Fish dying at an alarming rate

[Eoin]

Two days ago I came home to find two of my cardinals dead. What really bothers me about this is that I have had them for the better part of two years, through the good and the bad – including moving to a new apartment.

I checked the water, and everything seemed fine. I did a partial water change just to be safe. Then yesterday I came home from work to discover another dead cardinal, a dead black phantom and a dead corry. Then when I woke up this morning, I found yet another dead black phantom.

My two dwarf gouramis and my columbian tetras seem fine. I had been told that the columbians and gouramis are fine to have with the cardinals and black phantoms, thought there has been a bit of chasing going on.

Does anyone have any idea why I would loose so many fish in such a short span of time? As I stated before, I tested the water and everything seemed fine.

 

[iheartmyfish]

hey,
when you say everything seems fine- are they truly fine? im sure you tested, but did all the numbers come up normal?
also, did the fish have any sort of blemishes? or any abnormalities that you noticed?
*good luck with your other fishies!*

 

[Eoin]

I tested for Ph, iron, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and hardness. All of these were in perfectly normal and healthy ranges (including no ammonia, nitrites, or bad iron). The fish seemed healthy, with no blemishes or marks that would indicate a problem. The only thing I could note was that they (the cardinals and phantoms) were doing a decent amount of hiding. All I can surmise is that perhaps the columbian tetras and the gouramis scared the other fish from feeding. Yet the pet store employ I spoke to who usually gives me good advice, said that there shouldn’t be a compatibility problem with those fish. It just seems so odd that they all died in such a short span of time, without any indication of disease.

 

[Menagerie]

I've been there. As long as the water parameters and other fish are fine and there was no signs of the fish being picked on, it's best to believe it was there time. I'm sorry for your losses.