My Fish Are Dying...don't Know Why?

[Lazerus]

Hi all,

Just when I thought things were going okay!

What I should do here??? Panic is setting in.

I got 6 large Cardinal tetra and 2 Fire Honey Gourami yesterday…so far they’ve spent 24 hrs in the quarantine tank.

This morning though after good inspection I notice there has been some vicious attacks made on the Cardinals….however, its not from the Gourami, it’s the Cardinals attacking each other….they are fighting relentlessly now as I type.

They are really vicious to each other… one has completely lost a fin and has the other one badly damaged. Another lad has his scales damaged…and so on. They keep ramming into each other indiscriminately. All 6 of them are in on the act.

How do I stop this carnage? What is causing this behaviour?

Should I take a chance and pul the Gourami out of the quarantine tank and put them in my main tank?

Or visa versa? Perhaps the cardinals will feel less likely to fight when they are in a shoal of 7 Rummy noses and 2 other Cardinals?

Advice please!

Also…what can I do for this dreadful fin damage?

P.s Never a dull moment in fish keeping eh! Honestly!!!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

ok firstly, re-arrange the decor in the tank, try to put in tall things if possible.

this will remove any territories that have built up give them a level playing field, also tall things break the line of vision which calms the fish down when they can't see each other.

also quickly run a water test on the q tank make sure there's nothing funny going on, usually calm fish will often fight if they are stressed by something such as poor water quality.

 

[LauraFrog]

Melafix is very good for repairing fin damage. Can't offer any other advice, I have no clue about tetras, sorry.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

tetras can be a bit nippy when stressed, they're usually peaceful though so you shouldn't expect prolonged violence, it may just be teething problems while they're settling into their new home.

how long have they been in the q tank for now?

 

[Lazerus]

Hi all..

Firstly, they are in the tank 24hrs. I bought them yesterday morning and they were all perfect looking.

Its quite a small tank really...only 4 gal (15Litres) I thought it would be ok for a temporary quarantine set up. Is it?

Its a hexaganol style tank, so the there has one piece of resin log in it to the back with some tall plastic plants attached...the gourami are happy enough going in and out of them, but the Cardinals are staying to the front of the tank and circulating around the middle of the water. I don't have any other decor in there.

Now, onto my water stats.
Ammonia is 0ppm
Nitrite is 0ppm
Nitrate is 10ppm

I'm so tempted just to move them into the main tank, I really am... I'm thinking they'll do way more damage by the end of today.

I might pop out and get some Melafix...is that an anti-bacterial treament also?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

certainly sounds like they're just getting settled in, i would expect it to calm down in a day or so.

you can use all sorts of other things for decor if you've no aquarium specific stuff, all you want to do is break up the line of vision from one side of the tank to the other. can use plant pots, ornaments, plastic tubes, bits of wood or rock... doesn't need to be pretty just to serve a purpose.

melafix is anti-bac but not desperately strong, by all means pop some in though.

 

[Lazerus]

I've plopped a few things in to the tank now...a couple small plastic plants at the bottom and a large tall plant that sits right in the middle. I hope this works. Not a lot of space in there, but at least they don't have to see each other if they don't want to!

I just hope I haven't lost one of my guys...he's really damaged. I'm going to get some Melafix this afternoon.

Cardinals are feisty little things it seems!

By the way....do Gourami jump? (I know Bettas do, and they are of a similar species) Just wondering because these guys seem to be making a bee-line for the top of the tank...and its not to take a breath of air!

Edited because I left words out...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yes, gourami's can jump.

the best thing to heal wounds like that is clean water and no stress, melafix can speed things up a bit though, just keep an eye on water quality above all else really.

is it one particular fish that's the aggressor?

 

[Lazerus]

Ok so...

At the moment I see two fish in particular going at it with each other and bullying the other guys if they come close. It looks like they are going to fight to the death.

Both these guys have some very bad damage done to their scales and stuff...epecially the one with only half a pelvic fin left on one side ( the other is completely gone.)

I don't know...its mad. I'll leave them and see if they cool off a bit.

Some of the other guys have backed off and are resting in various parts of the tank....the gouramis appear oblivious to all of it!

They are acting a bit strange now themselves...doing all this intertwining stuff with each other. I hope they are not going to take a pop at each other now too. Gah!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

gourami's are fine, intertwining usually means it's time to put some barry white on, think you've got a pair there or at the least they like the look of each other!!!

if you're really concerned then move one of the fighting pair into the main tank and leave the other in the q tank. you do of course then put the main tank at risk as you've effectively not quarantined that fish but you just have to weigh up the risk of moving him compared to the risk of leaving him there.

 

[limerickbandit]

+1 on the melafix it should help

LB

 

[Jimbo1984]

It seems they are establishing a pecking order. My Emperor Tetras used to do the same thing. Also with it being such a small tank there isn't much room for them to swim away from eachother so it's an intense battle! Are you considering bypassing quarantine?

 

[Lazerus]

Hi again...

Got the Melafix...so I’ll dose the tank in a bit. I’ll do a water change first.

I had a look in at them all, and they are spotted all around the tank, amongst the plastic plants with their backs turned away from each other, fins folded.

They are not on speaking terms currently, and are having some quiet time....but at least they’ve stopped fighting. That’s progress.

Every now and again one will snipe at the other, but overall compared to this morning, they are not really reciprocating.

Yes, I am seriously considering by-passing quarantine this once though because I think the tank is too small for this lot.

Previously, I’d only ever had up to six tetras at any one time.

I’ll see….I’m very wary of doing this though.

Oh and by the way, just about the Gouramis….I thought my two were both males actually judging by their colour…but then having tried to Google it, I really can’t find much on Red (Fire or whatever they are?) Honey Gourami but apparently their colours only really change when they are about to mate…the male goes a more red colour and develops some black.

Anyway, either way, they seem to like each others company all right…that’s good. I’d be delighted if I accidently got myself a nice compatable pair as they would get on better in the tank….

I doubt I’d be that lucky though. The fish shop probably had all the males and females separated I imagine?

 

[lil-x-me...x]

im a little farmiliar with cardinal tetras,as when i asks for 10 neon tetras ended up being given 2 cardinals in them. which i dont mind. i did some reserch and apparently they are related to the parana!? and they also have a lot of teeth! so that maybe a course to how much damage they could of coursed. also i have heard that males often fight amongst each other...well, in neons, whether there is much difference im not sure...?

it also, as has been said already, is more likely to due to the fact that they are in a new tank and are tetotorial. hopefully you will get no losses out of this and they will be ok and shoal properly.

good luck, hope this lil bit of advice helped

 

[Jimbo1984]

apparently they are related to the parana!? and they also have a lot of teeth! so that maybe a course to how much damage they could of coursed

Yeah some Tetras would be dangerous if they grew bigger!