Tropical Fish Death

[poli]

Help! My boyfriend's siamese fighter fish has just died on me and he is abroad what do I do? My boyfriend had put in one of those 7day feeder pyramid but i couldn't see it and yesterday the siamese fighter fish was looking kinda grey so i fed it some flakes and now it's dead!!! obviously it was on its way out but im paranoid i killed it by overfeeding it.
It also has a habit of always swimming still flat against the pump and i think maybe that had something to do with it...

and now i think its dead in the tank and i dont know what to do with it - dont want to take it out in case its not completely dead. and if it is dead i dont know how to dispose of it!

urgent help and advice needed for a complete tropical fish novice thankyou

 

[smb]

OK, first of all, I'm shooting from the hip here.

This has me really confused--

and now i think its dead in the tank and i dont know what to do with it - dont want to take it out in case its not completely dead.

Are his gills moving at all? I can't say if he's dead or not as I'm not there.

and if it is dead i dont know how to dispose of it!

If you're positive it's dead, throw it in the garbage. Don't flush it down the toilet whatever you do please!

This wasn't even your fault at all. I have heard so many times that a feeder overfeeds and the fish die upon return of owner!

In the future, if your boyfriend leaves for less than a month and has fish, just let the fish go without food until he gets back.

You are so great and caring to go online and ask because you care so much tho.You should be commended for that!

Trust me, if you only fed them once, it was nothing you did at all.

 

[poli]

Thankyou so much that really helps to know it wasn't me as he's always telling me off for being too much of a sucker and wanting to feed the 'pretty fishies'....

but its true re feeder - i looked at the back of the packet and it says 1 pyramid feeds 20 average sized fish in a 40litre tank for 7-10 days - its only been 3 days and now one is dead & our tank is quite small with only 1 angel, siamese and 1 catfish!!

It's gills aren't moving and now it's still on its back and kinda grey - i guess that means dead i just didn't want to admit defeat...

question - i am too freaked to take it out and throw it in the garbage - can i leave it till morning or will it poison the other fish by then? just i have a real problem with putting dead animals in garbage... (i told u im an amateur)


thank u v much for your help i can sleep slightly easier now!

 

[AquaNut]

Hi poli Sorry about your misfortune. It's nice of you to care so much about your boyfriend's fish. Unfortunately, you really do need to remove the dead fish. If he was diseased, the other fish could be infected. Also, the dead fish becomes an instant breeding ground for parasites and fungus. You can do it. I have faith in you.

 

[poli]

thanks aquanut and smb fish guru!!! even though i don't feel too happy about poor dying fish it's great to be able to go online and get caring emergency help!

It took me 1 hour to work myself up to taking that fish out of the tank- pathetic huh? Well all i know is i ain't never eating fish again- vegetarianism here i come!

But seriously, couldn't have done it without you. might seem like a minor act but it was one giant step for me!

cheers guys/gals

 

[poli]

p.s. one last question - do i have to clean out the whole tank now because the dead fish would have infected it? what is the proceedure to carry out after removing the dead fish please?

thanks 4 help!!

 

[AquaNut]

Good for you, poli! You did the right thing. I would not attempt any sort of water change unless it was an absolute emergency, considering that you're a total novice. I presume your boyfriend will be home relatively soon.

 

[smb]

p.s. one last question - do i have to clean out the whole tank now because the dead fish would have infected it? what is the proceedure to carry out after removing the dead fish please?

thanks 4 help!!

Depending on what the fish died from.

When a fish dies from normal causes you have to remove it or else the ammonia will kill all other fish. You removed it tho so the fact that there was a dead fish isn't enough reason to do a water change.

Now the question is-
Why did he die?

I'm under the assumption it's because the auto-feeder fed too much. (The fact that you fed once after this had nothing to do with it unless you dumped half a can in there)


So I'm thinking the ammonia might be a bit high. Do you know how to check for levels of ammonia? If not, don't panic, we'll help you out and walk you thru it step by step.

If you do know how, check it.

I would do a water change because I'm thinking the ammonia is pretty high from the auto feeder.

Do you know how to do that? If not, again, it's ok just let us know what device he uses to clean the gravel and we'll walk you thru that also.

I can't even begin to say how good of a person you are and a girlfriend you are to him for being so worried and coming here to ask and try to help. I honestly mean that. I'll be going to bed soon but if you don't reply soon there will be others here that can help you as well or even better so please keep in touch and we'll do our best to help you.

 

[Kossy]

My boyfriend had put in one of those 7day feeder pyramid

These are not relatively good for fish. I have heard of soooo many incidences where owners simply put this into a tank and leave. This really overfeeds the fish..i.e high ammonia etc..However this is not ur fault like smb said.