Re: Black Molly Question - Normal Behavior?

"JeffinMS" <tankerHC@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in
news:KJgog.405$Bh.30@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx:


Got up this morning and she was still in the shell, deceased. Pulled
her out. Perfectly healthy fish, I am under the impression she swam in
and got stuck and was in there for a few days. Funny how that other
fish seemed to be trying to nudge the shell to get her out.

Your molly was probably dead soon after it got itself stuck. You may have
saved it if you had acted quickly, but chances are if the molly was too
weak to free itself from a snail shell it was probably not long for this
world anyway.

When most fish wedge and trap themselves into an object they are usually
highly stressed and looking for an escape. If you do not act to free them
they will likely die in short order through asphyxiation, exhaustion, or
some other stress related factor. One of a few exceptions are catfish,
which will severely wedge themselves into crevices intentionally, and will
confound any manual attempt to remove them--best to leave these fish where
they are, as they know how to get themselves out of the tightest spaces.

I strongly doubt your other fish were nudging the shell in a desperate
empathetic attempt to free the dead fish. Mollies and just about any other
fish will eat their dead decaying kin (or even stressed living kin). It is
more likely your fish were biting at the shell out of curiosity towards the
tasty meat-smelling object.
.

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