Something weird that happened a long time ago

Hey everyone
I just thought of this weird thing that happened a long time ago and I mean like when I first started keeping fish. I used to have a 20 gallon with a couple of black skirt tetras I think I had 6. And since this was my first tank I didn’t know about cycling a tank before so I don’t know if that was the problem. So here’s what happened they would swim around all of the tank all of the time but one day they just stopped and I mean literally stopped in their tracks and just stood there all of them. It’s like they were frozen they wouldn’t move from that spot and they were just floating there in normal position. For the whole day they just stayed in that same spot and they had no signs of life in them anymore. I would drop food in and it could hit them and they would not move not even there fins were moving. So I went to sleep and the next day they were all dead. What could have happened because it’s so weird they all stopped at the exact same time and they all died to

 

Were they swimming in place? Or were they at the top of the tank just floating? Is there anything you remember that could’ve shocked them?

 

Sounds to me like maybe some external toxin might have got into the water. As to what toxin I couldn't say. Tons of possibilities but I've heard of things as mundane as a scented candle causing problems.

 

Were they swimming in place? Or were they at the top of the tank just floating? Is there anything you remember that could’ve shocked them?

Yeah they were swimming in place in the middle of the tank but their fins weren’t moving it was kind of creepy
The best way I could describe it was if someone just pressed a pause button for them

 

Yeah they were swimming in place in the middle of the tank but their fins weren’t moving it was kind of creepy
The best way I could describe it was if someone just pressed a pause button for them

Weird. Like mimo91088 said, it sounds like something got in the water.