dead fish

Katum

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i have 4 fish in my 5 gallon tank. 2 small guppies and 2 snmall cory aeneus catfish. they have been completely fine the entire time ive had them in the tank, its a new tank and still cycling but i was told that these would be hardy enough fish for it. one of the guppies suddenly wasnt swimming around at all yesterday he was sitting up at the top side of the tank. and this morning i couldnt find him and he was dead in the filter. what is wrong? the other guppy and the catfish all seem healthy. and i thought they would be health. i also tested the ammonia levels and they were 0 yesterday. so whats wrong? and what can i do to ensure the health of my remaining fish?
 
Cories are not really that good for cycling with as Nitrites tend to be more concentrated at the bottom of the tank.

To start with I'd do about a 30% water change. You say the ammonia is at 0 have you been able to test the Nitrites yet as this is the next biggest killer, you're definatley going to need to test this. You may find yourself doing partial water changes fairly frequently (I was doing this daily). Also when you do a water change make sure that you use a dechlorinator on the water otherwise you'll put your cycling back to the start each time.

How long have you had the tank & fish?
 
There are times that the water parameters are perfect yet for some strange reason a fish still dies. This is life as we know it. I have an eclipse 12 thats been up and running for close to 2 years now. Its inhabitants are 8 neons and 2 dwarf flame gouramies. Well one of the dwarfs just up and kicked the bucket. No signs of disease or injury. And Im very well educated in water requirements. He was full grown so im chalking it up to old age.
 
Katum said:
i have 4 fish in my 5 gallon tank. 2 small guppies and 2 snmall cory aeneus catfish. they have been completely fine the entire time ive had them in the tank, its a new tank and still cycling but i was told that these would be hardy enough fish for it. one of the guppies suddenly wasnt swimming around at all yesterday he was sitting up at the top side of the tank. and this morning i couldnt find him and he was dead in the filter. what is wrong? the other guppy and the catfish all seem healthy. and i thought they would be health. i also tested the ammonia levels and they were 0 yesterday. so whats wrong? and what can i do to ensure the health of my remaining fish?
As mentioned above, cories are really bad for cycling purposes. Most recomends fishless cycling and if you must do fishy cycling, try zebra danio or platies.

I started off with platies and didn't add any more fish until the tank is completely cycled. I have cories, rasboras, bristlenose catfishes, otos, and blue rams in that tank. The only species I managed to kill (so far) are cories, despite that the blue rams being known to be sensitive.
 
Sorry to hear about your fish, Katum. :(

If it was a fancy guppy, it was not a good fish to cycle with. They tend to be delicate these days.

Since you are already in the process of cycling, about all you can do is keep testing the water and doing water changes. Do it over and over again, whenever it is indicated. Eventually all will turn out ok.

If you know anyone who has a mature tank ask them for some of their used filter material to add to yours. The beneficial bacteria that lives in it will help you get your own bacteria colonies established in your tank and hasten the process of cycling. If they will give you some gravel from their tank too, that will also help.

To protect your cory cats as much as you can, when you do water changes, be sure to siphon the water and soil from the gravel, not take water from the top of the tank. This is very important.

Good luck :D
 
Hope you do better with your next batch of fish. Try a bigger tank maybe?

My Avatar is Big Blue, my prize winning 8 inch Betta. o_O
 

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