Fish randomly died

[leo12345]

So I got 2 Banggai cardinals from dr reef a month ago and I kept them in observation for about 2 weeks just to make sure they were fine before putting them in and they were both doing fine and eating well but yesterday one stopped eating randomly and the other was eating but definitely had a decreased appetite and showed no other symptoms of anything else just didn’t eat for a day so I didn’t think much of it but when I woke up I found my cleaner shrimp eating it. All my other fish are completely fine and my parameters are also good, only thing I’ve done differently or noticed is the my nitrates are was kind of high at 20ppm and I fed them some frozen food that was sitting out for about three days. What could be the cause of it dying?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

So I got 2 Banggai cardinals from dr reef a month ago and I kept them in observation for about 2 weeks just to make sure they were fine before putting them in and they were both doing fine and eating well but yesterday one stopped eating randomly and the other was eating but definitely had a decreased appetite and showed no other symptoms of anything else just didn’t eat for a day so I didn’t think much of it but when I woke up I found my cleaner shrimp eating it. All my other fish are completely fine and my parameters are also good, only thing I’ve done differently or noticed is the my nitrates are was kind of high at 20ppm and I fed them some frozen food that was sitting out for about three days. What could be the cause of it dying?

It wasn't clear to me; did just one die? If so, can you post a video of the remaining one?
Can you ask Dr. Reef if he knows if this were wild caught or captive raised? There is an issue with a virus in wild caught ones.

Jay

 

[leo12345]

It wasn't clear to me; did just one die? If so, can you post a video of the remaining one?
Can you ask Dr. Reef if he knows if this were wild caught or captive raised? There is an issue with a virus in wild caught ones.

Jay

The are captive bred and just one died. the other looks fine but kind of has a decreased appetite but is eating. I’m not home right now so I can’t take a picture at the moment.

 

[leo12345]

It wasn't clear to me; did just one die? If so, can you post a video of the remaining one?
Can you ask Dr. Reef if he knows if this were wild caught or captive raised? There is an issue with a virus in wild caught ones.

Jay

Here’s the other fish, I tried to feed him but it didn’t seem like he wanted to eat.

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[Jay Hemdal]

Here’s the other fish, I tried to feed him but it didn’t seem like he wanted to eat.

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The fish is breathing really fast/deep. That is a sign of a few possible issues - poor water quality (including low dissolved oxygen or high ammonia), bacterial gill disease, protozoans (like velvet) or gill flukes. Trouble is, there is no real way to tell which of those it could be. If the water tests out o.k. for ammonia, then add an air stone to the tank to see if that helps. If not, then start looking at disease issues. That's why I asked about the possible viral issue with wild caught cardinals. I would definitely contact Dr. Reef, he is very good about helping with issues post-sale.

Jay

 

[leo12345]

The fish is breathing really fast/deep. That is a sign of a few possible issues - poor water quality (including low dissolved oxygen or high ammonia), bacterial gill disease, protozoans (like velvet) or gill flukes. Trouble is, there is no real way to tell which of those it could be. If the water tests out o.k. for ammonia, then add an air stone to the tank to see if that helps. If not, then start looking at disease issues. That's why I asked about the possible viral issue with wild caught cardinals. I would definitely contact Dr. Reef, he is very good about helping with issues post-sale.

Jay

i just contacted dr reef and he says they are all captive bred.

 

[leo12345]

The fish is breathing really fast/deep. That is a sign of a few possible issues - poor water quality (including low dissolved oxygen or high ammonia), bacterial gill disease, protozoans (like velvet) or gill flukes. Trouble is, there is no real way to tell which of those it could be. If the water tests out o.k. for ammonia, then add an air stone to the tank to see if that helps. If not, then start looking at disease issues. That's why I asked about the possible viral issue with wild caught cardinals. I would definitely contact Dr. Reef, he is very good about helping with issues post-sale.

Jay

How did these fish get sick if they were completely quarantined?

 

[twentyleagues]

I don't know for certain but frozen food sitting out for 3 days probably wasn't the best idea. I don't know if fish can or will get food poisoning.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

How did these fish get sick if they were completely quarantined?

