sick marigold platy

[the Nige]

hi there.

i have had my tank up and running for 2 months. i bought my first 2 fish after 3 weeks and everything seemed to be going well, however i have had some problems over the last week.

i have a 60 litre tank, which has some plants. i have 2 opaline gourami, 3 marigold platy, 5 penguin tetra and 3 clown loach. until a week ago everything seemed to be fine with all of the fish happy to swim around. one day i came home and found that all 3 of the marigolds had been attacked, each with part of their tail missing. i suspect one of the gourami (who seems particularly aggressive) did this. since this the marigolds have been hiding, often apart, in the corners. they also do not often come up for food now whereas they used to be the first. i found one of the female marigolds dead 2 days after the attack. just now i was looking at my tank and was happy to see the male who had been hiding all yesterday. he seemed fine and quite inquisitive, just like before the attack. suddenly within 10 mins he was barely breathing, swimming on his side / upside down and sinking. before i had the chance to get him out of the tank he made his last effort to hide in the pirate boat ornament. he rose out 2 minutes later on the bubbles dead. :-(

has anybody come across anything like this before? i am quite new to all this and hate losing fish.

i tested the water today and nitrates and mirrored are zero. chlorine is also zero. this was after i tested the water yesterday and the nitrates were not zero, so i carried out a 50% water change

i should add that i found a marigold fry in the tank yesterday. the fry seems fine and(i have separated him out) but the remaining marigold female is just sitting in the corner.

could this all just be down to one aggressive gourami? i am considering separating him out

please help

n

 

[Aces11]

What kind of test kit are you using? In an established tank, nitrates should never read zero unless it's heavily planted. I'm guessing the water parameters along with some kind of secondary infection from the attack is what killed them. Keep the water as clean as possible to prevent from stressing the injured fish further.
I've never had gouramis, but I've heard they can be aggressive so it may be best to rehome one of them. Also, clown loaches get HUGE so you may have to rehome them somewhere along the line too.

 

[the Nige]

hi

thanks for the reply. i have just tested again, and nitrates is up at around 10mg/l. i am using tetra test 6 in 1 strips so i think the water is okay.

i think i will have to take the gourami out unfortunately, he really seems to be causing a climate of fear in the tank.

i bought the tank clowns as i was having a bit of an issue with snails, but i will move them elsewhere.

i am thinking of getting another 3 marigold platy the keep my current one company, and also maybe 2 upside down catfish.

how often would you suggest water changes? i am planning to do a 30% change on Saturday

 

[Aces11]

hi

thanks for the reply. i have just tested again, and nitrates is up at around 10mg/l. i am using tetra test 6 in 1 strips so i think the water is okay.

i think i will have to take the gourami out unfortunately, he really seems to be causing a climate of fear in the tank.

i bought the tank clowns as i was having a bit of an issue with snails, but i will move them elsewhere.

i am thinking of getting another 3 marigold platy the keep my current one company, and also maybe 2 upside down catfish.

how often would you suggest water changes? i am planning to do a 30% change on Saturday

Test strips are notoriously inaccurate. Many users here on AA use and recommend the API Master test kit. It has separate liquid tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. I would hold off on getting any new fish until you know that your water parameters are in check. I do 25% water changes every week on my 20g. I would recommend doing water changes once a week, or maybe twice a week if your fish are still showing signs of illness. It's important to have clean water so that your fish don't get susceptible to disease after an attack by another fish.