2 days ago, I bought 8 cardinal tetras, each about 1/2 inch long from a pretty good lfs. My journey home took about 3.5 hours; the fish were double poly bagged, plus they were inside two thick brown paper bags. No excessive heat or cold during the journey.
Arrived home and transferred the fish to my acclimatization container (largish acrylic container that hooks onto the tank lip to allow gradual water change.
1 fish died almost immediately it came out of the bag.
Acclimatized by adding a cup of tank water every 15 minutes. 45 minutes later, released fish into the tank.
2 fish died that night, found next morning, with no signs of injury.
3 fish died in the next 12 hours.
1 was dead this morning.
1 left alive and looking well.
Dead fish exhibited signs of distress - rapid respiration was typical prior to death.
Tankmates: 2 small peppered corydoras, 3 very small bronze corydoras, 2 1.5 inch bloodfin tetras.
Tank: 10g Established March 2008. 10 gallon. Water - pH 7.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10, Hardness 6
Planted. Seachem flourish ferts dosed weekly. Bogwood, filter sand, peat base. Temperature 78F
I will be able to get replacement fish free of charge, but I am at a loss as to why these fish died so quickly. I telephoned the lfs after the first couple died and was told cardinals travel/transfer badly. I am very sad to lose so many lovely fish in the space of 48 hours.
Even though water parameters should have been nearly ideal for cardinals, I did a 20% water change after the initial losses, using RO water with Prime added.
Any ideas what might have killed these fish? Stress from travel?
Most cardinals come from the wild, which makes me even more disappointed in their fate. The remaining cardinal appears very healthy. The lfs will give me more fish free of charge, but I am at a loss to 'correct' anything since I can find nothing wrong with the tank setup or the water quality.
These were my first losses from this tank.
Arrived home and transferred the fish to my acclimatization container (largish acrylic container that hooks onto the tank lip to allow gradual water change.
1 fish died almost immediately it came out of the bag.
Acclimatized by adding a cup of tank water every 15 minutes. 45 minutes later, released fish into the tank.
2 fish died that night, found next morning, with no signs of injury.
3 fish died in the next 12 hours.
1 was dead this morning.
1 left alive and looking well.
Dead fish exhibited signs of distress - rapid respiration was typical prior to death.
Tankmates: 2 small peppered corydoras, 3 very small bronze corydoras, 2 1.5 inch bloodfin tetras.
Tank: 10g Established March 2008. 10 gallon. Water - pH 7.2, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10, Hardness 6
Planted. Seachem flourish ferts dosed weekly. Bogwood, filter sand, peat base. Temperature 78F
I will be able to get replacement fish free of charge, but I am at a loss as to why these fish died so quickly. I telephoned the lfs after the first couple died and was told cardinals travel/transfer badly. I am very sad to lose so many lovely fish in the space of 48 hours.
Even though water parameters should have been nearly ideal for cardinals, I did a 20% water change after the initial losses, using RO water with Prime added.
Any ideas what might have killed these fish? Stress from travel?
Most cardinals come from the wild, which makes me even more disappointed in their fate. The remaining cardinal appears very healthy. The lfs will give me more fish free of charge, but I am at a loss to 'correct' anything since I can find nothing wrong with the tank setup or the water quality.
These were my first losses from this tank.
