What happened to my fish?

[Izzyf]

Hi guys not sure if anyone can help me.

My fish has recently passed away and I didn’t see it unwell so I’m not entirely sure what might have happened, if it was something I did, or if something is wrong with the tank. It was fine 

The only thing which made me think something might have been wrong was that I did see her go towards the bottom of the tank, so I tested the water using an API master test kit, but everything was normal, no signs of ammonia etc, and it didn’t seem to be struggling for air. The following morning I found her dead.

It’s 100 litres and I had one oranada. It’s a Superfish starter tank and the filter, light etc came with it (I believe it is aquaflow 100)mtge substrate is tropica soil with gravel on top 

I also have an air pump and my tank temperature is usually around 22-24 degrees. 

I have a single alternathea plant, two moss balls, two pieces of natural driftwood and some stones.

I clean my tank regularly, and I test the water regularly. All the levels were normal (no ammonia, nitrate etc) 

Does anyone have any ideas what might have happened? As I don’t want to get another fish if there is an underlying issue 

[Zac]

On 8/16/2023 at 11:55 AM, Izzyf said:

Hi guys not sure if anyone can help me.

My fish has recently passed away and I didn’t see it unwell so I’m not entirely sure what might have happened, if it was something I did, or if something is wrong with the tank. It was fine 

The only thing which made me think something might have been wrong was that I did see her go towards the bottom of the tank, so I tested the water using an API master test kit, but everything was normal, no signs of ammonia etc, and it didn’t seem to be struggling for air. The following morning I found her dead.

It’s 100 litres and I had one oranada. It’s a Superfish starter tank and the filter, light etc came with it (I believe it is aquaflow 100)mtge substrate is tropica soil with gravel on top 

I also have an air pump and my tank temperature is usually around 22-24 degrees. 

I have a single alternathea plant, two moss balls, two pieces of natural driftwood and some stones.

I clean my tank regularly, and I test the water regularly. All the levels were normal (no ammonia, nitrate etc) 

Does anyone have any ideas what might have happened? As I don’t want to get another fish if there is an underlying issue 

That’s odd. What’s she eating? Was she acting lethargic at all?

[Izzyf]

On 8/16/2023 at 6:51 PM, Zac said:

That’s odd. What’s she eating? Was she acting lethargic at all?

She has eaten that morning totally normal. Later in the evening I would say she became more lethargic as she started to stay down the bottom of the tank, but still swimming etc. I did another water test just to be sure and everything was still normal!

The weather had been hotter that day but the tank temperature was fine, so not sure if that had anything to do with it.

[Zac]

On 8/16/2023 at 3:17 PM, Izzyf said:

She has eaten that morning totally normal. Later in the evening I would say she became more lethargic as she started to stay down the bottom of the tank, but still swimming etc. I did another water test just to be sure and everything was still normal!

The weather had been hotter that day but the tank temperature was fine, so not sure if that had anything to do with it.

What was your pH and water hardness?

[Izzyf]

On 8/16/2023 at 8:22 PM, Zac said:

What was your pH and water hardness?

They were their normal levels when I checked, I did a usual water change a few days prior too, not sure if that would have affected anything? 
 

only other thing is that I use tap safe when doing water changes as needed, and tropica plant fertiliser too. 

[Alex S.]

On 8/16/2023 at 11:55 AM, Izzyf said:

Hi guys not sure if anyone can help me.

My fish has recently passed away and I didn’t see it unwell so I’m not entirely sure what might have happened, if it was something I did, or if something is wrong with the tank. It was fine 

The only thing which made me think something might have been wrong was that I did see her go towards the bottom of the tank, so I tested the water using an API master test kit, but everything was normal, no signs of ammonia etc, and it didn’t seem to be struggling for air. The following morning I found her dead.

It’s 100 litres and I had one oranada. It’s a Superfish starter tank and the filter, light etc came with it (I believe it is aquaflow 100)mtge substrate is tropica soil with gravel on top 

I also have an air pump and my tank temperature is usually around 22-24 degrees. 

I have a single alternathea plant, two moss balls, two pieces of natural driftwood and some stones.

I clean my tank regularly, and I test the water regularly. All the levels were normal (no ammonia, nitrate etc) 

Does anyone have any ideas what might have happened? As I don’t want to get another fish if there is an underlying issue 

This could just be the photo, but did its eyes always bulge that far out of its head? I’m wondering if it could have had popeye. That’s odd that it only acted strange for that one day, but I suppose it’s possible it could have had something going on before then, and not shown symptoms.
 

I’m really sorry for your loss! I lost a couple goldfish a few months ago and it was really devastated. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by Alex S.

[Zac]

On 8/16/2023 at 4:26 PM, Alex S. said:

This could just be the photo, but did its eyes always bulge that far out of its head? I’m wondering if it could have had popeye. That’s odd that it only acted strange for that one day, but I suppose it’s possible it could have had something going on before then, and not shown symptoms.
 

I’m really sorry for your loss! I lost a couple goldfish a few months ago and it was really devastated. 

That’s a good point. There are a lot of bubble eyed goldfish so I didn’t think about that

[Izzyf]

On 8/16/2023 at 9:26 PM, Alex S. said:

This could just be the photo, but did its eyes always bulge that far out of its head? I’m wondering if it could have had popeye. That’s odd that it only acted strange for that one day, but I suppose it’s possible it could have had something going on before then, and not shown symptoms.
 

I’m really sorry for your loss! I lost a couple goldfish a few months ago and it was really devastated. 

On 8/16/2023 at 9:54 PM, Zac said:

That’s a good point. There are a lot of bubble eyed goldfish so I didn’t think about that

Here is a better photo! They had always looked like that since I had it, so I never really thought they looked out of the ordinary, but I’m no expert! I’d never seen it act unwell so I didn’t think it was sick, but maybe like you say it didn’t show. 

thank you, it so sad because I just don’t know if it was something I did and could have prevented! If it was something like ammonia at least I know I could have changed the water or something… 

[Alex S.]

On 8/16/2023 at 5:03 PM, Izzyf said:

Here is a better photo! They had always looked like that since I had it, so I never really thought they looked out of the ordinary, but I’m no expert! I’d never seen it act unwell so I didn’t think it was sick, but maybe like you say it didn’t show. 

thank you, it so sad because I just don’t know if it was something I did and could have prevented! If it was something like ammonia at least I know I could have changed the water or something… 

That is so strange. If they hadn't always been like that I would definitely think popeye, but I'm not sure since they have been. I guess there's a chance it could have had popeye when you got it, but that makes it less likely to me, especially with it seeming to act normal.

 

Sorry that's not a fantastic answer. I'm not an expert either. I know its tough not knowing what happened. I wouldn't beat myself up too much over it though. With fish being living things, sometimes things just happen. People spend entire careers trying to learn more about these creatures, let alone us trying to know all about them as hobbyists. Unfortunately, this is just one of the not so fun parts of the hobby. The best we can do is try to learn something from things like this.

 

Speaking of which, do you quarantine and medicate fish when you first get them?