2 of my fish died in the same day!?

Question

I have 10 tropical fish all of the same breed. Yesterday i found one of my fish dead but a couple of days before it died iot seemed to have some sort of injury on its side, none of the other fish in the tank i dont think would have bit it so does anyone know what could have happened?

This morning when i got up i seen another fish was dead, i was expecting this because it didn't look well last night. It was swimming around and couldn't seem to close its mouth. Anyone know what this is?

The two fish were albino coloured and the rest of my fish are zebra stripped! also i noticed that they had become very red behind the gills. I must add i have 1 more albino fish in the tank and it nor the other fish seem to be affected!

Answer 1

Hey Kath, how long has your tank been set up for?
The main reason fish get sick is due to poor water quality.

If your tank is new then you have most likely added 2 many fish and you are killing them with ammonia poisoning.

if its been running awhile then i would ask if you have been doing your weekly water changes and using a gravel siphon.

Get your water tested and if its of poor quality i would do a 50% water change and keep testing the water and doing a 25% water change every few days untill its under control and then do about 30% each week.

Here are some good sites about the tank cycle and cleaning and some common mistakes people make.


http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/fishqa/f/faq0110.htm
http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help
http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/a/newtankmistakes.htm
http://www.fishinthe.net/html/section-1.html

Answer 2

Not the PH and thinking this doesn't sound much like a fight either. The red gills are my clue that your water chemistry is off. New tank? I'm thinking thats the case. If new tank, too many fish at the start. Check your water chemistry. No need to be having someone else do this when you can run the tests yourself. Get a testing kit, and specifically check your ammonia levels. Fish sitting at the top of the water, gasping for breath, and thier gills being red are classic signs of ammonia exposure which is very common in new tanks. Basically, the nitrogen cycle has not completed yet, and the tank has too much stock in there for now.

All you can do at this point is either A. Return those fish, and get some hardy fish to start out the cycle with. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle in aquariums, it would be a LONG post to put it all here, or you can always email me. B. Get your testing kit, and perform water changes on a more frequent basis to keep ammonia from going to lethal levels, until your tank cycles out.

JV

Answer 3

the red behind it's gills is ammonia poisening

Do a 50% waterchange right a way, and keep up with 25% waterchanges every 3 days until your ammonia levels are at '0', after that do weekly maintanance, that means 25% partial waterchange with a gravel siphon



Hope that helps
Good luck



EB

Answer 4

It could be several things.
You should take in a water sample to Petco for a free testing or to a local pet store that has aquariums and fish.

Answer 5

Could the one that had an injury on the side possibly have gotten caught in the filter?

Answer 6

the ph level could be off

Answer 7

Yum!

Answer 8

Did you pee in the water dude? ty for the points