What Eating My Tetras

[dalewatkinson]

ok guys here is my set up its a 13 gallon tank(uk) we have 2 hopplos 1 black mollie, 1 discus, 1 elephant nose, 2 leopard gourami, and we did have 9 tetras. but now we are down to 4 with no signs of bodys.
does any one have any ideas?

 

[Duck and Dive]

Which fish is the biggest and most aggresive?

 

[Davo86]

ok guys here is my set up its a 13 gallon tank(uk) we have 2 hopplos 1 black mollie, 1 discus, 1 elephant nose, 2 leopard gourami, and we did have 9 tetras. but now we are down to 4 with no signs of bodys.
does any one have any ideas?

what tetras are they? neons?

by leopard gouramis you don't mean spotted climbing perch ?

if they are neons then they could well have been eaten or simply have died off due to the overcrowding in the tank

 

[mark.w.jones]

Most likely cause is death due to poor water quality. You are massively over stocked. Close to triple the amount of fish you should have in that tank. Just your Leopard Spotted Gouramis will eventually reach around 5" each. Those hopla catfish can reach close to 8" the elephant nose nearly a foot long. Neons are particularly sensitive to poor water conditions and can die at the drop of a hat. Their remains are then usually eaten very quickly by your other fish or their bodies disintergrate in the filter. You really need a minimum 3 foot long tank of 50 gallons + to successfully keep those fish. The discus is not suitable. In fact you must really return everything apart from the neons and the molly from your current tank as they are the only fish who a 13 gallon is suitable for. Sorry

 

[Matt_northants]

ok guys here is my set up its a 13 gallon tank(uk) we have 2 hopplos 1 black mollie, 1 discus, 1 elephant nose, 2 leopard gourami, and we did have 9 tetras. but now we are down to 4 with no signs of bodys.
does any one have any ideas?

Are you planning on upgrading your tank soon? As its horribly overstocked. By Hopplo are you refering to Hoplosternum sp. catfish? What size are they? As adults they will prey on smaller fish.

 

[Suicidal_AZN]

could it be the elephant nose fish that preying on them???
everyone the dude is asking what ate his fish not how much fish hes got or what size tank hes got.
just answer his question.

 

[vinylman]

could it be the elephant nose fish that preying on them???
everyone the dude is asking what ate his fish not how much fish hes got or what size tank hes got.
just answer his question.

If no one points out that his tank is heading for disaster, the poster won't have to worry about the fish for much longer.

 

[Davo86]

could it be the elephant nose fish that preying on them???
everyone the dude is asking what ate his fish not how much fish hes got or what size tank hes got.
just answer his question.

90% of what he has in his tank could have ate them, BUT as everyone has also said, they've probably died from poor conditions

 

[dalewatkinson]

well thats put me in my place
the water is fine everything is at 0 pretty much with a ph of 7.8 ish
the tetras are cardernal ones.

 

[RadaR]

well thats put me in my place
the water is fine everything is at 0 pretty much with a ph of 7.8 ish
the tetras are cardernal ones.

Sorry, but I really doubt that. A 13gallon with all those fish and you have no readings? Not possible really.
Just understand we're giving you this advise for your's and your fishes best interest. We're not trying to inconvenience you. The tank is overstocked and there will be massive problems if things aren't corrected. Rehome everything except the molly, the tetras and hoplos. You should stand a better chance then.

 

[Esfa]

Probably your leopard gouramis.

Yeah, you should either ake almost all your fish back apart from the cardinals and mollie, or buy a few more tanks

 

[dalewatkinson]

well im sorry guys that you dont beleave me but i am telling the truth. who know maybe i have a good filter?
anyway are you saying that everything in the tank apart from mollie will hunt them?

 

[Esfa]

well im sorry guys that you dont beleave me but i am telling the truth. who know maybe i have a good filter?
anyway are you saying that everything in the tank apart from mollie will hunt them?

I dunno about the hoopols, but everything else could. Depends on the sizes, really.

 

[three-fingers]

could it be the elephant nose fish that preying on them???
everyone the dude is asking what ate his fish not how much fish hes got or what size tank hes got.
just answer his question.

Why bother giving such advice when his fish will die for other reasons anyway?

well thats put me in my place
the water is fine everything is at 0 pretty much with a ph of 7.8 ish
the tetras are cardernal ones.

The most likely scenario is they died, then other fish picked at them until nothing was left.
Cardinals can be sensative tetras, soft acidic water is best, and with a pH of 7.8 it's evident you dont have that . The other fish you have in that tank wont last in there long, they grow too big .
With that much fish in the tank I doubt everything would be at 0, unless your rounding down a lot, what were the exact stats? If everything is at 0 and you don't know why, then there is something wrong, because its very likely your filter isnt cycled.

What model of filter do you have? What kind of filter media/floss is inside it?

 

[Jo Booth]

Hi Dale

Im a newbie to the world of tropical fish keeping but read everything going before setting up my tank and lost fish at a rate of knots when I put them in - and they were hardy Minnows to sart with.

I found a very good LFS and took in wter sample as well as a dead fish - I was using an API master test kit which kept reading 0 on everything. The guys here told me it was my water despite the 0 readings.

LFS guys did a test with Tetra kits and guess what, Ammonia was through the roof - they tested the water with th API test kit to prove it was that and that still read 0 so not me doing anything wrong.

They said they no longer stock API test kits as they lost a lot of stock awhile ago through negative readings and they have found them to be poor - I know others on here use them so Im not sure whether it may be the water were we are based or not but the guys on here were spot on with their advice and three weks on I have a healthy cycled tank and a new test kit.

Most fish books give advice on calculating the number of fish suitable for your tank -as do the guys on here.

Good luck I hope things settle down for you.

Jo