so i had 3 pretty small mollies (3/4 of an inch) died in my 10 gallon but my two lacecats (1 1/2 inches) and my 3 baby plecos didnt... i really have no idea. i do know that they were inbred pretty bad.
Inbreeding can make all species more disease prone. Certain colour morphs can also be more sensitive like 3/4 black guppies for instance. That may have been your problem but some species are also more sensitive to certain water parameter changes than others. Difficult to say.