1st deaths

[labpig]

I apologise for posting here, as I posted in unhealthy fish yesterday. No one responded there and I need help urgently

1~What type of fish is afflicted? I found one of my coral plattys on the bottom of the tank yesterday afternoon, it was 1/2 eaten! It had faded to near gravel colour Yuk
Then that evening a female guppy suddenly floated dead. I think it was pregnant & it had a bruise in one side and a dark red blotch on the other


. The rest seem fine and started whisking about the tank when I approached the tank to remove the deceased. They thought they were going to get fed



2~What are your tank parameters 0-0-5 ph 7.4 25.6 C


3~ How large is the tank? 70L 3 months old


4~What type of filtration are you using? Juwel super. I think it's 400L per hour


5~How many fish are in the tank?

This is what I have now - after the deaths

10x neon tetra
5x five banded barb
1x sunset coral dwarf platty
2x golden oto
2x guppy
1x betta splendens

61x30x43cm 70L Juwel

6~When is the last time you did a water change and vacuum the gravel? I do a 30-40% pwc & gravel vac every week. Last change 2 days before the deaths


7~How long have you had the fish? The platty I have had about 2 months. The female guppy I got about 3 weeks ago. It was 1 of 2 that I got because 2 males were fighting


8~Have you added anything new to the tank--decor, new dechlorinator, new substrate, etc.? No. Nothing


9~What kind of food have you been feeding your fish, have you changed their diet recently?
Flakes and pellets. I haven't changed their feed.
I usually feed 2 flakes and 5 pellets alternate days. Yesterday (morning, before any deaths) I tried the "as much as fish will eat in a minute" so I fed a lot more

there's been no further deaths overnight

Anyone any idea what caused these 2 deaths?
Would a fish eat so much to kill it?
I got rid of 1 male guppy a week ago because 2 males were fighting.
The remaining male was still worrying the females. Could he have killed the female? He's still at it with the remaining female. I think I will have to rehome him

Thanks

 

[tangs27]

Have you tested your tap water for high ammonia? Honestly it's possible that the just passed for no reason.

 

[robbyno22]

Could it have been the betta? They will fight fish with "flowy" fins if they perceive them as another male betta...

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Aquarium Advice mobile app

 

[labpig]

Thanks guys

The tap water is fine, no ammonia

I suppose a betta could be the culprit, but I have never seen him go near any other fish let alone be aggressive. He always keeps himself to himself and shows absolutely no interest if another fish swims past him
The guppies are far more aggressive than the betta

 

[tangs27]

Berta's don't usually hide their aggression. I think if it were the beta you would see it often. The other guppy could be the culprit.

 

[Brookster123]

That seems to be an awefully crowded tank, throw in the betta? They're probably fighting for swim space...

 

[Fishperson]

I agree with brookster. That's too many fish for that tank. If you took out the barbs you'd be fine though.

 

[labpig]

Ok
Thanks for that

When I brought the dead fish to my LFS they said I should replace the female guppy with 2 more!

I said no, as I wanted to make sure I had no more deaths first

It doesn't look crowded & no one seems stressed. Tests are consistently 0-0-5 before the weekly pwc

But I'll bow to your experience and see about reducing the stock

If I rehomed the 2 remaining guppies and put the betta in a separate tank would that sort it?

Thanks again

 

[labpig]

You've got me worried now!
Does this look overcrowded?

 

[Brookster123]

You've got me worried now! Does this look overcrowded?

im not very good with all the numbers/conversions but that's a 10-12 gal tank? My 29gal has less fish than that. I'm not trying to be negative or judge mental. Certain fish require more/less space in an awuarium. While your betta could be happy as can be In a 5-6 gal by itself, your neons would really rather a whole entire 20 long to roam around. My 5 banded barbs are extremely active in the 29, I have a shoal of 6 and couldn't imagine them with any less space. Again.. I'm just giving you my neutral advice good luck!

 

[newfrye]

Did you get the neons recently? I got 10 neons not to long ago and 5 died and 1 female swordtail also died. I noticed the fins of the fish seemed like they were tearing apart. I treated it as a bacterial issue, popped out the carbon and medicated the tank. The fish all seem healthy, fins included, and have added more fish afterwards. I was worried it was neon tetra disease or whatever that is but seems it was false neon tetra disease. I'm definitely not an expert, just sharing my experience.

 

[tnfinfan]

im not very good with all the numbers/conversions but that's a 10-12 gal tank? My 29gal has less fish than that. I'm not trying to be negative or judge mental. Certain fish require more/less space in an awuarium. While your betta could be happy as can be In a 5-6 gal by itself, your neons would really rather a whole entire 20 long to roam around. My 5 banded barbs are extremely active in the 29, I have a shoal of 6 and couldn't imagine them with any less space. Again.. I'm just giving you my neutral advice good luck!

It's 18.5 gallons. Still, sounds pretty full.

 

[Mebbid]

I would say its stocked but not overly full. I have 6 cardinals, tetras, 6 Cory cats, and a betta in my 10g and its just slightly overstocked.

As for the fish, it looks like it might have had septicemia.

 

[labpig]

That's for the input

I've still had no other deaths since. It's all a bit odd

I got 4 neon to cycle, then the other 6 when cycling completed
I got then to swim together, but they all do their own thing. Then I learnt later they only stick together if stressed. So it's probably good they aren't acting as I wanted !

The male guppy continued to harass the remaining female, so I brought both back to the LFS
According to http://www.aqadvisor.com/
It's now down to 100% stocked

 

[Mebbid]

That's for the input

I've still had no other deaths since. It's all a bit odd

I got 4 neon to cycle, then the other 6 when cycling completed
I got then to swim together, but they all do their own thing. Then I learnt later they only stick together if stressed. So it's probably good they aren't acting as I wanted !

The male guppy continued to harass the remaining female, so I brought both back to the LFS
According to AqAdvisor - Intelligent Freshwater Tropical Fish Aquarium Stocking Calculator and Aquarium Tank/Filter Advisor
It's now down to 100% stocked

It's completely normal for guppy males to harass the females. That's why the recommended stocking for them is 2 females for every male. Your fish just likely got an infection from a weakened immune system from something that led to its death. It's not unheard of.

 

[Fishperson]

I would say its stocked but not overly full. I have 6 cardinals, tetras, 6 Cory cats, and a betta in my 10g and its just slightly overstocked.

I am very surprised and shocked that I would ever say this, but I disagree. Remember, this is what labpig has:

This is what I have now - after the deaths

10x neon tetra
5x five banded barb
1x sunset coral dwarf platty
2x golden oto
2x guppy
1x betta splendens

61x30x43cm 70L Juwel

That's 21 fish in an 2 foot long tank!

 

[labpig]

Thank you all for your input, I appreciate it

Now that I have taken all the guppies out and the betta, is my stock level okay now?

I don't want to make the usual beginner mistake of overstocking and over feeling my tank

My water tests are 0-0-5 to 0-0-10 before I do my weekly pwc

Thanks

 

[tnfinfan]

I think your stocking is fine now. And if you feel the urge to add something, adding plants and/or changing the decor are both great for scratching that itch.

 

[labpig]

That's good advice. I know that itch well!!!