Something's Up...

[Galligak]

I have had 2 fish dead in one week in my 55g. They're not ill an nothing is wrong with the parameters either. My curvicep had some tearing and there was a fairly large wound under her gill, I thought that maybe she hurt herself due to stress of redoing my tank.. And I just found my cardinal tore to pieces at the bottom of my tank. My angel also has a tear in its fin.

I have:
6 Cardinal tetras
9 Diamond tetras
1 angel
1 curvicep
1 peppered Cory
3 panda cories
1 Bristlenose pleco

Anyone have an idea who the killer is? Any help would be great! (I realize this is kind of a fish version of clue)

 

[Galligak]

I am thinking that my diamond tetras are the killers, any thoughts?

 

[plecopsycho]

Theres a chance it could be the curvicep

 

[Galligak]

That's true. I may put here in another tank for about a week and see if there are any other deaths. Thanks for your opinion

 

[NYgiantsRP]

How big is the angel?

 

[Galligak]

How big is the angel?

It's about 6-7" total length, about 3-4 body length. The thing is it's scared of most everything in the tank. The cardinals swim by and it swims the other direction away from them...

 

[HUKIT]

Really the only fish capable of inflicting damage besides the Pterophyllum scalare is the Laetacara curviceps, while they may be fairly low on the aggression scale compared to other South American cichlids they're still fiesty little fish. My money is on the curvicep, especially considering the stress to the first one that passed.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Ya, seems like it had to be the ANGEL if it was from fighting. Is there any sharp edges from rocks or decor? Maybe there is something wrong that you aren't noticing. The tetras could definitely be nipping. Do you ever see them nipping?

 

[Galligak]

Really the only fish capable of inflicting damage besides the Pterophyllum scalare is the Laetacara curviceps, while they may be fairly low on the aggression scale compared to other South American cichlids they're still fiesty little fish. My money is on the curvicep, especially considering the stress to the first one that passed.

Yeah, I was wondering about her too, but I've always read that they're super shy. I'm guessing that since I put her first back into the tank when I redid it she thought that she was in control. Any ideas on how to stop her? I would really rather not have any more deaths in this tank!

Ya, seems like it had to be the ANGEL if it was from fighting. Is there any sharp edges from rocks or decor? Maybe there is something wrong that you aren't noticing. The tetras could definitely be nipping. Do you ever see them nipping?

The only edge-y piece I have is my dw. I haven't seen the tetras nip on any other fish besides themselves and I thought that maybe it was due to dominance in their school.

Ugh, why couldn't these fish talk so I could just find out who is doing this

 

[Tetra1990]

The angel could be roughing up/killing fish after lights out.

 

[Galligak]

The angel could be roughing up/killing fish after lights out.

That's true!

Any ideas on how to stop the killer? Should I rescale the tank?

 

[HUKIT]

Sometimes a time out works well, just like with kids. The possible aggressor should be removed for a couple of days, this will allow the hierarchy to shift as there will always be a dominant fish. Then slip the fish into tank after lights out as this allows for a more peaceful transition.

 

[Galligak]

Sometimes a time out works well, just like with kids. The possible aggressor should be removed for a couple of days, this will allow the hierarchy to shift as there will always be a dominant fish. Then slip the fish into tank after lights out as this allows for a more peaceful transition.

Okay. I'll do that. Thanks again HUKIT!

 

[HUKIT]

Okay. I'll do that. Thanks again HUKIT!

The tough part is figuring out which of the two is the aggressor?

 

[Galligak]

The tough part is figuring out which of the two is the aggressor?

Yeah, and I just found a diamond with a pretty bad tail injury and scales missing. To the QT tank with it... I am going to try the angel tonight through Sunday night. Hopefully nothing goes wrong!

 

[Galligak]

So, I know that this is much later... But I just wanted to say that I found the suspected murder/bully: the curvicep! I was watching the tank last night (I'm treating for ich) and I saw the curvicep go up to the angel and steal it's food. Well, all I have to say is that I am glad that it wasn't the angel because I plan on getting another one once the ich is gone (I'm getting rid of the diamonds and the curvicep and the cardinals all died when I was on vacation). Thanks everyone -I really mean it, and does anyone in central Ohio want a curvicep