Eyes missing

Hey all! I noticed this morning that one of my zebra danios had an eye missing. Came home and was swimming near the top but looked ok. Just checked on it and it was dead in a plant near the surface with both eyes gone! What happened to my poor fish!!!

 

What else is in the tank? It was likely attacked by another fish or a piece of jagged decor.

 

What size tank? What other fish are there?

 

I've had these fish forever with no problems at all. All very peaceful. I have 7 other zebra danios, 3 red tailed tetras, 2 mountain minnows, 3 gold dust mollies and one telescopic Moor in a 20g

 

You have a small overcrowding problem. It is likely someone took exception to the situation. If you want to talk about it, that's an option.

 

Many people said their fish are "peaceful" but fish personalities change and after a couple of months people are surprise when there fish becomes more aggressive. This is cause my maturation. When you buy fish they are juveniles, and after a couple of months they will mature and hormones start to kick in. For males this usually means getting aggressive.

And yes, as mentioned you have a lot of stocking problems. Mollys need to be in a minimum tank size of 29 gallon and the tetras and minnows should be in a school of at least 6. When did you set this tank up? What are your water parameters? Surprise none of your fish are dying from ammonia poisoning!

 

Red tailed tetras are fast, and might snack on an eyeball or two. It's not normal. A goldfish/moor would, but it waddles. It isn't catching a zebra.

The zebra could have died from the original eye injury, and lost the eye after. A dead fish often has its eyes and stomach removed fast. You have a murder mystery, with very few clues but other zebras and red tailed tetras as circumstantial suspects.

 

You have a small overcrowding problem. It is likely someone took exception to the situation. If you want to talk about it, that's an option.

Some fish didn't go berserk; he simply solved a problem....

 

For all you people who think I'm killing my fish...my parameters are normal! Thanks for your help

 

I don't think you are killing your fish, but you will be in a few months, unfortunately, with the moor. One goldfish (which is what they are) should have the tank to itself. They get big and pass a lot of waste, while needing cooler water than the other fish.

If they are a bit crowded. water can be perfect. But behavior will change, and fish will get irritable, as would any creature kept too crowded. Take away the moor, and that tank can easily be managed with weekly 30% changes.

 

minnows and the red-eye are temp incompatible, and need proper schools.
unless you're in a 20-long, it isn't a large enough footprint for the danios, and even then it's not ideal.
the fancy goldie needs a 30G on it's own.

good luck.

 

Also goldfish are not tropical fish they are cold water fish.