I think there is a killer in my tank! My blood parrot

[kades]

I had 8 tiger barbs. My tank got ich I treated it and I lost 4 of the barbs in the process. Ever since then every morning when I turn the tank lights on and feed them I find one dead barb with its eyes pecked out and its body hollowed..sorry if tmi. I have just one barb left and no one is bothering him but my main question is, do I get more barbs because the one I have is stressed without his buds or wait? I kind of think the while tank has it in for them! I have 1 blood parrot (still young) 2 gouramis (pearl and gold) 1 oto (the 2 inch ones) and a dwarf frog (hes small as well). Its a 40 gallon with tons of swim room, plants, and hiding places.

 

[derail]

That's heavy, sorry to hear about the barbs
What are the tank parameters? PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate? Just to rule out anything that could be possibly causing this. When you say hollowed with eyes pecked out, i'm assuming you mean like what a school of piranha will do to, say, a dead animal carcass?

First thought (IMO) would be that your B.P.C. is killing them, as the majority of species (and genera) in the family Cichlidae tend to be fairly aggressive (of course there are exceptions). Gourami's are also a possible suspect for it, as they can also be somewhat aggressive to other fish (particularly to fish with longer fins though, so more likely to be set off by something like a Siamese Fighting Fish).

When you observe them, do you see any aggression from any of them? Is your BPC chasing any of them around? How about the gourami's?

I really hope this gets better for you. As for purchasing new barbs...that's a tough call. I would say find out what's killing them first, so you can properly accost that situation. Especially if the parameters are causing some sort of bacteria to take them out, though with the missing eyes and hollow bodies I doubt that personally.

 

[kades]

Yes exactly like phiranna. Its kind of disgusting...they never show too much aggression my bp will chase the fish off if the come near her territory. My gold gourami is probably the worst hes constantly chasing the pearl gourami. The weird thing is, is that all the fish typically act like the barbs don't exsist. The paremeters are fine.

 

[Smcoyle87]

Gold Gourami sounds like it "hunts" at night. This is a weird story I think because Tiger Barbs are quit fast swimmers. Maybe its like a left over infection from the ich outbreak and the fish are just eating the barbs after they have already died?

 

[maxlab76]

I have to agree with Smcoyle87. I have a tank with a blood parrot and tiger barbs. In my opinion I dont think that the blood parrot could catch the barbs. I would ensure that your parameters are ok and than try adding more barbs. I bet that the barbs died first and than the other fish fed on them. Try going to your local fish store to have the water tested.

 

[kades]

I'm beginning to think that too. I'm going to get 4 more for the 1 barb I have as soon as possible. how long do you wait after you treat ich?