My RTC just died, not sure what happened?

[Zipperwurm]

So i've had my RTC for about a year now. when i got her she was around 3" long and in less than a year, grew to about 20" in length. She was housed in an 80 gal tank with two oscars, about hand size, and two plecos. i know that this tank was a bit small for these fish, i had a 250 gal sitting in my garage that i was in the process of setting up for them, maybe just didnt get it ready in time?

so Tuesday afternoon i did a 25% water change like i do every week or two, depending on how the water is looking. Wednesday afternoon i left for a fishing trip and everything seemed normal in the tank before i left. i came back late last night (friday) and the water is completely cloudy, and my RTC is dead....the other fish seem normal though, aside from the oscars lingering around the top of the tank probably trying to get more oxygen i assume. the canister filter is still pumping, but not as hard as it usually does, im gonna clean it today. i did an emergency water change of about 50% when i got home because of the terrible rotten smell the water had, it was stinking up my living room.

im really not sure what happened? how did the water get so cloudy white so quickly? does the death of a fish cause this or was it most likely murky before the death? how do i get this smell to go away and the tank water to return back to normal? im sorry, im fairly new to this and havent had this happen before

here's a picture of her at "time of death"...she looks healthy....aside from being...dead

 

[jsodwi]

Problem is you had a 20" rtc in a 80g tank with 2 oscars and pun only did a small water change once every week or 2. I'm sure people are gonna jump all over you for this one but I'll just tell you what happened. Your bioload is huge with those fish. You didn't mention what kind of filtration you have but I'm sure they were starving for oxygen as well. You should have been doing probably a 50% water change every Single day! They most likely were just swimming in their own waste. My advise don't ever buy a catfish that you won't be able to provide for. If the oscars are still alive start doing 25% water changes daily until you get water parameters back to normal.

 

[Fleet Admiral]

bacterial bloom maybe?

 

[Cu455]

Check the tank tempeture.

 

[sbuse]

To small of a tank to handle the bio. That is a big cause suspect. Also could have been something in the water.

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[Zipperwurm]

Problem is you had a 20" rtc in a 80g tank with 2 oscars and pun only did a small water change once every week or 2. I'm sure people are gonna jump all over you for this one but I'll just tell you what happened. Your bioload is huge with those fish. You didn't mention what kind of filtration you have but I'm sure they were starving for oxygen as well. You should have been doing probably a 50% water change every Single day! They most likely were just swimming in their own waste. My advise don't ever buy a catfish that you won't be able to provide for. If the oscars are still alive start doing 25% water changes daily until you get water parameters back to normal.

i understand that completely...hence why i had the 250g in the works, just didnt realize this would happen so suddenly. shes been pretty big for awhile and the water is generally pretty clear, im just confused how it went from almost crystal clear when i left to milk in like 2 days...

 

[ecoli73]

A bit small is a rather understatement.

For now, 2 half grown oscars are just right for the tank.

I would not replace the RTC unless you have something like a 600 gallon tank at the very minimum.


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[Cu455]

I didn't see the picture on my phone. Now that I see the catfish I have to agree with

A bit small is a rather understatement.

 

[MonsterMinis]

Problem is you had a 20" rtc in a 80g tank with 2 oscars and pun only did a small water change once every week or 2. I'm sure people are gonna jump all over you for this one but I'll just tell you what happened. Your bioload is huge with those fish. You didn't mention what kind of filtration you have but I'm sure they were starving for oxygen as well. You should have been doing probably a 50% water change every Single day! They most likely were just swimming in their own waste. My advise don't ever buy a catfish that you won't be able to provide for. If the oscars are still alive start doing 25% water changes daily until you get water parameters back to normal.

Well said... And I agree w/ doing 25% daily or more until you can get everything settled ( maytake as long as 2-3weeks) Also when was the cat last fed? imo he may have puked up its dinner (why could be many reasons) and that would instantly foul your water, clog your filter, ect... causing your whole system to crash... imo a 80 is barely big enough to house a single Oscar let alone 2 Oscars and the RTC.

 

[petspoiler]

maybe the rtc regurgitated. but the canister being very overloaded with waste, would spew the filth back into the tank because it cannot process so much. this could happen even without the rtc regurgitating, with that stock load.

fish's water quality can't be determined by how it looks. but of course when it is completely fouled, you can see that.
Buy an API Master freshwater test kit. read threads here about water maintenance.
fish should be in zero ammonia and nitrites, with goal to keep nitrates very low. 40 is too high IMO (time for water change), prefer closer to 20. mine is 10 out of the tap and I use SeaChem Prime when changing water, which neutralizes that.