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I bought 7 emperor tetras from a really good lfs. Generally I don't even worry too much about quarantine because it's rare to see a sick fish at this store. Most of the time they have something spawning in their tanks like rams or easier to breed tetras. They have almost quit carrying livebearers because they can't sell them as fast as they reproduce. Overall I have only seen sick fish twice in a year and that was when they got in a new load. Their water is also almost exactly the same as mine. Well the emperors have been dying off randomly with no sign of illness beforehand. Twice now I've checked the tank, did a head count, left the room, came back to a dead or almost dead fish. They are swimming around looking at the tank, hanging out in the plants, surfing the filter outtake, and then they are laying on the ground. I took in the first 2 that died and got them replaced but by the time I got home there was another dead one and that night yet another. Right now there is one sitting on the bottom and sometimes falling sideways then he swims normally for a few mins and then he falls down again. They said they've had some problems with them and aren't carrying them again but I'm the first one to bring any back.
55g becoming heavily planted
Other tank inhabitants: congo tetras, panda cory, otos, 1 blue gourami, half grown applesnails
ph: 7.8
gh: 6
kh: 12
ammonia/nitrite:0
nitrate: 10-15
took in a water sample to double check my test kit and they got the same results
Why do my completely healthy looking fish suddenly fall down dead?

Now the one emperor is swimming in mid level. Probably to avoid the snails that would love to make a snack out of it. It's color is all faded on the sides, head on it looks white and chalky, all the color is completely gone from the head, and under it's eyes there are red patches. It's just kinda drifting with the current and trying to keep itself upright as best it can. 4 active tetras left.

Another stuck to the filter today and all but 2 went missing. Most likely they turned into snail snacks. I added melafix and pimafix last night but I don't think they'll make much difference. Hopefully the last 2 survive. Going to get an iron test because I also lost a threadfin and ram in the other tank and water tests perfect on what kits I have.

That was going to be my question is what kind of additives you put in the tank including ferts, salt, conditioners, pH adjusters, etc.

Did you ask the lfs to check his pH and do a comparison? Their tanks, due to aging and heavy fish store stocking, could be lower, even tho you have the same water source. I often ask for a comparison of pH before I take fish home.

If you haven't added any of the above, I would then ask you (or have you ask your lfs), if power was out to any tanks these fish have been kept in in recent weeks. Aeromonas infections can pick fish off like that, but yours sounds more like an environmental issue. I'm suspicious of a pH difference that may be greater than you think. Have them look at it good.

Look carefully into the eyes of the fish for redness. Look at the base of the fins for pinpoints of blood or elsewhere. Are their eyes protruding or appear sunken?

Also, if their tanks were heavily salted (as some lfs do), the fish could be experiencing osmotic shock if your tank has no salt. But, you say the fish store was losing them as well, right?

There were some cories I brought home that were in very bad shape. I didn't see how bad until I them home and under some good lighting. I knew within minutes of going into the quarantine they were in big trouble. They had septicemia - bad. Both died within 12 hours of each other starting 24 hours after I brought them home. When I went back to my friend, who owns the fish store, he said that he had lost more after I left. Then, another fish store lost an entire tank of the same cory and he said that other fish stores were reporting the same problem. Turns out they all came from the same breeder and something went wrong in his tanks, like a power outage that wasn't addressed, or a dirty tank. Usually, they said his fish were tops.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 30-Mar-2005 18:59

Actually our water is from 2 completely different sources. Mine is from an underground spring that goes past a limestone quarry and their's is from the river that goes through the middle of that town. It's also 20 miles to get there. They use the same test kit and he tested the tank while I was there. Ph is .2 different. About 3dgh difference. They keep their nitrates as close to 0 as possible(tested 5 max on any tank) and don't add anything to the tanks. They actually have fairly lightly stocked tanks for a fish store. The fish aren't crammed in there with the exception of the goldfish and feeder tanks. There's maybe 7 rams in a 10g or 20 tetras to a 20g. I did a waterchange 2days before I went to get the emperors and have only added a few drops of leaf zone in the past 2 weeks. I cut the ferts until my replacement carbo plus controller gets here. I don't use salt. Their distributor called and said the emperors they had were dying and they weren't carrying them anymore. The ones at the lfs would start swimming at 45degree angles pointed down and sort of falling sideways then swim upright again for awhile. The only one with red eyes so far is the one I saw dying. Most of the time I just found them dead and the only way to tell was the fact they weren't swimming anymore. They lost 4 out of the ~20 that were left after I took 7. Noone else has returned any so they either didn't lose them or didn't think it worth their time. I found the ram stuck between 2 rocks. I'll never figure out how he got in there. I had to take the cave apart and silicone it back together after I got the body out. He really wedged himself in there. His insides must have been pretty squished. So that leaves the dying emperors and 1 threadfin death in the other tank. They said when the emperors came in they were completely colorless from stress but did recover so they went ahead and put them out for sale. The only power outage in 2 months was yesterday for 10mins. All my main filters are on battery. I'm going to see if my grandpa will have the water tested for everything again. Otherwise to get a test kit other than the basics I have to go to the fish store over an hour away.

Last edited by sham at 31-Mar-2005 14:42

It really sounds like something originated with the breeder. However, it is possible that the breeder held them in a different pH than the fish store and they were still shocky from the experience and possibly unable to fully recover.

Red in the eye can sometimes indicate a hemorrhagic condition that some severe bacterial infections can cause. Like I said, aeromonas infections can be awful stealthy and often when it is too late, you see some telltale signs like red dots.

I guess I'll never know exactly what was wrong with the emperors. The lfs lost the last 2 they had. I'm still going to get the water tested but I'm leaning toward all the lost fish being a problem with the fish or with the tank setup. I kept losing rams especially the females and I think my 29g is just too open with too much traffic. It sits in the middle of the house and the rams never got back their color completely. In the 55 the ram colored up great then dissapeared which made me think it was the water but since the idiot got himself stuck in a rock instead I'm going with bad tank setup for rams. No fish losses today which makes the total deaths 1 threadfin, 7 emperors(2left), and 1 stupid ram.

Any chance soaps or detergents were used in the tank to clean it at one time? Or was it previously used?

All my tanks were bought new and the only thing I use to clean them is vinegar.