Mystery Angel Death

[mrbigmuscles]

I appreciate the advice from everyone. Also I have had a planted 10gal running for over 6 months with no deaths or problems of any sort. That hardly makes me an expert, but I realize that water quality is vital and fish don't die for no reason. This death is just a mystery to me because the fish was fine in the morning and dead in the evening, and he had been healthy and active up until that point. He had even improved his finnage and coloration from how he looked in the LFS I got him from.

So I guess I will just wait this out and keep up my maintenance (I'll do 30% from now on) and see if anything else goes wrong. Also I'll ditch the pleco since I don't want to have to deal with returning a 2 foot fish in a few months (or years? How fast do they grow on average?)

 

[Rometiklan]

If your angelfish had been the victim of harrassment by the gouramis, you probably would have noticed some symptoms like ripped fins, missing scales, wounds on the body, hiding in the corner, or other signs of stressors. But since he was thriving, I would look for another cause of death.

I would suspect poisoning of some sort. If it were a disease, you usually see a gradual deterioration in health. Usually when a fish dies suddenly, it's because of a foreign substance accidently or unknowingly introduced into the water, and your angelfish probably had a low tolerance for that substance due to a weak strain or immunity, or whatever (you did say your first 3 angels died the first day so I suspect you might have bought some weak stock). Maybe it leeched off the plastic of the terracotta pot, or small trace amounts of pesticides from the potato or something? I have no idea...merely guesses. Keep an eye on your other fish closely to see if they are affected, and it might be adviseable to do a larger water change, like 40%-50% in case it is a poisoning of some sort.

 

[mrbigmuscles]

If your angelfish had been the victim of harrassment by the gouramis, you probably would have noticed some symptoms like ripped fins, missing scales, wounds on the body, hiding in the corner, or other signs of stressors. But since he was thriving, I would look for another cause of death.

I would suspect poisoning of some sort. If it were a disease, you usually see a gradual deterioration in health. Usually when a fish dies suddenly, it's because of a foreign substance accidently or unknowingly introduced into the water, and your angelfish probably had a low tolerance for that substance due to a weak strain or immunity, or whatever (you did say your first 3 angels died the first day so I suspect you might have bought some weak stock). Maybe it leeched off the plastic of the terracotta pot, or small trace amounts of pesticides from the potato or something? I have no idea...merely guesses. Keep an eye on your other fish closely to see if they are affected, and it might be adviseable to do a larger water change, like 40%-50% in case it is a poisoning of some sort.

But haven't they spent the last five years building up an immunity to iocaine powder?

Good idea, I will remove the pot. I bought both clay and plastic from Home Depot, soaked them both for a week while changing the water, and rinsed them, but was still too nervous about glazes and such leeching into the water. Thanks for the advice!

 

[Rometiklan]

But haven't they spent the last five years building up an immunity to iocaine powder?

Good idea, I will remove the pot. I bought both clay and plastic from Home Depot, soaked them both for a week while changing the water, and rinsed them, but was still too nervous about glazes and such leeching into the water. Thanks for the advice!

HahA! The Princess Bride! Inigo Montoya was my favourite!

Yes, removing the pot would be prudent. Like you, I would also be apprehensive about clay pots with glazes on them. I doubt they would be toxic, but better safe than sorry. I've always liked the non-glazed clay ones though.