The most annoying part and of course, the heartbreaking part of raising a pet is seeing them die and the moment you have to say your final goodbye. Pets get attached to you on a different level and as a molly parent, the goodbye will come sooner than you expect. But that doesn’t mean your molly fish will die easily. If you see them dying one by one before they reach the age of 4 or 5 years, you need to start looking for reasons and trust me there are ways you can still save them. But how can one save a dying molly fish?
Proper care, maintaining water conditions, and regular tank cleaning after calling your vet and giving certain medications to cure diseases and illness can help you save your Molly fish from dying. But remember you need to consult with the Vet as soon as you notice unexpected behavior of the fish.
To start, you should know what it means when your Molly fish is dying. The first sign of an unhealthy or struggling fish will be white spots on its body and fins. Save the ones with white spots (with medication), but throw away any dead ones without hesitation – they may already be carrying the disease to your other fish.
This article will discuss the different ways to help your Molly recover from illness or distress. We’ll also cover what to do if your Molly is suffering from something more severe like dropsy or ich and how to prevent these diseases from happening in the first place.
What Is The Average Lifespan Of Molly Fish?
Molly Fish can live anywhere from three to five years. If the water temperature and quality remain proper, Molly fish will typically live longer than if their environment is not ideal.
Molly fish can live up to four years in the wild. However, it is not uncommon for pet owners to have their Molly Fish last only a year or two before passing away. It may be due to poor care and feeding practices, but this is not always the case.
What Is The Cause Of Death For A Dying Molly Fish?
The most common causes of death are very treatable bacterial diseases that spread from one fish to another. These diseases will attack Mollies’ internal organs, causing them to fail. Unfortunately, there isn’t much you can do when this happens other than ask help from an expert to check the water (which you should do through routine maintenance) and keep your remaining Mollies healthy, so no further outbreaks occur.
Some common causes of death of Molly fish are:
Toxic Plants
Live plants help keep the tank lively and help keep your Molly healthy, but some plants are toxic to fish. Be sure that you know what is in the water where you buy or get live plants from so they don’t end up killing off your Mollies one by one.
Lack Of Food
Mollies are very greedy fish, and if you take their food away or do not get enough to eat, they will die. So it’s essential that you feed your Mollies at least twice a day or more often if you have lots of them in the same tank.
Overcrowding
Having too many fish in one specific area of water increases the chance of disease. Thus, this means your Molly might end up with infections like Columnaris Disease. They eventually die from it because their immune system won’t be strong enough to fight it.
Dropsy
Dropsy is a common condition where Molly fish retain fluid in their body. It causes them to swell and become highly bloated looking, with enlarged scales protruding from the body. The stomach of a sick Mollie will be substantial when pressed by your fingers as well (similar to how it would feel if you overeat). As this disease progresses, kidneys eventually fail, which leads to death because they cannot filter out toxins from the bloodstream, causing other organ failures resulting in death.
Fin Rot
Fin Rot is another prevalent cause of death for Molly fish. It causes the fins to become frayed and ragged looking with a reddish tinge which eventually leads to holes in them, and then they begin falling off if left untreated. If you look closely at an infected fin under magnification (with either your eye or microscope), it will have blackened veins running through it.
It indicates damaged blood vessels leading to discoloration and loss of tissues/blood supply. This disease spreads quickly, so early detection is crucial. Otherwise, the infection spreads to all the fish in the tank and kills them.
Enteric Septicaemia
Enteric Septicaemia is a condition that causes the Molly fish to become very lethargic, lose their appetite, and have small white spots all over them. They will eventually die as this infection spreads quickly through the bloodstream of an infected Mollie, affecting organs like its heart and causing it to stop beating, which results in death.
What Are The Signs Of A Dying Molly Fish?
A dying Molly fish will start gasping for air at the surface of your aquarium. They also may be floating on their side or upside down, which indicates that they are experiencing Swim Bladder Disease (SBD). Other common symptoms include:
- Lethargy
- Swollen gills
- Discoloration
- White spots on their body
- Loss of appetite
- Fins becoming clumped together and looking raggedy
- Apparent difficulty swimming or ability to hover in one place
- Bulging eyes
- Distended abdomen (more pronounced in females)
If you notice these signs in your fish, it is best to seek help from an aquarium professional as soon as possible.
What Should You Do If Your Molly Fish Is Dying?
You can do several things to increase the survival rate of a sick or dying molly fish. There’s no guarantee that this will work, but it couldn’t hurt anything as long as there isn’t an underlying problem with the water quality. If your tank has been stable for at least six months and none of these suggestions have helped so far, then I would suspect the issue might be genetic (which means breeding them won’t help). Here are some steps to try when your fish appears terminally ill:
Step One
Gradually reduce the amount of light over time until they’re on a 12-hour light and 12-hour dark cycle.
