First Fish Death :(

[jaclynl]

I could not find one of my Pygmy Cories this morning but then I turned on the light and saw his dead on the bottom of the tank

I did a 10% water change yesterday and conditioned the water. All the fish have been very active since I got them last week so I really don't know what could have happened. I tested the water and ammonia and nitrites are both zero.

The Cories have been playful since day one, they spend most of their time sucking the bottom but in the morning they race around, they go to the top and dive back down and play in the stream from the pump. Now I'm starting to wonder if this is normal? I don't want the other one to die too.

Also I thought dead fish usually float? Why would he have sunk?

Anything I should do to prevent this from happening to my last remaining corie?

 

[fatheadminnow]

I could not find one of my Pygmy Cories this morning but then I turned on the light and saw his dead on the bottom of the tank

I did a 10% water change yesterday and conditioned the water. All the fish have been very active since I got them last week so I really don't know what could have happened. I tested the water and ammonia and nitrites are both zero.

The Cories have been playful since day one, they spend most of their time sucking the bottom but in the morning they race around, they go to the top and dive back down and play in the stream from the pump. Now I'm starting to wonder if this is normal? I don't want the other one to die too.

Also I thought dead fish usually float? Why would he have sunk?

Anything I should do to prevent this from happening to my last remaining corie?

Sorry to hear that.

What size tank?
How many/what kind of fish?

-FHM

 

[Colin_T]

Corydoras can breathe air from the surface. They will often swim up to the top, get a mouthful of air and then swim back down. If you watch long enough you can see them pass the air out the other end, (fish farts). It's normal and nothing to worry about.

Dead fish can float or sink. Many sink and after a while the bacteria build up in the body and produce lots of gas. The gas then causes the body to float.

All you can do to prevent fish from dieing is keep the water clean ad well filtered. Keep the gravel clean. Feed a varied diet. Keep the temperature correct for the species in the tank. If fish die then remove them asap and do a partial water change. If you can post a picture of the dead fish it can sometimes help. Also any information about what the body looks like can help. But sometimes fish just die, (from stress or old age) and there is no signs to give a reason why.

 

[jaclynl]

I have a 10 gallon tank with 4 Zebra Danios and had 2 Pygmy Cories, now I only have 1. I don't think it's overstocked?

It's 12 hours later and the rest of my fish are still alive so I hope it's isolated.

I should do a water change now? I already flushed the fish but I can tell you he looked normal, just like he did when he was alive. Not bloated or discolored.

 

[Colin_T]

Your tank is not overstocked so nothing to worry about there.

Don’t bother doing a water change now because you did one the other day. When you did the water change, do you use a fish only bucket, or any bucket from around the house? It's preferable to have a bucket that you use specifically for the fish. This way you can prevent any chemicals/ cleaning products from getting into the bucket and poisoning the fish.

Did you use the correct amount of dechlorinator/ water conditioner? Corydoras are sensitive to chemicals and if there was some free chlorine in the new water, it might have affected the catfish. It's preferable to add dechlorinator to the bucket of tap water and stir it up or aerate it for about 10mintues before you use it. Aerating it for longer is even better but it needs to be thoroughly mixed so the dechlorinator can remove all the chlorine/ chloramine.

 

[jaclynl]

Your tank is not overstocked so nothing to worry about there.

Don’t bother doing a water change now because you did one the other day. When you did the water change, do you use a fish only bucket, or any bucket from around the house? It's preferable to have a bucket that you use specifically for the fish. This way you can prevent any chemicals/ cleaning products from getting into the bucket and poisoning the fish.

Did you use the correct amount of dechlorinator/ water conditioner? Corydoras are sensitive to chemicals and if there was some free chlorine in the new water, it might have affected the catfish. It's preferable to add dechlorinator to the bucket of tap water and stir it up or aerate it for about 10mintues before you use it. Aerating it for longer is even better but it needs to be thoroughly mixed so the dechlorinator can remove all the chlorine/ chloramine.

I have a fish only bucket that I just bought, I rinsed it out first. I added the drops of dechlorinator to the bucket first and then poured the water in so that it would mix up. Next time I'll leave it for a few minutes first.

The other Cory seems to be doing okay...does he need a new friend or will he be okay alone?

 

[Colin_T]

corydoras prefer to be in groups so you could add some more. However, wait a couple of weeks before you get any more fish.