Unexplained Fish Loss??

[texhorns98]

If anyone has had some unexplained fish loss in the past week on recently purchased fish, please PM me. Particularly Cardinals...

 

[acroholic]

Are we talking complete disappearance, floating at the top or bottom, or death right after purchase?

 

[texhorns98]

We're talking one death yesterday, another disappeared today, and I found another lying on the sand today, barely breathing. All the same fish, nothing else is looking wrong...all params check out normal. All...

 

[smoothie]

That's what I was going to say or improper qt meaning they were not "trained" to eat long before you got them

 

[texhorns98]

These fish were drip acclimated over 3 hours. Slow drip with me aerating the water in their bucket every 20 minutes or so.

 

[smoothie]

I can't remember from the other thread, but how were they eating before the losses?

 

[tony_caliente]

I had the same experience with cardinals. They looked great, even ate. Then died looking as good as the day I bought them - within 4 days.

 

[texhorns98]

Smoothie, they ate like champs for the week I had them.

Tony, were these recent purchases? Mine looked good one hour and then were toast the next.

 

[smoothie]

That's just nuts. Almost like cyanide capture

 

[texhorns98]

Smoothie;516803 wrote: That's just nuts. Almost like cyanide capture

Hmmm....ya think!?!? :yay:

 

[oil_fan]

Smoothie;516803 wrote: That's just nuts. Almost like cyanide capture

From the description...that's what it sounds like to me.....

**** I hate that form of capture!!!! :mad2:

 

[acroholic]

Guys...just in case...remember to leave the place of purchase out of any posts if they are an ARC Sponsor. There is a process to follow before stores can be named.

 

[jennm]

To my knowledge, cardinals are not a cyanide target.

What kind of cardinals?

Wild caught, or tank raised?

If they were wild caught banggais, there's something about them that a lot of them die "mysteriously". I'm not sure if it's a bacterial infection or what but I'm sure it's been discussed somewhere (ie google search).

If there were 2, it's also possible that they were of the same sex and decided to duke it out for territory.

IMO a 3-hour slow drip acclimation is way overkill for most fish, but unlikely to be the cause of death.

Jenn

 

[jennm]

Here's one article - doesn't specify why they die, just that they are "prone to dying".

http://en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com/wiki/Boycotting_the_Wild_Banggai_Cardinalfish">http://en.microcosmaquariumexplorer.com/wiki/Boycotting_the_Wild_Banggai_Cardinalfish</a>

IMO tank raised Banggais are best.

Jenn

 

[tony_caliente]

They were in the store for a while an looked great.....eating....swimming in schools. I bought three. They never really ate hardily in my tank. I think they were very good quality, just an unfortunate situation. I am very reluctant to buy cardinals again.

texhorns98;516801 wrote: Smoothie, they ate like champs for the week I had them.

Tony, were these recent purchases? Mine looked good one hour and then were toast the next.

 

[texhorns98]

Jenn, I'm quite sure these were wild caught due to their price. I bought three of them, so I don't know if that would keep the from fighting or not. I normally don't drip my fish that long, but I knew these guys were coming from a heavy cupramine system along with quite low salinity. I tend to run a little high (1.026-27), so I wanted to take no chances.

Don't worry, acro, I won't name the store I purchased them from in a public forum.

 

[texhorns98]

Forgot to mention, I found the two I hadn't been able to locate this morning. One had stringy stuff all over him as I was pulling him out. Then once out, the stringy stuff ended up being a thick mucous substance. Was my hammer coral feeding on him? Hope I didn't hurt the hammer by yanking stuff away from it!

 

[smoothie]

Acroholic;516880 wrote: Guys...just in case...remember to leave the place of purchase out of any posts if they are an ARC Sponsor. There is a process to follow before stores can be named.

Thanks for reminding us while we were on our "Jump to Conclusions Mat"

 

[acroholic]

Don't worry, acro, I won't name the store I purchased them from in a public forum.

Thanks for reminding us while we were on our "Jump to Conclusions Mat"

First off, let me say there is nothing wrong with this thread the way it is.

It is not that you can't name the store, but before anything like that happens, the ARC has a process in place that is listed in the Forum rules. I am only posting this as an FYI for anyone reading the thread, because stuff like this comes up regularly on the forum.

It is Forum rule 5:
"Sponsors are our guests here, and their stores should be treated as such. Infactual posts, libelous remarks, and even exaggerations of negative truths will not be tolerated. If you have an issue with a sponsor, the proper way to handle it is to talk to the sponsor / manager in person, then try via PM or email, then contact anyone in the sponsor store, and finally, if nothing can be done, the factual account may be presented on the forums."

The above process gives the Store the chance to make it right and protects the customer and the store from any unwarranted negative publicity. Fish die a LOT more often in the process of getting from the collectors to the LFS than anyone unfamiliar with the scene knows or probably wants to know. I know because I imported FW fish for a couple years from SE Asia.

My opinion as an ARC Member: I don't go back to LFS with dead fish because the best a LFS can do is QT and treat if they see issues. If a fish looks good enough for me to buy and is eating, then I assume part of the risk when I buy it. If a fish doesn't eat in front of me I don't buy it. The only way I would go back to a store would be if the fish died in the bag before I even had the chance to get him in the tank. Not to brag, but after being in the hobby for 36 years, my ability to judge if a fish is healthy is probably as good as anyone else's, so if I have any question about the fish's health, then I would buy the fish with the stipulation the LFS keep him for 1-2 weeks and if he dies in that time, then I get store credit. If the store is not willing to do that, then I don't buy it.

Some fish are more sensitive to shock than others as well. SW Cardinals may just not do well with changes in surroundings, or new water chemistry, or new tankmates. There are FW fish like this as well. They either die in the first couple days, or they live for a couple years.

One suggestion, and not to slight our Sponsors, but Live Aquaria sells SW Cardinals and they have a 14 day guarantee, so if this fish dies easily, this may be the way to go for this particular species if local purchase doesn't go well.