Step Two
Increase the temperature of your aquarium to 80 degrees Fahrenheit because research has shown that warmer water increases a fish’s metabolism, making it easier for them to heal faster
Step Three
Feed your Molly a high-quality diet with plenty of protein while following Step Four below. You can use food containing garlic-like Omega One Betta Food or Hikari Tropical Medley. Garlic boosts humans’ immune systems. Therefore, many owners assume it may help boost their immune system too.
Step Four
Create additional aeration by bubbling air into the tank through a tube. The tube must lead to an airstone in one end. So there are bubbles all along the surface of the water. It can help your Molly’s organs (like its swim bladder) decompress and function properly again.
Step Five
Try adding aquarium salt into their tank at a rate of one tablespoon for every five gallons. You should only do this if you don’t have any live plants in the tank because it will kill them! Salt also isn’t necessary if you’re cycling your tank or your new fish is already sick with something else, but it couldn’t hurt anything otherwise.
Remember that there is no guarantee that these treatments will save your Molly Fish. So please make sure you’ve done everything possible before giving up hope on keeping them.
How To Maintain A Healthy Environment For Molly Fish?
Molly fish is susceptible to different factors such as pH level, temperature, and water hardness. So it’s important to keep these variables at the proper levels. Some tips to prevent illness in Molly fish are:
Provide Enough Space
Provide enough space for the fish to move. Please don’t keep them in a small bowl because they need room to swim and turn around. Molly fish need at least a 20-gallon tank to move around. A larger space will allow them to swim and play freely, thus increasing the activity level of Molly Fish which in turn reduces illness.
However, it doesn’t mean that you can’t keep tankmates for Mollies. Just make sure that they are peaceful with other fishes. Only keep those that are non-aggressive and not too big.
Maintain Mating Ratio
Molly fish are live-bearers and can breed very quickly. If you have many Molly fish in the same tank, they will start to fight among themselves for food, hiding places, or territory.
To avoid fights and aggression, you should only keep only two female mollies per male Molly present in your aquarium. That way, females won’t be fighting each other over a mate while simultaneously reproducing as many times as possible!
Keep Live Plants In The Tank
Live plants can make your tank look beautiful. But they also provide other benefits for your fish. For example, they help with the water quality by absorbing ammonia and nitrates in the water, which are harmful to them, helping keep their environment healthy.
If you have an active fish that likes swimming around or constantly searches for food, live plants will give it something to do. Watching Molly swim through some plant leaves is fun because of how brightly colored these guys get when there’s sunlight shining on them from above.
Nutritious Food
You should give Molly fish high-quality food. The best foods for them include live or frozen brine shrimp, daphnia, and bloodworms (frozen is better because it will not spoil as quickly).
Pellets specially designed for bottom-feeding varieties such as mollies & platys can also work well. But avoid anything containing plant matter like spirulina, chlorella, kelp, etc., which Molly Fish may try to eat but cannot digest properly, leading to bloating and illness from constipation.
Proper Filtration And Ventilation In Tank
Molly fish are very active swimmers, so they need sufficient water flow and filtration to stay healthy. However, if there is too much current, it will stress the Molly Fish out and make them feel insecure. If this happens, you should reduce filter strength or add live aquatic plants to your tank, which can help absorb some nitrates from the water column.
Frequent Water Changes
In addition to maintaining an ideal environment for Mollies by increasing their oxygen level with proper filtration, you also have to make sure that ammonia levels remain low at all times since these toxins tend to accumulate quickly when left unattended. So you must replace every week 25-30% of old water with freshly treated water.
Keep The Tank Clean
It would help if you cleaned your tank at least once a week. Make sure you change the water and scrub down all rocks, decorations, and substrate with hot tap water to remove any algae or parasites that may be present on them. You can add artificial lighting, filters, and heaters to the tank when it is empty for easy cleaning.
Some FAQs
What Is The Best Water Parameter For Molly Fish?
Molly fish can survive in slightly salty water, making them hardier than more delicate tropical fish species. The pH level should be between seven-eight (neutral). Water temperature needs to range from 70F degrees – 80F degrees Fahrenheit.
What Should I Do If My Molly Is Sick?
If you have noticed that your Molly is in distress, the first thing to do is check their water. A change in temperature or pH can quickly lead to sickness and death for fish. The next step should be checking if there are other non-visible signs of distress such as ragged fins, ich (white spots), or transparent color.
What If My Mollies Are Not Eating?
Molly fish can be quite the picky eaters, so it should not go unnoticed if they aren’t eating. It is crucial to make sure that your mollies are eating daily, and if they aren’t, you should take action as soon as possible!
Conclusion
Summing up, the best way to save a dying Molly fish is by keeping a close eye on your fish and see whether or not it’s showing signs of lethargy (lack of energy), clamped fins, abnormal swimming patterns, etc. If ever there are any changes to its behavior, you’ll need to take immediate action. First, change around 25% of the tank’s water every day until its behavior stabilizes again. After that, make sure you change the water at least every other day.
There is no right way to save a dying Molly fish, but there are some tips and tricks that might help you out. So keep as many Molly fish as possible!
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below in the comment section. Thank you for reading this post.
