# Found dead fish ... Is this a kill or death?



## sabv (Jul 9, 2010)

Hi,

I found a small snow white dead in the tank. Not sure if it died naturally or was it killed by other bigger fish. Is there a way of knowing? 

Also, another snow white (1 inch) has been swimming near the surface at slower pace than normal. How do we know if it he is sick or healthy? 

Should we take the dead fish out or keep it there?

Regards,
Sabv


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

TAKE THE DEAD FISH OUT!

if it had disease your other fish would also get infected either by feasting off it or the dead fish contaminating the water.

Even if it was not disease, the dead fish could become a nitrate factory which brings your whole system down.

If it's 1" and in a tank with other african cichlids, I would assume its death is due to harassment or stress. You're talking about snow white socolofi right?


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## sabv (Jul 9, 2010)

Yes, I am talking about snow white socolofi. I have taken the dead fish out. Is there any other treatment that I need to do to ensure the health of rest of the fish?


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

If you have a test kit, test the water. Whether you test or not, do a 50% water change ASAP.

How many fish of what size do you have in this tank? How big is the tank? How often do you change how much water?

Do you have a lot of crevices and holes that small fish can take refuge in? This is very important for mbuna, especially when they are of mixed sizes/ages.


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## sabv (Jul 9, 2010)

I don't have a test kit but day before yesterday we had the water sample tested by a local fish shop. It had high nitrate. The tank is 125 gallon with a lot of small (2") cichlids (40+) with four or five adult (2 blue dolphins and 2 Red shoulder)

The tank has 150 pounds of rock in different formations which make a lot of hiding places of different sizes. I have changed 15% water yesterday. Could it be due to water temperature change? I also add prime water treatment at each water change (10% every week).


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

has your tank been cycled and have the filters established good bacteria yet? 40 cichlids in a 125 should be fine unless you do 1 or a combination of overfeeding, not doing weekly water changes, filters are insufficient, no established colonies of bacteria yet etc.

high nitrates could've killed the cichlid but I highly doubt it. Remember, cichlids are really hardy. My heater when haywire once and the temperature of my tank was at 90F for almost 2 hours until I noticed but all the cichlids were fine.


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## Calmer (Mar 9, 2008)

If you remember the nitrate amount then enter it into the calculator along with the 10% water change every week and see how what works out.

http://www.theaquatools.com/water-changes-calculator


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## sabv (Jul 9, 2010)

carbonlist said:


> filters are insufficient, no established colonies of bacteria yet etc.


I have eheim 2217 filter and a supplementary hanging filter (Marineland Penguin 350). Are these insufficient? Do I need more filters?


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## carbonlist (Nov 8, 2009)

you should be good with those filters.


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## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

I would suggest adding another 2217. I don't believe those two filters are enough for that size of a tank.


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## gucci17 (Oct 11, 2007)

No offence but I do not think that is nearly enough filtration for the amount of fish you have. Especially when they all reach adult size, it will be quite crowded. Minimally, I would add a 2217 to your setup.


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## bae (May 11, 2007)

If your nitrate is high, filtration won't lower it. The only way to remove it is by water changes or growing plants. It would appear that 10% per week isn't adequate for your current bioload, which is going to increase as your fish grow, too.

I recommend you get a test kit so you can see what effect you get from increasing water changes. In the mean time, do several large changes to get the nitrate level down for now. High nitrate is stressful for fish, and probably contributed to your fish's death.


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## macrylinda1 (Aug 20, 2010)

sabv said:


> I don't have a test kit but day before yesterday we had the water sample tested by a local fish shop. It had high nitrate. The tank is 125 gallon with a lot of small (2") cichlids (40+) with four or five adult (2 blue dolphins and 2 Red shoulder)
> 
> The tank has 150 pounds of rock in different formations which make a lot of hiding places of different sizes. I have changed 15% water yesterday. Could it be due to water temperature change? I also add prime water treatment at each water change (10% every week).


has your tank been cycled and have the filters established good bacteria yet? 40 cichlids in a 125 should be fine unless you do 1 or a combination of overfeeding, not doing weekly water changes, filters are insufficient, no established colonies of bacteria yet etc.

high nitrates could've killed the cichlid but I highly doubt it. Remember, cichlids are really hardy. My heater when haywire once and the temperature of my tank was at 90F for almost 2 hours until I noticed but all the cichlids were fine.


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## cidco (Aug 10, 2010)

*I highly doubt nitrate was the cause of the death*

With regards to your nitrate...
First thing I would do is get it under control.
- Water change, first one is 25% and clean your gravel.
- Then do 10% every other day until the levels are under control.

As your getting the nitrates under control I would invest in a second fiter, but remeber that it takes time for the fiters to become helpful (your filters need to establish the bacteria to help out with the nitrate). So keep up with the water changes, and when you clean your filters only clean the floss and dont touch the bio media for the first few months.. Then you should rotate your filter cleaning and that should help you in the long run ..


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## BillD (Jun 5, 2006)

bae said:


> If your nitrate is high, filtration won't lower it. The only way to remove it is by water changes or growing plants. It would appear that 10% per week isn't adequate for your current bioload, which is going to increase as your fish grow, too.
> 
> I recommend you get a test kit so you can see what effect you get from increasing water changes. In the mean time, do several large changes to get the nitrate level down for now. High nitrate is stressful for fish, and probably contributed to your fish's death.


This is excellent advice. 25% water change is too small if you are having issues.


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