it just died....

[Chicken_And_Pig]

My swordfish male platy, Pig, just died. It was normal when I saw him this morning, but when i came home from school, it was DEAD!! I cant believe it. I dont know why he died, so can somebody tell me some reasons that fish just dies so suddenly.

 

[Smonkey15]

you have to include more info. what are the levels in your tank at...ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates? how old is the tank, how long have you had the fish and what else is in there with it?
steve

 

[ScottS]

Sorry about your fish.

 

[TankGirl]

Welcome to Aquarium Advice, and I hope we can offer some help here.

There are plenty of things that can kill a fish, and the most common ones are related to water quality, but it could have had an illness or just died of old age. I think all of us have had a mysterious fish death at some point or another. Anytime I have a fish die I check all of the water parameters I can, and keep track of that information so I can compare it with last week's routine check and see if anything has changed.

We need more clues though, in this case, so we need more info, like Smonkey15 mentioned. How big is the tank, how often do you feed, how often do you do water changes, tankmates, and levels of ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte. There are a lot of things that can play a role.

 

[Thelionfishman]

Dead Fish

Hi,

I'm sorry about your fish. Check your water, get a good water test kit and check your water for ammonia level and nitrite level. Try not to over feed your fish, this will increase your ammonia level. Having food on the bottom of the tank will make your levels go high. If your water level is o.k. try sitting down for at least 15 minutes and see if you have any fish that runs around chashing everyone. Stress out fish tend to die.
Keep your water clean and keep testing your water weekly. Some Pet stores will give you a new fish if it was brought within a day or two. Good luck and just keep up the good work!

The lionfish man

 

[madasafish]

The info on Chicken_and_Pig's tank size and occupants is included in his/her signature line (unless this was added more recently).

 

[ferret]

Not his water stats or age of tank, etc.

 

[madasafish]

correct: "size and occupants" included

***Chicken_and_Pig***

In case your wondering what we mean by your tank parameters, do you know about the nitrogen cycle in tanks, and that fish waste (poop) contains a lot of ammonia? That ammonia is toxic to other fish if it's not properly broken down by bacteria, and this bacteria takes time to grow. The bacteria is broken down into nitrite and then nitrate, and then into nitrogen gas, and can leave the tank (simplified scheme; it's a little more complicated than that).

I have a simple explanation of "cycling," the process of letting this bacteria grow to get rid of the ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, that I've typed up. If you'd like me to post it on this thread, I'll do so. If you have a new tank, this is almost certainly your problem.

HTH and sorry for the loss.

 

[Chicken_And_Pig]

thx for all your advices.
I bought my tank in July.
I've had a lot of fish die mysteriously.
Like 11 of them.
I went to PETCO and got my water checked but theres nothing wrong with it. \
Is there too many fish in my tank? Is 5 too much for 10 gal?

I dont have any fish chasing each other and maybe i fed my fish too much.
how many times should i feed it everyday?

 

[Chicken_And_Pig]

o, and i wanted to know, whats kudos??

 

[TankGirl]

Kudos are "earned" everytime you start a thread, and if someone likes something you post, or likes the advice you gave, they can donate kudos from their supply to yours. Conversely, if you like something someone posts or think they gave good advice, you can donate some of your kudos to them.

As far as your tank is concerned, the mollies and the platy will get relatively big for that tank. The two cherry barbs are not a problem. Is the betta in the same tank, or is it in a bowl or something?

Your water parameters are important to know. Sometimes if you take your water in to be tested they will say it is "fine" but if you have trace ammonia and trace nitrites, that indicates the tank is not cycled and that is problematic for many fish. Technically, traces of these are not deadly, but they have to be kept low with water changes. Take your water in again and ask them to write down the actual readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. That will tell us a lot, and help us guide you to solving the problem.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi and welcome . Like Tankgirl says, fish die. Your problem could be so many things but if your tank has been set up since July it should have been cycled.

A couple of things you mentioned... 11 fish deaths, and you feed heavily. New fish keepers think they are being kind when they feed a lot. The fish almost always seem hungry and happy when they are eating and that pleases us. The fact is that over feeding is deadly. Aside from the waste build up, it can cause digestive problems. You should only be feeding small amounts and be doing small water changes to insure the health of your fish.

HTH