What Happened To My Cardinal Tetra?

HI All
I found one of my cardinals dead on the bottom of the tank this afternoon, it was a little swollen and white/silver underneath (see pics), I have had them about 7-8 weeks, got 5 one week then 5 the next week, yesterday I got 5 panda corys from a good LFS, they are doing fine as are the other 9 cardinals, anyone got any idea why this one died,

Tank 56 Litre planted, been running about 3 years
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
PH 7.4 (not changed)
Temp 76f 24c





Any help welcome

Pete

 

Was it that thick before it died ?
Strange it kept its color.

 

Your cardinal may have died from being stressed or just other natural reasons. As for the swelling, did you notice it before it passed like DoubleDutch said? Also sometimes when fish die the gas from their stomach fluids cause the body to swell after death because it builds up.

 

HI sorry for your loss, with the swollen abdomen and the fact that the scales are not sticking out my initial suspicion would be parasites within the intestines.

It could just be bad luck or it could be that something environmental has weakened the poor fishes immune system.

Parasites, bacteria and viruses are in virtually every aquarium in a scary concentration. However a normally healthy fish will fight off infection.

Your readings show good water quality and as long as they are the norm and not just after a water change water quality would not be my first guess.

Wild caught cardinals are used to very soft, low ph water rich in tannins. 24c would also be at the lower end of the temperatures that these fish prefer.

However many cardinals are captive raised and should be more tolerant of our tank conditions.

If it were not for your panda corys I would advise raising the temperature but that is not an option in your case.

Hopefully it is just a single fish and the rest will be fine.

Down the road neon tetras enjoy cooler water than cardinals and would be a better match to the panda corys. Perhaps your store might do a swap of cardinals for neons.

Hopefully it is just an isolated incident and good luck with the tank.

 

Was it that thick before it died ?
Strange it kept its color.

They all looked OK this morning when I put on the lights but I did not count them.
Thanks
Pete

 

mmmm looks like an internal infection.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I hope it is just a one off thing, if it is an internal infection as DoubleDutch suggests are my other fish in danger? and what can I do about it?
Pete

 

Thanks for all the replies, I hope it is just a one off thing, if it is an internal infection as DoubleDutch suggests are my other fish in danger? and what can I do about it?
Pete

Depends a bit on the cause. Most bacterial infections causing dropsy as a symptom aren't contagious but CAN be a sign to keep a close eye on waterconditions.
If it is caused by worms or other parasites it often is contagious. But then I'd expect more casualties right now.

 

Thanks for all the replies, I hope it is just a one off thing, if it is an internal infection as DoubleDutch suggests are my other fish in danger? and what can I do about it?
Pete

Sorry for your loss, I don't mean to be disrespectful to your fish but you seriously have one amazing camera like holy cow you can even see the fins (which by the way are stunningly intact and un nipped). He has lovely colouration though however maybe you were feeding him too much and his digestive tracks got clogged? Try feeding them de shelled microwaved peas that you smudge in some aquarium water either your fingers and place in.

 

Depends a bit on the cause. Most bacterial infections causing as a symptom aren't contagious but CAN be a sign to keep a close eye on waterconditions.
If it is caused by worms or other parasites it often is contagious. But then I'd expect more casualties right now.

Thanks DoubleDutch, all I can do for now is keep an eye on them

Sorry for your loss, I don't mean to be disrespectful to your fish but you seriously have one amazing camera like holy cow you can even see the fins (which by the way are stunningly intact and un nipped). He has lovely colouration though however maybe you were feeding him too much and his digestive tracks got clogged? Try feeding them de shelled microwaved peas that you smudge in some aquarium water either your fingers and place in.

Thanks Neutral-Waterinos, been feeding them New Life Spectrum 0.5 mm small fish formula or finely chopped green veg, Photography is my other hobby, the s were quick and dirty in a panic while waiting for my water tests to develop, I find photography relaxing.

Pete

 

A quick update, all fish doing well, water parameters good and not changed, I love my new panda corys and thanks for all the help.
Pete