My Fish Are Being Destroyed.

i have a community fish tank, and every fish i have in there is supposto be peaceful.... well just recently some of my fish have ended up dead and most have peaces taken out of there fins. i suspect its my tetra, but i dont know what kind it is. ill post a picture to see if you know what it is. but do you think he could be the culprit? in my tank i have 2 goldfish one big and one small, 4 giant danios, 2 black skirt tetras, 2 white skirt tetras, 1 blue flame tetra, 1 fiddler crab, 2 swordtails, and one of my fish has come up completely missing... my cherry barb is missing..... who is terrorizing my tank please help.

fish of all goldfish should only be kept in cold water tanks they are not a community fish and also your tetra should be kept in a group on 6+ this may be the reason.

what size tank is it?
filter?

water paramters?

could be the crab, since its happening at night when fish are less active

Most likely the crab or goldfish.

+1, you have really bad stocking there!

IMO your fish are paying for your lack of research, all tetras will nip but there will be less of it if you keep them in the right conditions, the crab will kill and eat anything it can catch and the goldfish should be rehomed in a pond

Agree with the others - your best course of action will be to re-home both the goldfish (ideally to a pond, the best place for them) and the crab (an ad on a web sales site can work if none of your local shops will take it.) The next step of the plan should be to increase the numbers of the skirt tetras as they too can be quite mean in their actions if their numbers are below six. I have no experience with blue flame tetras but usually any tetra needs a minimum 6 grouping to minimize stress.

~~waterdrop~~

FISHADDICT says you are paying the price for lack of research but its your fish that are really paying the price. Please take the advise of those that have kindly answered you before more fish die.

Gilli said:

FISHADDICT says you are paying the price for lack of research but its your fish that are really paying the price. Please take the advise of those that have kindly answered you before more fish die.

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That`s what I said

Well I took out that tetra and the problem has stopped. My black and white skirts haven't been causing any problems I have had all the fish in that tank for a while without the unknown tetra, and they have been fine, its when that other tetra showed up.... So I really do think its him, now that I have moved him the tank is fine.

55 gallon tank
Penguin 350 bio filter and a whisper filter.

You may have solved that problem but you need to remove the 2 goldfish. Goldfish thrive at sub-tropical temperatures, which means about 68 to 72 degrees Fahrenheit. This is not to say that 75-degree water will kill the goldfish. It's just that the lower temperatures are healthier for them. Cooler water holds more oxygen, which larger goldfish require for good health.

Second, goldfish tend to be much more massive than tropical fish. As they grow they can easily eat more than the tropicals. The latter may end up suffering from malnutrition. At the same time goldfish also produce far more waste products than the typical tropical fish. which will make good water quality difficult to maintain.

Thirdly goldfish and tropicals tend to carry different diseases and parasites and tend to be resistant to their specific diseases and parasites. Thus the mixing of the two can expose each to health problems they are not at all capable of coping with.

Your tetras need to be kept in groups of no less than 6 per group. This is why you are having problems with fin nipping as your fish are under stress.

anon02 said:

Gilli said:

FISHADDICT says you are paying the price for lack of research but its your fish that are really paying the price. Please take the advise of those that have kindly answered you before more fish die.

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That`s what I said

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Oops - misread!

Gilli said:

You may have solved that problem but you need to remove the 2 goldfish.

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Seconded! You may have fixed the problems that were visible to you now, but that doesn't mean that there aren't other problems going on, or that you won't have even more serious issues on your hands shortly. Some illnesses or stress do not manifest themselves in a visual manner until it is too late. Waiting until you see these problems is very dangerous - especially when there is a lot of evidence available to give you the foresight to predict and solve the problems ahead of time.

Maybe a drastic example, but: If you could prevent a car crash, wouldn't you?

3l3ctric said:

Gilli said:

You may have solved that problem but you need to remove the 2 goldfish.

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Seconded!

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+1, please solve the other problems for the sake of the fish.

Kitty Kat said:

3l3ctric said:

Gilli said:

You may have solved that problem but you need to remove the 2 goldfish.

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Seconded!

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+1, please solve the other problems for the sake of the fish.

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+1...well, +4 I guess - - research is key to a healthy tank!

what parasites do goldfish have that tropical fish dont have? the gold fish have been in there for years and the goldfish dont really do much and my water temp is at a constant 73 degrees and they have been fine. but ill look into getting rid of the goldfish.

starscream said:

what parasites do goldfish have that tropical fish dont have? the gold fish have been in there for years and the goldfish dont really do much and my water temp is at a constant 73 degrees and they have been fine. but ill look into getting rid of the goldfish.

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starscream people are trying to help you .....and...and....and you ignore what they are saying...

i dont want to be mean but its almost like your trying to find a way to tell others that you just dont CARE!
i like the info they give you.... its up to you to help your fish and in the long run yourself...
i know im new and shoudnt say much but i think (well know they are Right)