i looked in my tank this morning and one of my tetras was floating upside down with one his eyes missing the other tetras must have bit his eye out and no im sure they did not kill him but im not sure should i quarintine the other fish because i dont want them to die too i was going to buy a pleco today should i wait.
2006-11-01 07:53:36 · 3 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
What else is in the tank besides the tetras? You would only need to quarantine a fish if it was the only one that was sick or if it is new, if something is infecting them all then you would not need to quarantine them but you would have to treat the whole tank. The fish could of died for many reasons and without knowing the cause you wouldn't be able to treat anyway. Test the water to make sure it didn't die from toxic water and just keep an eye on the remaining fish for a few days to make sure they are OK.
You can buy the pleco but you should always quarantine a new fish for around a month to make sure it doesn't have a parasite or other disease before introducing it to the main tank.
2006-11-01 08:01:08 · answer #1 · answered by Nunya Biznis 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I would say test the water and make sure all the levels are right. Tetras are not particularly long lived fish, so it is possible that your tetra merely died of old age and there was really nothing wrong with it. It is also possible that there is something wrong with your water or something. Test it, make sure your filter and/or air pump is working. Look for abnormalities on your remaining fish. If you see spots, sores, weird behavior, funny swimming etc, then definitely quarantine them, but if not and your water tests out fine, then I wouldn't worry about it too much, just remain observant.
oh, and FYI, it is very common for fish that have died, or are nearly dead to have their eyes eaten by the other fish in their tank. Usually the live fish will start picking at and eating parts of the dead one until you take it out (which should be done asap so it doesn't pollute the water)
2006-11-04 03:40:06 · answer #2 · answered by yama 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Does the fish with the eye missing have ick on it's scales? If so, I would buy a treatment for the surviving fish. The rest of the fish probably just started eating the fish b/c they were hungry. I would wait on the Pleco.
2006-11-01 16:34:30 · answer #3 · answered by Steph L 4 · 0⤊ 2⤋