Unknown fish death

[Horde4life91]

I just found one of my fish belly up. It was a small Threadfin Acara maybe 2 to 2.5 inches. It lived with an Electric Blue Acara and a Krobia Xinguensis in a 29 gallon tank. I tested the water and I checked the fish for obvious signs of death. The water parameters are 0 ppm Ammonia, 0 ppm nitrite, and around 25 ppm nitrate. Soft water, 0 buffer, low ph (6.4-6.8) Temp around 78°. I have never seen any aggression, I have used the med trio, dewormed, have always fed fresh foods, and both of the other fish look good. No heavy breathing, both swimming around, and eating, even the nerite snail is moving across the glass. I'm going to do a water change and continue to check on the others. Is there anything else I should do? Any thoughts? 

[Fish Folk]

Very sad to hear. How long have you had it with these tank mates?

We raised up a pair of Threadfin Acaras until they were so big we couldn't keep them any more. They started majorly earth-moving the substrate daily, and then all of a sudden "thunder-dome" occurred and one was nearly killed by the other.

Sounds like you've seen nothing like this though with yours. We also raise Electric Blue Acaras. I've never seen Krobia xinguensis, but they look a bit like the Laetacara araguaiae we tried to breed. I am not sure that I would imagine conflict to arise between these, especially so young.

One thing that Threadfins do -- it's a geophagus thing -- is they pick up and sift substrate. It is an odd possibility, but perhaps a stone, or shard of sharp substrate got caught? I have occasionally seen cichlids get digestively blocked up fast and succumb quickly if they cannot pass food like blood worms, etc. Unless you've seen aggression and witnessed marks of a battle (torn fins, pitted attack points), my guess is it was something internal to the Threadfin.

*sigh*

Very sorry for your loss . . .

[Torrey]

I second Fish Folk. Most likely an internal, and there wasn't anything you could do.

Feeding live foods, especially if cultured outside your home and purchased by you to feed, there's always a risk of potential parasites with live (and even some frozen) bloodworms and blackworms, and **especially** if feeder fish or snails are used (which is why I would Q/T feeders, medicate, then gut feed for 2 months before feeding/breeding my own). Even so, it's almost never a "sudden" death, there's wasting/bloating and changed behavior.

Impaction? Especially if they ate something sharp that could damage on the inside?

That can happen fast.

I am so sorry for your loss, they may be fish and they can still be family.

[Horde4life91]

On 4/29/2022 at 8:02 PM, Fish Folk said:

Very sad to hear. How long have you had it with these tank mates?

We raised up a pair of Threadfin Acaras until they were so big we couldn't keep them any more. They started majorly earth-moving the substrate daily, and then all of a sudden "thunder-dome" occurred and one was nearly killed by the other.

Sounds like you've seen nothing like this though with yours. We also raise Electric Blue Acaras. I've never seen Krobia xinguensis, but they look a bit like the Laetacara araguaiae we tried to breed. I am not sure that I would imagine conflict to arise between these, especially so young.

One thing that Threadfins do -- it's a geophagus thing -- is they pick up and sift substrate. It is an odd possibility, but perhaps a stone, or shard of sharp substrate got caught? I have occasionally seen cichlids get digestively blocked up fast and succumb quickly if they cannot pass food like blood worms, etc. Unless you've seen aggression and witnessed marks of a battle (torn fins, pitted attack points), my guess is it was something internal to the Threadfin.

*sigh*

Very sorry for your loss . . .

They all came in the same shipment,  maybe 5 months together. And ty

 

On 4/29/2022 at 8:09 PM, Torrey said:

I second Fish Folk. Most likely an internal, and there wasn't anything you could do.

Feeding live foods, especially if cultured outside your home and purchased by you to feed, there's always a risk of potential parasites with live (and even some frozen) bloodworms and blackworms, and **especially** if feeder fish or snails are used (which is why I would Q/T feeders, medicate, then gut feed for 2 months before feeding/breeding my own). Even so, it's almost never a "sudden" death, there's wasting/bloating and changed behavior.

Impaction? Especially if they ate something sharp that could damage on the inside?

That can happen fast.

I am so sorry for your loss, they may be fish and they can still be family.

Yeah it must have been an internal thing. No signs of wasting and it had eaten yesterday. And TY