Cardinal Tetra Found Dead :( How? And What Now?

[iSmile]

Referring to my previous post, unfortunately my sick cardinal tetra didn't make it
It started of with a white patch symmetrically on both sides of its body, and now I've found the fully white carcass at the bottom of my tank. There was much of him/her left at all, literally a white bony body.
Will the other fish (tetras, gouramis, rtbs) have started to eat him? Or does rotting take place that quickly (it was fine last night)??
Also, what should I do now? I have removed the body, should I do a water change? And do I need to add any medication to my tank? Although i didn't actually work out what was wrong with my cardinal in the first place, there could be fungal spores or other nasty things floating around the tank...
I really need some advice please fortunately this is my first death I have experienced
Thanks!

 

[CezzaXV]

Just wanted to say that when I've had cardinals die, they've been almost completely colourless.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Did the white patch start at the dorsal fin? That's typical of Neon Tetra Disease. But, having a quick Google it appears that Cardinal's are resistant to NTD, so I'm not sure.

 

[Livewire88]

How long has your tank been set up? And can you tell us your water stats? Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate levels?

 

[iSmile]

No the white patch started at the bottom middle part of its body,
My lfs also said it could have just been old age, ive had my cardinals for definatley over a year, and I transferred them to a 160l tank about 3/4 weeks ago, I can only tell you the temp is 80'F and pH is 7.6

 

[Prime Ordeal]

What size were your cardinals when you bought them? A year is nothing. Cardinals will live a good four years in a well maintained tank.

 

[iSmile]

Hmm half an inch, it was over an inch when it died, and yeh I thought they lived longer, could just be weak immune system etc

 

[Livewire88]

No the white patch started at the bottom middle part of its body,
My lfs also said it could have just been old age, ive had my cardinals for definatley over a year, and I transferred them to a 160l tank about 3/4 weeks ago, I can only tell you the temp is 80'F and pH is 7.6

When you say you transfered them to the 160l tank, is that a new tank? and is the filter on it new?

 

[iSmile]

Yeh it was a new tank, I did a fishless cycle for 2 weeks and then added my guppies for another week before adding the cardinals, it was a new filter but I added the correct dosages of bacteria filter start during setting it up, I also transferred gravel, decor, water, media etc

 

[Livewire88]

Ok that may explain it, Cardinal Tetra's are well known for not getting along in newly set up tanks. They perferably need to be added to mature tanks which have been set up for at least 6 months.

I also found this out the hard way as I lost around 10 when I first added some to my newly set up tank, even tho I had done a full fishless cycle. Since the tank has matured I have not lost any fish at all (touch wood)

 

[iSmile]

Yeh that sounds about right, when you say 'lost' do you mean they just go to bottom of the tank and die? I was just worried it was some disease as it seemed to happen really quick, although would my other fish have nibbled him? And should I do water change ?
Thankyou

 

[synodontismultipunctatus]

I've seen cardinals get neon disease, it's not uncommon, it sounds like yours had neon disease. Make sure you keep an eye on the others, its spreads and its pretty impossible to treat.

 

[Prime Ordeal]

Hmm half an inch, it was over an inch when it died, and yeh I thought they lived longer, could just be weak immune system etc

No, not a weak immune system. It was a new tank and you added the cardinals after three weeks. The tank was not 'sufficiently' cycled and probably still isn't. And that goes for any fish not just the cardinals. Expect more deaths.

 

[iSmile]

Expect more deaths?! Ahaha bless ya

 

[Livewire88]

Yeh that sounds about right, when you say 'lost' do you mean they just go to bottom of the tank and die? I was just worried it was some disease as it seemed to happen really quick, although would my other fish have nibbled him? And should I do water change ?
Thankyou

It may sound funny but I could almost tell that one was going to die, the blue line they have tended to go pale and they would stay away from the main group sticking to one area of the tank, 99% of the time I would find them dead the next morning.
The usual behaviour for the group of Cardinals I have is they are constantly moving round the tank so I could always tell when something was up with one of them.

Fingers crossed you wont loose anymore but just keep your eye on them, if you still have your old tank set up and start loosing more I would be inclined to move them back into the old "mature" tank for a few months, if this is not possible all you can do is keep a good routine up with your water changes to keep the water pristine.