Fish dying from what? (pic)

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AquaticAustin

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Sep 29, 2011
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So this is one of the four emperor tetras I put in about a week ago so this death is not incredibly alarming. Also I had bought 2 males 2 females and the males "show off" to each other a bit which probably was a little stressful.. safe to say I am getting another female not male lol. But anyway this fish was acting normal yesterday... come home today and I see it upside down in some plants but notice it was still alive so I put it in my newly freed hospital tank so it doesnt spike ammonia when it dies. It got a little more lively when I moved it but is back at the bottom upside down and you can see something wrong with the back half of scales and also its back fin is torn up. What could the issue have been? Like I said it was a new fish so stress was present. But I think this discoloration on his back should be indicative of something
2011-11-01_212849.jpg

2011-11-01_212849.jpg
 

Ashes2ashes

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What size tank is it? What are the water parameters like Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite? Is this a cycled tank? What other tank mates are in there? If you can answer some of that stuff it will make a diagnosis easier. Diagnosing a fish just dropping dead would be hard without knowing what else is going on in the tank. Sorry about your losses. - Ash
 

AquaticAustin

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It was in my cycled 75gallon community tank with an assortment of other fish, the only fish that was aggressive towards it was the other male to my knowledge. Also the other male has a slightly torn back fin but nothing this bad. Also this fish seems kinda stiff but keeps trying to swim around every now and again and kinda does spirals (but does move up and down in the water). Was breathing rapidly but hes breathing more normal now. The Ammonia, nitrate, nitrites are all good, tested today the tank isnt fluctuating and the other fish seem fine, some smaller and more fragile than a tetra. The picture this is taken in is a 10gal hospital tank that is also cycled and good to go.
 

AquaticAustin

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I do normally allaboutfish but my QT tank has been occupied with goldfish recently that I JUST got rid of so now I have my QT/hospital tank back. I took the risk putting these guys in but so far it just seems that this one guy is bad the other 3 are fine and no other fish showing any other symptoms
 

aviva90

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I wanna say he just got attacked too much. I'd recommend 1 male 3 females or 4 males if you want the # 4 for those guys, it'll help with the bullying by dispersing it. Although a larger school of 8+ is ideal... just saying. This is just my best guess based on the info given/pic... sorry
 

AquaticAustin

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Bullying is what I suspected as well Aviva90 I just wanted some other opinions from people who might have seen it before... I know I should never listen to LFS people but this one is where I go normally and have been pretty good about info. Yes to replace him I will be getting a female for sure, maybe two or three more as I really like them and they are pretty peaceful (besides to eachother I guess) and fun to watch. I particularly like their blue (male) or green (female) shiny eyes

any insight as to why his back is so pale?
 

Ashes2ashes

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I would guess either bullying, or that there was something wrong with the fish when you got them. I would keep an eye on your healthy fish just in case, but hopefully it was nothing contagious to the other fish.
 

aviva90

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Yea they are great! I have a school of rosy tetras, 2 males 3 females, it seems to work out ok. But if you were to get a few more that would be awesome! Could get 2 males and 4 females in there! But yea, good luck. Trust your LFS but always research as well. Some (mine included) are smart and will give good advice, but double checking is always a good idea... trust but verify I believe the saying is hehe
 
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