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found cyp dead :(

1K views 6 replies 5 participants last post by  Hurriken 
#1 ·
this morning when i was feeding my fishes i notice one of my cyps seem to always swim around the top of the tank. it wasn't eating but it looked like it was trying to get air? i don't know how to explain it. but i just checked the tank right now and found it dead. i took it out immediately and inspected it. it looked normal with the exception of all the color gone. my temps are right and the other fishes seemed to be normal so what caused this? i have calvus, guppies and cyps in the tank.
 
#2 ·
How long has this tank been set-up? How did you cycle it? How long have the cyps been in there? Is there any ammonia or nitrite? What is the nitrate level? When was the last water change? How much water did you change? Did you mess with the filters lately such as washing the filter media? Do you use de-chlorinator?

The only advice I could give based on the information that you provided is to do a water change and keep an eye on things. Don't forget to use de-chlorinator.
 
#3 ·
okay, i've had the tank running since the beginning of march. i did a water change yesterday but i did use de chorinator. is using cool water a bad thing when doing water changes? i try using water the same temp as the tank ...the fishes seemed fine after a bit. now im suspecting it mightve been the water change i did. it wasn't a big change like probably 25%. i have a 4f 55 gal .the cyps have been there for abit over a month and i did plenty of changes since i've had them.
 
#4 ·
Was it floating up at the top? I wonder if it got some air trapped? I've had this happen, and you have to gently squeeze the air out. Like burping a baby! lol.
It may have looked like it was trying to get air, but in fact air was trapped in the fish!
 
#5 ·
Did it have a sunken belly?

I had 22 wild caught cyps - couldn't keep the darn things alive. Sunken belly syndrome: lost em one by one. Never figured out what to do in time.

I recall water changes being critical: temp & pH. I now use a reservoir tank for my water changes which sets/circulating for a day (and have a heater to match tank temp) before using it. I call this a "tempered" water source.

Russ
 
#6 ·
Sometimes we will never know why a fish died. I lost five out of eleven Cyprichromis leptosoma Utinta, which came from a local breeder, in the first five months after I added them to a 3 foot tank. Now a year has gone by with no deaths in the tank. I really have no idea why they were dieing. I noticed that a couple of them looked thin before they died. Maybe they were being out-competed for food. Maybe stress from too small of a tank.

The thing that Darkstar mentioned doesn't seem right for cyps because they school close to the surface and should be accustomed to gulping a little air when they take food from the surface. I have heard of that kind of thing with frontosa but they live in deep water.
 
#7 ·
For me the key thing you said is "water change". Cyps are very sensitive. I once lost 11 after a water change(I still cringe when I think of that) and I was being careful.

1) if you do a water change out of your regular schedule change less water and do another change in a few days.

2) Match the water temp as close as you can. No need to go crazy but cold water will shock them.

3) Be quiet and gentle especially if you've skipped a wc or two. If the latter is the case clean the filters, glass, etc next time.

This is what I have learned from my experience. When I have lost fish after a WC the behavior you described is pretty much what I've seen.
 
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