Why did my red tip tinfoil barbs die???

Question

I bought 4 of them 5 days ago to go in my 125 gallon allong with my columbian sharks (2), kissing gouramis (2), angel fish (2), ghost knife (1) and rainbow sharks (2). They were fine just an hour ago at feeding time. I fed them frozen bloodworms. Now 3 of the 4 are dead with their stomachs open. What happened? All the other fish are okay.

I have had my tank up and running for over 6 months now.

Answer 1

You probably over-fed them. Either that or the sharks went at them, the red tailed shark is know to be very territorial, same as the columbian sharks.

Answer 2

when starting up a fish tank you must let it run a good week or so before adding the fish. All ecosystems go through a cycle. During this cycle the tank reaches a peak (the pH levels are really high at this point) and this peak is what caused your fish to die. The person you bought the fish from should have told you this! I would go back to the pet store you bought them from and complain maybe they will give you new ones.

Answer 3

Just a wild guess but I would blame th columbian sharks myself. Hard to say that even really without knowing the size of the fishes involved. Over feeding is possible, but really doubtful in my opinion.

MM

Answer 4

Sounds like one of the fish killed them, stomachs ripped open is a sure sign of attack. All of the other fish can be very agressive, so you have a tank of potential killers.

My money would be on the Angel fish, they get territorial as they get older. Followed by the knife, they are a nice predator species.

Answer 5

As the owner of tinfoil barbs myself, I know they are very meek. The columbian sharks are very predatory. They are also brackish water fish. The rainbow sharks don't go at each other? Perhaps the figured the tinfoils to be one of their own, as they tend to go after their own.
What a strange mix you have.