My Silver Shark Has Died And I Don't Know Why

[Nickelback]

I Purchased Two Silver Sharks as babies and have had them for over three months now and they were so healthy and always hung out together ate well looked good etc etc.Suddenly last night one has died.I checked it all over no signs of an attack no signs of any disease symtoms eg a growth etc etc.My tank has 0 nitrite and amonia and only 10 low nitrate.I do water changes once a week clean the gravel once a fortnight and just am lost as to why this one has died His mate is now really upset wouldn't eat tonight so I will get another one tommorrow and hope that makes him/her feel better Well I'm just so confused as to why all of a sudden he or she has died.I've heard Silver Sharks are hardy fish too Well hope somebody has a clue that may help to prevent the other one dying

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

You have quite a few agressive fish in your tank, so they are not out of the question as far as stressing the sharks out, how many gallons is the tank you are keeping them in?
Silver sharks (also known as bala sharks) are very skittish fish and need to be kept in very large tanks due to this.
ps: i would check out the cichlid sections and ask for some help on your stocking as i am positive you have some very agressive cichlids in there but unfortunately i know do not know a lot about keeping them, so i would ask for some advise for keeping them and stocking them with other fish .

 

[Nickelback]

You have quite a few agressive fish in your tank, so they are not out of the question as far as stressing the sharks out, how many gallons is the tank you are keeping them in?
Silver sharks (also known as bala sharks) are very skittish fish and need to be kept in very large tanks due to this.
ps: i would check out the cichlid sections and ask for some help on your stocking as i am positive you have some very agressive cichlids in there but unfortunately i know do not know a lot about keeping them, so i would ask for some advise for keeping them and stocking them with other fish .

No I don't actually have any cichlids in with my sharks I have two seperate tanks one just for tropicals and one for cichlids.The sharks were in the tank with the tropicals.So I'm still confused as to why he or she died The tropical tank I have has 2 x Pink Kissing Gouramis,2 x Angels,2 x Silver Dollars,2 x Clown Loaches and now 1 x Silver Shark soon to be two when the pet shop gets more Silver Sharks also in the tank is 5 x Platies and 5 x Red Eye Tetras.The tank is 200 Liters and soon I'm dividing them up splitting them in half and keeping all the tropicals I just mentioned in two seperate 200 litre tanks as I'm getting a big 570 litre tank for my cichlids and then will have their tank their in now a 200 litre spare.Well I loved my Shark and still am at a loss as to why he or she died I hope it wasn't anything I did wrong as I stress so much about my fish I hate it when any die Well thanks for your response.It is much appreciated

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Did you notice any unusual behavior or physical symptoms before they died? How is the cycle going ? How long have you had them and were they eating ok?

 

[Nickelback]

Did you notice any unusual behavior or physical symptoms before they died? How is the cycle going ? How long have you had them and were they eating ok?

Hi again No there was no unusual behavior or physical symtoms that I noticed before he or she died.I study my tanks very closely every day I usually spend a good hour just sitting there watching them and having a little bit of the good old alchohol while I do it I've had them since babies about 3 months approximately they were eating ok and everything until the one died now the other one doesn't seem interested in food.I'm sweating on the pet shop getting more Sharks in tommorrow as I think he or she needs a mate and hopefully that will cheer him/her up Well you must mean the cycle on my cichlid tank as you have replied to so many of my topics you are such a great help and I appreciate it Well I'm still doing the water changes everyday and still waiting for it to all reach zero.It really is a pain in the bum doing water changes everyday I can't wait till I pay off the 570 litre tank get it set it up and do a proper cycle with all the info you gave me and finally everything should be back to normal I learnt my lesson not doing a proper cycle Lucky I've got excellent people like you to guide me along the way Cheers and many thanks for all the help you have given me on all my topics Enjoy yourself and have fun from Steph

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm...I'm really stumped on this one for now, the only thing i can think of, depending on the fishes weight, is that it was either internal bacteria or internal parasites- internal bacteria can kill quickly and sometimes cause almost seemingly random deaths in the tank, while internal parasites can waste away the fish even if its appetite is normal (internal bacteria can also cause wasting away); to make sure that their weight was not an issue before they died, here is a link with some pics of fat and healthy bala/silver sharks pics for comparison;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=123786

Did yours look a bit underweight at all in comparison to these bala sharks ? Many bala sharks sold at lfs are underweight so sometimes it is hard to know wether yours are the right weight or not is the only sharks you have known were ones supplied by your lfs.

ps: i am glad i have been of some help though in other area's of yoru fish keeping, good luch with the tank and i hope the cycle goes smoothly too .

 

[Nickelback]

Hmm...I'm really stumped on this one for now, the only thing i can think of, depending on the fishes weight, is that it was either internal bacteria or internal parasites- internal bacteria can kill quickly and sometimes cause almost seemingly random deaths in the tank, while internal parasites can waste away the fish even if its appetite is normal (internal bacteria can also cause wasting away); to make sure that their weight was not an issue before they died, here is a link with some pics of fat and healthy bala/silver sharks pics for comparison;

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=123786

Did yours look a bit underweight at all in comparison to these bala sharks ? Many bala sharks sold at lfs are underweight so sometimes it is hard to know wether yours are the right weight or not is the only sharks you have known were ones supplied by your lfs.

ps: i am glad i have been of some help though in other area's of yoru fish keeping, good luch with the tank and i hope the cycle goes smoothly too .

Yeah mine looks just like the one in the pictures you have supplied.I think they were both a good weight judging by these pictures so yes I'm like you stumped as to why it died Well thanks for all the help and advice it is priceless as I'm fairly new to the fish game only started in April so many thanks again Well I'm sure I will speak with you again so I look forward to our next meeting Hope your having lots of fun with your fish All the best from Steph