mercurybebe

Okay guys, I need some help. I've had a bunch of fish go missing out of my 55g tank and I really dont understand what is going on.

The 55g is for my male livebearers as well as my schooling fish, corycats and suspect #1, my CAE.

In the past week or two I have had 2 glofish, 1 zebra danio, 1 balloon belly molly and 2 bloodfins just disappear!

I have not noticed that any of these fish from the 55g were sick, but I had a death of a platy in my daughter's tank and now a neon is currently dying from similar symptoms as the platy....but the neon is from a different tank. The symptoms were/are swimming on their sides, twirling and acting drunk, despite using their tails to try and right themselves. I have the neon in a 1g bowl right now so he doesn't get picked on and I dont think he is going to make it much longer... Please see the photo of him below and let me know your thoughts...

I also started a thread about my sweet platy Sunburst who is from the same tank as the poor neon who is dying...

Anyway, I am concerned about a number of things...0

1) if these fish did die of natural causes, WHY?
2) if they didn't die of natural causes, did the CAE kill them!?
3) Where the heck are the bodies either way

One other clue is that I've had a bizarre brown algae in most of my tanks, but not really in the 55g...or at least not to the extent as in my other tanks.

Attached Images

neon.JPG (685.8 KB, 40 views)

CHoffman

I am so sorry your losing fish..It seems like during season changes we all lose fish.
About your questions,

1. There are a million reasons why our fish die without explanation. Most fish that come from the LFS have had a hard life and we don't know what kind of living conditions and treatment they've been receiving and all the shipping is very stressful as well. They have also been exposed to allot of diseases as well. We also don't know how old they are usually. We just try to give the a happy healthy home while we have them.

2. CAE's usually don't attach to smaller, fast fish. It's usually slow flat bodied fish. So I'm thinking it is NOT the CAE.

3. CAE or any bottom feeder for that matter can make quick clean up any fish that may have passed.

Again I'm sorry for your loses. How are your temps, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate doing??

mercurybebe

Thank you so much for your thoughts.

The more I thought about it, I realized that my CAE was probably only responsible for cleaning up the bodies and not the actual killing. He is a pretty peaceful fish actually, with his best friend being my flame gourami, Steve. So I guess that is good since he would be the most likely target based on the fat and slow thing!

I also made sure that the tank has *lots* of caves since I read that they can be territorial. I've had him since I first bought fish and so far he is okay.

The readings are all good and I did a 50% water change and thorough gravel vac last night to make sure I didn't miss anything.

Fishkeeping sure does tug on the heartstrings, especially when you cant figure out whats wrong and do something about it.

CHoffman

I agree..I think that's the hardest part about fish keeping, losing fish and not knowing why and not being able to do anything to help them. It's rough no matter how long or short you had the fish. I guess it's one of the negatives among so many positives. It sounds like your doing everything perfectly so don't blame yourself.

mercurybebe

The poor neon is still alive...I feel so bad for him and I dont know what to do. He is in a 1g bowl by himself so he doesn't get picked on. I really dont know how he has survived these past 24hrs. From what I have read he has "whirling" disease and it is fatal...I just hope he passes soon, it is too sad to watch him like that.

CHoffman

If you know he isn't going to pull through and you don't want him to suffer this might be an option for you. Click on the link below and there is some good info..At least then you know your options..

Humane method of Euthanasia for sick fish

Tony G.

Great info above from Cesch. Sorry for your losses. Do you have a breeding net? if so, you could out it in the main tank and add the neon to it, so he can have peaceful last moments. Whirling disease IS fatal, but you want the fish to be as comfortable as possible. Also, i have found that when i lost fish and couldnt find them, the other fish took care of them, mainly your CAE and your corys...
Sorry your babies havent been doing well, like said above, most of our fish go crazy wsith season changes ...

aquarist48

Hello Mercury. I'm sorry to hear about your fish loss. Yes, it can surely pull on the heart strings. Brown algae or diatoms is very common in newly established tanks and up through the first year. It will eventually go away on it's own as the tank matures. Too, the water changes and gravel vacuums will help as you go along. It's not harmful.

Readings all in check? Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, pH?
Best of luck!
Ken

mercurybebe

All of the levels are good in the tanks...and while the poor neon is STILL alive, we lost our lyre-tail guppy yesterday. He was in my daughter's tank and she woke me up hysterically crying.

I did a total water change on the bowl that the neon is in and I've put bits of food in it. It is horrible to see him like that and I dont understand how he is still holding on...
I thought about Euthanasia and read the link, will talk to my partner about it tonight if he is still alive....

Does anyone know why the seasons seem to have an effect on fish?