had 7 babies, 4 of which are still alive in my breeder trap. Last night I noticed the female was swimming really recklessly and seemed like she had gone blind. Her gills also looked swollen because I could see the layers of them sticking out of the gill covers. The male seemed fine, but within an hour he was dead and the female still swimming wierd. All of my babies, including the one that came with the original batch, are all fine. This morning the female was still swimming blindly and still had puffy gills. I tested my water last night for nitrates and it was at 40ppm. The tank is a 10 gallon with a heater and an airstone. I don't have a filter. What confuses me the most is that if something is killing the adults, shouldn't the babies be dying too since they are younger and have weaker immune systems? How can I help my poor fish?


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## TaylerHill

And I know they are brackish fish but I haven't started acclimating the water yet so they are still in freshwater.


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## SeaKnight

A tank that size should really have some kind of filtration system... How often is the water changed (without filtration the water needs changed more frequently)?? Or It could be just a bad Batch of fish, my local store changed suppliers recently and because of this they were dealing with a lot of losses.. I think the girl said it was close to 2x-3x's the normal expected amount... In one week alone we alone were there 3x's ourselves exchanging fish.... Now that they have gone back to their old supplier losses are down to just about normal....


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## bambijarvis

the babies are born into your water so they're used to the parameters.

The adults may be having issues adjusting or be genetically weak.

Best bet would be to focus on raising your fry for now. They'll grow before you know it.
If you want to get more adults try another store.


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## ao

Sorry to hear about your losses, I do have a few recommendations for you~

Is your tank heavily planted with live plants? If not, you might want to purchase a filter just so you can cycle the tank  It will make your water changing so much easier! Additionally, you will have less fatalities due to a ammonia poisoning. I'm not saying that they died of ammonia poisoning ^_^ just that it is such a common problem when fish is placed in an unycled tank~If the tank is cycled? the fishies will have a much higher quality of life  (If there is such a thing for aquarium fish) 

since you already have an airstone, I think it might be cheaper for you to get a sponge filter 


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## sandybottom

did you test water for ammonia?were they from a brackish tank?either of these could be why.ammo should be at zero.acclimation from fresh to brackish or vice versa should take over a 2-4 week period (i.e. nerite snail).i would get a filter and cycle your tank properly.


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