Random Skinnyness
- Thread starter GooGirl
- Start date
New theory: she rotted from the inside out. Wanna know how I found out? Keep reading.
I was doing a regular water change about 15 mins ago, and I was vacuuming the gravel (also hoping to find some hiding babies). The 'possibly pregnant' female got sucked up the vacuum tube. Before I could stick my finger on the end of the tube to stop the water flow, she got sucked up to the top of the 'cup' on the bottom, and acted like a cork for the tube. I put my finger on the end, and she floated back down. That's when I noticed something strange. Apparently when she got jolted at the top, her side split open and some white 'fungus' started coming out. Immediately, I could tell by the way she was swimming that she was going to die. I was right, she is dead, now. That's when I thought, could she have rotted from the inside out? She showed no signs of being sick on the outside.
Any new theories?
BTW, her brother was the one with the 'squiggly' shape before he died. The only sibling left is one of the males, and he is sort of 'fat'. Not like where a female is when she is pregnant, but more up towards his head. I thought it could be overfed, but it's still like that, even after I cut down on the food. This male also gets picked on by the others, so he is obviously the lowest in the pecking order in that tank. I think there is something wrong with this breed line. My other mollies are all siblings, and they are bigger and have better colors, and have never had any diseases.
I was doing a regular water change about 15 mins ago, and I was vacuuming the gravel (also hoping to find some hiding babies). The 'possibly pregnant' female got sucked up the vacuum tube. Before I could stick my finger on the end of the tube to stop the water flow, she got sucked up to the top of the 'cup' on the bottom, and acted like a cork for the tube. I put my finger on the end, and she floated back down. That's when I noticed something strange. Apparently when she got jolted at the top, her side split open and some white 'fungus' started coming out. Immediately, I could tell by the way she was swimming that she was going to die. I was right, she is dead, now. That's when I thought, could she have rotted from the inside out? She showed no signs of being sick on the outside.
Any new theories?
BTW, her brother was the one with the 'squiggly' shape before he died. The only sibling left is one of the males, and he is sort of 'fat'. Not like where a female is when she is pregnant, but more up towards his head. I thought it could be overfed, but it's still like that, even after I cut down on the food. This male also gets picked on by the others, so he is obviously the lowest in the pecking order in that tank. I think there is something wrong with this breed line. My other mollies are all siblings, and they are bigger and have better colors, and have never had any diseases.
I've never siphoned up a fish, other than unexpected fry when doing gravel vacs (Badis badis have HUNDREDS of fry at a time! And sooooo tiny!)
I don't think anyone is 'aguing' with you, GooGirl. Nor will anyone be able to diagnose what was wrong with the now-deceased fish. But rotting from the inside would not be possible with a fish that is alive. Rotting would only happen with a dead fish.
As to why her side got torn open, the stress of being sucked into the syphon tube would be the logical assumption. That other fish (or perhaps this fish) have survived this in the past does not mean all will survive it. It would be like having your dog run loose and not get hit by a car today. Doesn't mean it wouldn't happen next time!
If she was not head- or tail-first in the tube, the stress on her side was likely too much for her body to bear. Poor thing.
I don't think anyone is 'aguing' with you, GooGirl. Nor will anyone be able to diagnose what was wrong with the now-deceased fish. But rotting from the inside would not be possible with a fish that is alive. Rotting would only happen with a dead fish.
As to why her side got torn open, the stress of being sucked into the syphon tube would be the logical assumption. That other fish (or perhaps this fish) have survived this in the past does not mean all will survive it. It would be like having your dog run loose and not get hit by a car today. Doesn't mean it wouldn't happen next time!
If she was not head- or tail-first in the tube, the stress on her side was likely too much for her body to bear. Poor thing.
The suction force of the water just burst her abdomen. I have done this a few times in the last couple decades by mistake as well. They just got eaten by the adult fish, it happens even with many hiding spots. Check out these pics below. I have well over ONE HUNDRED POUNDS of this rock in my tank. See all the little hiding spots for the fry? Yes, there are TENS of THOUSANDS of these spots and I still have batches of fry that get completely eaten before I see them. It does happen every time but its enough that I am use to it.
See the Molly here? Its way less then an inch long, so compare that to the holes for hiding spots available for the fry.
See the Molly here? Its way less then an inch long, so compare that to the holes for hiding spots available for the fry.