Quarantine does not help with water quality issues or bacterial infections, they reduce the chance of parasitic infections by about 80% or so.
I missed the note about food sitting out for 3 days, that is a problem, if nothing else, it would be filled with bacteria. Didn’t it smell bad?
Jay

 

[leo12345]

Quarantine does not help with water quality issues or bacterial infections, they reduce the chance of parasitic infections by about 80% or so.
I missed the note about food sitting out for 3 days, that is a problem, if nothing else, it would be filled with bacteria. Didn’t it smell bad?
Jay

Sort of but all my other fish ate it and went crazy for it and they are fine. I also feed every other animal I have old food so I thought it wouldn’t hurt anything. Well is there anything I can do or look for so that way if it has something it doesn’t spread to my other fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Sort of but all my other fish ate it and went crazy for it and they are fine. I also feed every other animal I have old food so I thought it wouldn’t hurt anything. Well is there anything I can do or look for so that way if it has something it doesn’t spread to my other fish?

I'm not positive that the food was the root cause here, but the general rule is to never feed out frozen food that has thawed for longer than an hour, unless it was refrigerated, and then, feed it out in 24 hours.

Is it still alive this morning? If no other fish are showing symptoms, I would give it a five minute freshwater dip, just to see if it is gill parasites. Other than that, adding aeration to the tank would be a good idea for supportive care, and double check that your ammonia levels are at zero.

Jay

 

[leo12345]

I'm not positive that the food was the root cause here, but the general rule is to never feed out frozen food that has thawed for longer than an hour, unless it was refrigerated, and then, feed it out in 24 hours.

Is it still alive this morning? If no other fish are showing symptoms, I would give it a five minute freshwater dip, just to see if it is gill parasites. Other than that, adding aeration to the tank would be a good idea for supportive care, and double check that your ammonia levels are at zero.

Jay

I woke up and it was nowhere to be found so I guess it died. Well if it was the food why are my other fish fine? Also what do you mean by giving the tank supportive care and if this was bacterial will it spread to my other fish?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I woke up and it was nowhere to be found so I guess it died. Well if it was the food why are my other fish fine? Also what do you mean by giving the tank supportive care and if this was bacterial will it spread to my other fish?

You should make an effort to find and remove the dead fish, otherwise bacteria will decompose it and can cause issues.
As I said, I don’t know if the food was the issue, but it wasn’t a good thing. Different species have different gut dwell times, so I would not expect spoiled food to affect all fish equally.
Supportive can means the best conditions you can, no ammonia, proper water quality parameters, good food, etc.
Jay

 

[Rick's Reviews]

Here’s the other fish, I tried to feed him but it didn’t seem like he wanted to eat.

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Unsure how to do this video quote thing... Do you think being bullied by your rasse. Wrasse other.
I thought I brought 2 females but they bully each other like males.
You could either separate them or trade in.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

I don't know for certain but frozen food sitting out for 3 days probably wasn't the best idea. I don't know if fish can or will get food poisoning.

A whale can die in the the sea and decompose for weeks/ months... I'm sure abit of frozen defrosted food won't hurt.
Obviously do your best to provide the best for your aquarium

 

[leo12345]

You should make an effort to find and remove the dead fish, otherwise bacteria will decompose it and can cause issues.
As I said, I don’t know if the food was the issue, but it wasn’t a good thing. Different species have different gut dwell times, so I would not expect spoiled food to affect all fish equally.
Supportive can means the best conditions you can, no ammonia, proper water quality parameters, good food, etc.
Jay

I found it and removed it, okay I will try to have good parameters. Just so I know is there anything I should look out for on my other fish in case what they had can spread?

 

[leo12345]

Unsure how to do this video quote thing... Do you think being bullied by your rasse. Wrasse other.
I thought I brought 2 females but they bully each other like males.
You could either separate them or trade in.

He doesn’t really bully anything he just goes up to the fish like that then they either snap at him or move and he leaves.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I found it and removed it, okay I will try to have good parameters. Just so I know is there anything I should look out for on my other fish in case what they had can spread?

Just watch for similar symptoms: not eating and then rapid breathing.
Since both cardinals were affected and no other fish is (yet) - that leads to something specific to them, so hopefully it won’t spread.
Jay