OH NO, I just killed a fish

[thatlouguy]

Hi all, Happy New Year,

We are really bummed and we don't know if it's our fault. We have a 6g QT tank. We had a pair of Red Wag Swordtails waiting to be transfered into our main tank. They had been in quarentine 10 days. The female (Alice) showed some fin rot about a week after getting her. Our research said that it would clear up on its own and we suspected it was caused by the stress of being in a new tank. Over the last few days it looked like the fin rot was clearing. Both the main tank and the QT tank had the same water params and temp. Today, we decided to move the quarntine fish from the QT to the main. We took water from the QT and placed it in a container then started netting, being very gentle. After some time we got Alice and placed her in the container and went after the male (Ralph). Ralph was stubborn and Alice was in the container now for 10 or so minutes. We decided to place Alice in the Main tank and then go after Ralph. As soon as Alice went into the main tank she seemed very weak doing a lot of bobbing and moved her fins and tail slowly. She would have these bursts of energy and swim a little but then start to bob again. We thought she'd be OK and went for Ralph. By the time we got him and placed him in the Main tank, Alice was dead. What went wrong?

 

[TankGirl]

I suspect the fish should have been acclimated to the main tank prior to being placed in there. Often there is enough difference in the water parameters between the q-tank and the main tank that being moved will do them in. It could also have been a temperature shock, but generally they can tolerate that better,unless the temperature difference was drastic.

What I do is use a bucket and take a piece of air-line tubing, start a syphon from the main tank into the bucket and tie a knot in the line so that water is dripping slowly into the bucket. Over about 30 minutes there should be enough of the main tank water in there to have acclimated the fish. You can also float a container and every few minutes put a tablespoon or two of tank water into the container to mix. This way you acclimate for temperature at the same time.

I am assuming, however, that this is the problem, and it may not be, but seems likely.

 

[thatlouguy]

Thanks for the quick reply TG. We really thought we were safe with the water temperatures and params being the same between the two tanks. I didn't metion that 3 other fish were also moved. Those and the surviving male swordtail were moved using the same procedure and are all doing OK. In the future we will take your advice.

Lou

 

[Sati]

I just can't imagine a fish dying from water param differences THAT quickly.

 

[thatlouguy]

Me neither, it was like the poor thing had a stroke or something. Is that possible? Do fish have sudden death caused by something other than environment? Does anyone have a resource (book, website, etc) for fish behavior? I haven't been able to find any material. Some of these guys do really wierd stuff.

 

[TankGirl]

It did not necessarily happen due to acclimation issues, and if other fish were moved at the same time with no ill effects, then perhaps it was not. The behavior you describe does sound like it, but not if the other fish were moved in the same way and had no problems. It also may be that the water in your Q-tank is the same as your main tank, also, it is just something to check before moving the fish. If the water parameters are identical then you don't really have to worry about it.

It may be that poor Alice had something wrong with her, and the stress of the move put her over the edge. In re-reading your post I see that you do mention the water parameters were the same in both tanks, so my bad! It is never a bad idea to acclimate fish to a new tank, but in this case it may not have prevented the problem. Are the other fish moved with Alice doing okay?

 

[thatlouguy]

Hi TG. I think you're right. Alice could have been sick or maybe just old. Who knows how long the breeder had her or how long ago lfs got her. As far as the others, so far so good. Thanks for asking. All are happy except Ralph (the male swordtail) has been hiding a lot but that may be due to the new tank. We're keeping an eye on him when we can find him. One thing we have noticed, we had an Albino Rainbow Shark (Skinny Al) who was really being harassed by 2 Rainbow Sharks. We moved him into the QT. The main tank is calmer, Skinny Al is happier and the QT bottom is being cleaned. Its a win, win, win!

Lou

 

[TankGirl]

It is a constant learning process, and there are so many things that work for some, but not for others. It sounds like you are monitoring things carefully, and that is a huge part of it, right there. Good luck, and let us know how Ralph does!

 

[Sati]

You had to have got the name from The Honeymooners, right?

 

[thatlouguy]

Yea Holly, we did but I don't know why. My wife hates the Honeymooners and she named them. They were the first male-female we got and the first couple's name she came up with. Strange. If we get another female, do you think we should name her Trixie or would that just be wrong? Thnx for writing before. I didn't think water params would have that fast of an effect either.

Lou

 

[mattrox]

Fish can get a build-up of adrenaline and lactic acid in their muscles if chased around a tank before netting. The same happens when cashing a fish woth a line. If it is too tired it won't recover. If the fish has been chased a lot I would make sure the tank it went into had plenty of hiding places for it to hide and rest, plus extra air-stones. Oxygen in blood disipates lactic acid.

 

[thatlouguy]

Thanks mattrox. She did put up a bit of a fight but not the worst we've seen. I really feel she had underlying problems but thanks for the info!

 

[Sati]

Oh, how can anybody hate The Honeymooners? "Bam, right in the kisser!" And yes, name the next fmale Trixie!